Brands leverage Indian consumers’ individualism for Valentine’s Day marketing

Around 3 in 10 consumers buy food and drinks aligned with their personality.

As Indian consumers grow individualistic, brands are boosting their sales for Valentine’s Day by targeting customers’ desire for personalised experiences through products aligned with their values and interests, according to GlobalData.

Parthasaradhi Reddy, Consumer Lead Analyst at GlobalData, said consumers’ purchase decisions are driven by their self-expression and self-branding, noting that 31% of surveyed consumers said they purchase food and drinks aligned with their personality.

“Brands are responding to these changing consumer attitudes by actively incorporating these trends into new product development, in a conscious effort to meet the enhanced needs of consumers and generate a competitive advantage,” Reddy said.

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For example, Cadbury 5 star’s campaign focused on the fatigue around relationships by trying to erase Valentine’s Day by travelling back into time with the “Time Travel Vessel” campaign featuring Indian scientist Nambi Narayanan.

The Man Company’s #CountingLove campaign also showed other forms of celebration of love through laughter, vulnerability, shared experiences and imperfect emotions.

Cadbury’s Silk collaborated with acclaimed filmmaker Zoya Akhtar for its Valentine’s Day marketing to launch a user-generated content campaign that uses AI to create personalised videos based on user-submitted materials. 

“By embracing inclusivity, and diversity, companies are creating more targeted and personalized experiences for shoppers, thereby winning hearts in a bid to boost sales around Valentine's season,” said Tim Hill, Key Account Director, at GlobalData Singapore.

Reddy also noted that there are plenty of opportunities for brands to appeal to the younger demographics, noting that India is a young country with a media age of 29.6.