We are a nation of festivals, and in addition to that, we have a multitude of cultural ethnicities and polarities of thoughts; additionally, we have a humongous list of special days—local, regional, national, and international. On most such days of celebration, the screen on your phone is filled with multiple hues of wishes from everyone you’ve ever accidentally smiled at in a lift or shared your number with. The true ritual isn’t in following the traditional steps or worshipping in a temple but in timely posting a special wish on every platform known to mankind, from Instagram to LinkedIn to the inside of your microwave if it had a screen.

One can understand when long-lost classmates and cousins from the extended large family spam with “Happy Whatever the occasion may be” memes featuring the same overused clipart with borrowed EDM beats, the real mystery lies elsewhere: why do brands do this?

The Great Ritual Of Festival Branding: Every festival is a mandatory creative marathon for brands to post a Happy Eid, Merry Christmas, or a low-effort, pastel-tinted “May the lights guide your path” message on Diwali. God forbid if they don’t. Won’t the loyal consumer unfollow, boycott, or, worse, buy a rival soap bar that remembered to wish Happy Janmashtami on time?

A simple wish on the brand homepage or the Facebook cover won’t do. No. The entire marketing team will be summoned. Emergency war-room meetings will be par for the course. "We need a Raksha Bandhan post that reflects our brand's values." Someone will lead the brainstorming session while an intern weeps into the keyboard, overloaded with the emotional ambience of the strategic meeting and the power that comes from knowing that........

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