Diwali is one of the biggest festivals celebrated by Indians and South Asians in Australia and all over the world. In fact, you can also go far to say that it is as important to these communities, as Christmas is to other parts of the world. Diwali holds religious and spiritual significance and essentially is the celebration of good over evil. Indians celebrate this festival by having colorful lanterns and fireworks, ornate traditional outfits, lots of shopping and delicious Indian sweets.
What the stats say:
According to the latest stats from 2017-18, India was the largest source of new permanent migrants to Australia. The Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate that Indians form 1.9% of the entire Australia population, which simply means there are about 468,800 Indians In Australia. As a corporate or government organisation, this presents a great opportunity reach a wider pool in your creative and marketing initiatives, giving you better ROI.
Diwali is coming soon, are you prepared?
With Diwali coming up in a couple of months, it is just the perfect time to think about (re) designing your Marketing and PR goals for this year and make sure to not miss this opportunity for 2019. While a lot of businesses have already started taking steps towards embracing the many opportunities of targeting multicultural events such as this, there are many people and organisations that are sitting on the fence. So let us learn about why Diwali is so important and why we personally recommend considering Diwali as a first step for your future business goals:
Why is Diwali so special to Indians?
Diwali festival is when you will find Indians indulging in shopping for their home and family which includes homeware, gifts, electronics and jewellery. In fact, historically it is that time of the year when retail sales spike up, especially during the months of October and November. Not only do gift and sweet sales go up during Diwali (as Indians love buying gifts for themselves and their loved ones), but there is also a rise in sales of also of new homes, cars and phones. There are actual days of the festival that are considered auspicious to buy something new.
This is the perfect time for marketers to authentically engage with the South Asian community, as there this growing, high-earning and influential audience presents an enormous business potential for brands. In fact, the more impact you can create during a festival like Diwali, the more guarantee that you will have a positive brand association to create a long-lasting relationship with the Indian diaspora in Australia. It is also important to note that Indians are well-educated and digitally active and have a strong word-of-mouth reach. This is because Indians are a closely connected community, not just physically but also digitally.
Indian customers tend to become exceptionally loyal and good referrers of business.
Tips to market to the Indian community:
Marketing to Indian customers requires a tailored and mindful approach. Indians tend to buy more communally; or based on family advice; like to “shop around;” and if not properly respected, have comparatively low conversion and referral rates. The good news is, once convinced Indian customers tend to become exceptionally loyal and good referrers of business.
Reaching the Indian community in Australia:
All these reasons make it even more important for businesses to target Diwali festival in Australia. Here are a couple of important Diwali Cultural celebrations happening around Australia that shouldn’t be missed such as the Hindu Council of Australia’s Deepavali Festival of Lights, Diwali Indian Festival – Federation Square, Melbourne, Adelaide Diwali Festival Diwali- Festival of lights, Brisbane among many others across Australia. These events are often attended by tens of thousands of people.