Big ideas, bigger crowds: How ad agencies are tapping into the Maha Kumbh opportunity

The Maha Kumbh Mela, which officially began on January 13, 2025, in Prayagraj, India, is the world’s largest religious congregation, drawing an estimated 400 million devotees over its 45-day span. This year’s festival has already seen tremendous participation, with approximately 35 million pilgrims taking the holy dip on January 14 alone.

While its spiritual significance is unmatched, the Maha Kumbh Mela has also emerged as a powerful economic force. Expected to contribute around Rs 2 lakh crore (approximately $24 billion) to Uttar Pradesh’s economy, this year’s event has already outpaced the Rs 1.2 lakh crore recorded during the 2019 Mela. The economic boost is set to benefit various sectors, including local trade, tourism, and infrastructure, while generating new employment opportunities and fostering regional growth.

For advertising companies, the Maha Kumbh Mela is not just a religious gathering; it represents a massive opportunity to reach millions of potential consumers. The event’s immense scale and cultural diversity present unique challenges and opportunities for brands to engage meaningfully with attendees. To capitalize on this, advertising agencies are implementing innovative strategies, utilizing both traditional and digital mediums to ensure their campaigns resonate with a broad audience. From high-visibility outdoor placements to tech-enabled campaigns, agencies are crafting approaches that blend creativity with respect for the event’s sacred context, aiming to create lasting connections and drive brand visibility on an unprecedented scale.

Unique Strategies for Brand Visibility and Engagement

Advertising agencies are crafting innovative strategies to ensure their campaigns rise above the noise and capture the attention of over 45 crore attendees at the Maha Kumbh Mela. With the event’s monumental scale, brands are adopting a diverse mix of traditional, mobile, and tech-driven solutions to maximize visibility, enhance engagement, and create lasting impressions.

Strategic Placements and High-Traffic Locations

One key approach to brand visibility is securing high-traffic, strategic locations within the Mela grounds. By positioning campaigns where large crowds are expected, brands can ensure their advertisements are seen by the maximum number of attendees as they move through the event.

“Vritti Solutions’ strategic vision revolves around using technology to enhance brand visibility and audience engagement,” explains Rajesh Radhakrishnan, Co-Founder & CMO of Vritti Mindwave Media. “By securing exclusive rights to LED displays, banners, and other mediums, we aim to provide brands with impactful platforms that follow the crowd, ensuring maximum visibility.”

Leveraging Mobile Advertising Formats

With the large-scale crowd movements at the Maha Kumbh, maintaining visibility throughout the event is critical. Brands are turning to mobile advertising solutions, such as LED vans, to keep their message in front of attendees across multiple locations. This allows brands to follow the crowd and stay relevant throughout the event.

“At Vritti Mindwave, our approach is dynamic and flexible. We deliver high ROI for participating brands by adapting advertising solutions to the flow of people, ensuring that campaigns are targeted and measurable,” adds Radhakrishnan.

Innovative and Culturally Aligned Campaigns

Brands are increasingly focusing on creating campaigns that are not only effective, but also culturally aligned with the spiritual significance of the event. Crayons Advertising is employing a multi-layered approach that blends traditional and modern media to create memorable brand experiences.

“For an event like Maha Kumbh, it is not just about advertising – it is about creating meaningful connections,” says Raghu Khanna, Partner - Crayon Outdoor Division at All White Communication. “We, as an agency, would also like to go back to the roots of advertising while integrating modern ways. Our goal is to create connections in a space where millions of souls gather in devotion.”

Khanna envisions a multi-layered strategy combining traditional, transit, and digital touchpoints. “We’re planning to implement large-format outdoor displays, Arch gates, entry gates, bunting, sampling, experience zones, branded goodies, and standees in and around public accommodations. Traditional media like high-quality flex will transform mundane tent exteriors into stunning brand expressions that respect the spiritual essence of Kumbh.”

Innovative Advertising on Boats

One unique strategy that is gaining attention is the use of boats as advertising platforms. With thousands of devotees traveling by boat to reach the Triveni Ghat for the sacred Shahi Snan, Summercool Appliances has secured the rights to brand 500 boats, ensuring direct engagement with the attendees.

“With thousands of devotees traveling by boat to reach the Triveni Ghat, our branding on 500 boats ensures direct engagement with everyone participating in this grand gathering,” says Ashutosh Gupta, Director of Sales and Marketing at Summercool Home Appliances Ltd. “This interactive experience will have a high brand recall, creating lasting impressions with a diverse audience.”

Strategic Placement of Hoardings and Banners

In addition to mobile and boat advertising, brands are maximizing visibility through strategic placements of hoardings and banners at major entry and exit points of the Mela and surrounding areas. This ensures that the brand's message is visible to pilgrims as they enter and exit the event.

“The unique advertising concept of Summercool, paired with our bold red colour, will create lasting brand awareness and attract devotees,” Gupta says, adding, “Our strategy is designed to ensure we leave a strong impression on the thousands of attendees at the Kumbh Mela.”

Tackling Logistical and Creative Challenges

Handling the advertising infrastructure for an event of this scale comes with its own set of significant logistical and creative challenges. Advertising agencies are rising to the occasion by orchestrating extensive on-ground activations, pop-up stalls, and deploying innovative digital solutions such as AI chatbots and 24/7 live streaming to engage attendees. The event’s vast scale also requires the creation of a sprawling tent city, complete with thousands of kitchens and restrooms, illustrating the complexity of infrastructure needed to support the millions of visitors expected.

To ensure smooth execution while delivering meaningful campaigns, industry leaders share their strategies and insights into how they are preparing for Maha Kumbh 2025.

Vritti Mindwave Media, an official licensee for advertising at the Maha Kumbh, is using innovative technology to enhance engagement and ensure measurable outcomes for participating brands. Elaborating their approach to tackling these challenges, Rajesh Radhakrishnan says, “Vritti Solutions will deploy innovative solutions like LED vans that move with the crowd for real-time visibility, strategically placed static branding, and sponsorships for essential amenities like police help desks and washing zones. By integrating data-driven insights, we ensure measurable outcomes for brands. Our focus is on creating value-driven initiatives that not only enhance audience engagement but also leave a lasting impression on the attendees.”

Vritti’s strategy highlights the importance of flexibility and data-driven decision-making to keep up with the constantly shifting dynamics of such a large event.

Crayon Outdoor Division has a well-established presence in large-scale events, and Raghu Khanna emphasizes the significance of seamless execution in handling advertising infrastructure. For them, flawless planning and a robust, well-trained team are essential to overcoming the challenges presented by the event.

“Flawless execution is as crucial as innovative strategy. At the heart of our preparation lies our Delhi facility, where we’ve established a dedicated production unit crafting every advertising element in-house,” shares Khanna. “We’ve assembled a team of over 500 skilled professionals who will be on the ground, specially trained for the unique challenges of Kumbh. A temporary office in Prayagraj allows us to be in the epicenter of the action, ensuring real-time monitoring and quick responses to any challenges.”

Khanna’s words highlight the importance of being present on-site well ahead of the event to build local relationships and understand the terrain, which are critical in maintaining the smooth execution of the campaign.

The Growing Role of Advertising Agencies

With the event going on, it is clear that advertising agencies will play a central role in shaping the brand experiences at Maha Kumbh Mela 2025. According to Raghu Khanna, “The Maha Kumbh 2025 represents an unprecedented opportunity for advertising agencies to help brands connect with millions of Indians in a sacred context. Agencies that can authentically integrate their clients’ messaging with the spiritual and cultural values of the event will see the highest impact. We’re expecting strong interest from FMCG, telecommunications, and financial services sectors, all of which are looking to deepen their connection with Bharat.”

Rajesh Radhakrishnan elaborates, “The Maha Kumbh Mela is a unique opportunity for brands to connect with 40-50 crore attendees, which is approximately one-third of India’s population. It’s a platform to create lasting emotional connections with a diverse audience. Brands expect to enhance visibility, strengthen their presence in Tier 2, Tier 3, and rural markets, and align with the spiritual and cultural significance of the event. This year, the focus is also on leveraging technology and infrastructure to make meaningful contributions that resonate beyond the event.”

The vast audience and cultural richness of the Mela create an environment where brands must work with sensitivity and creativity to craft campaigns that resonate deeply with attendees. Agencies will be responsible for integrating both traditional and digital mediums to create cohesive, immersive brand experiences across the event grounds.

Projected Advertising Spend and Agency Involvement

The financial scope of advertising at Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 is vast, with expected marketing investments ranging from Rs 1,800 crore to Rs 2,000 crore. This considerable outlay reflects the magnitude of the event and the level of involvement from brands across multiple sectors. Advertising agencies will be key players in managing these investments, ensuring that campaigns align with both the logistical challenges of the event and the cultural significance that brands must respect.

Raghu Khanna shares, “We anticipate marketing spends to exceed Rs 1,000 crore, significantly higher than previous Kumbh events. Advertising agencies will play a critical role in executing campaigns that address the needs of diverse sectors such as FMCG, banking, telecom, healthcare, and consumer durables. This year, agencies are expected to make heavy investments in digital out-of-home (DOOH), infrastructure sponsorships, and localized marketing initiatives.”

Similarly, Radhakrishnan elaborates, “Marketing spends are anticipated to range from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,000 crore, with BFSI, FMCG, and healthcare brands expected to lead the charge. Small brands may opt for localised initiatives costing Rs 5-10 lakh, such as LED screen advertising, while large brands could invest several crores in 360-degree campaigns, including DOOH and infrastructure sponsorships. The sheer scale of the event provides opportunities for all budgets, making it highly inclusive.

The Role of Technology in Agency-Driven Campaigns

Agencies are expected to leverage cutting-edge technology to make their campaigns more interactive and engaging. The use of AI, mobile advertising, and data-driven strategies will allow agencies to deliver highly targeted and measurable campaigns that engage attendees beyond just physical spaces. The integration of digital out-of-home advertising, mobile billboards, and AI-driven content will be key strategies for agencies to ensure brand visibility and engagement throughout the event.

Radhakrishnan further emphasizes, “This year, the focus is also on leveraging technology and infrastructure to make meaningful contributions that resonate beyond the event. Agencies will help brands integrate digital strategies to ensure a deeper connection with attendees.”

For advertising agencies, Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 is not just a high-visibility opportunity, but also a chance to push creative boundaries and showcase their ability to adapt to the evolving marketing landscape. Through thoughtful and culturally sensitive campaigns, agencies will help brands make lasting impressions on millions of attendees. With the event expected to draw investments exceeding Rs 1,000 crore, Maha Kumbh 2025 is set to be a landmark moment for the advertising industry in India, allowing agencies to demonstrate their role in shaping the future of brand engagement.

Also Read: Adgully Live | adasia 2011: Day 3, Session 4; The Pursuit of Big Ideas in the Age of Now