Divine marketing: Brands flock to temples as spiritual tourism booms
For Jagannath Rath Yatra, which is set to begin on June 27 in Puri, marketing spends have surged to an estimated Rs 20-Rs 30 crore from Rs 3-4 crore last year
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Brands across sectors are making a beeline to temples as spiritual tourism gains momentum in the country. With Odisha's Jagannath Rath Yatra around the corner and the ongoing Pandharpur Yatra in Maharashtra, brands have begun tapping into the emotional and cultural resonance of the large-scale events to build visibility and trust.
According to Rajesh Radhakrishnan, Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer at Vritti Mindwave Media, a rural marketing & activations company, FMCG, BFSI, healthcare, automobile, steel, and cement companies have bolstered their presence at spiritual events like Maha Kumbh, Jagannath Rath Yatra, Char Dham, and Pandharpur Wari this year.
Radhakrishnan said, "These pilgrimages offer unmatched footfall, cultural context, and consumer engagement opportunities that traditional advertising platforms often fail to provide".
Soft drink giant Coca-Cola India is one of the many brands, that is tapping into the spiritual fervor of Jagannath Rath Yatra. According to Vinay Nair, Vice President of Franchise Operations, at Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, "We are enabling access at every touchpoint through cooler walls, hydration carts, and mobile units at the Rath Yatra".
The Atlanta, Geogria-based company served 180 million servings during the course of the Mahakumbh, the company said in its Quarter 1 earnings 2025.
'Advertising cost at religious spots'
Advertising spending in the spiritual tourism space varies widely depending on the scale of the event and the brand’s engagement model.
Typically, a Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) firm or a Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) company allocate between Rs 25-Rs 50 lakh per event on advertising and promotions, Vritti Media told Storyboard18.
However, the brands may expand their budget for larger pilgrimages like Jagannath Yatra and Maha Kumbh.
On the other hand, auto and healthcare players are likely to splurge an average capital of Rs 15-Rs 30 lakh, and regional brands may shell out between Rs 5-Rs 10 lakh.
For Jagannath Rath Yatra, which is set to begin on June 27 in Puri, marketing spends have surged to an estimated Rs 20-Rs 30 crore from Rs 3-4 crore last year, Shruti Chaturvedi, Founder of branding and marketing agency Chaaipani said.
"While the specific ad spends by sector are not publicly disclosed, current brand activations range between Rs 15 lakh to Rs 2.5 crore for a 10-day presence, depending on the involvement level," Chaturvedi added.
Notably, traditional advertising, such as hoardings and signages, has taken a backseat to the Puri's Rath Yatra. Brands are optimizing service-led interventions, instead.
"Swiggy, Campa, ACC Cement, Ultratech Cement, Fortune, Cipla, Delhivery, Coca-Cola, Bisleri, and Reliance Foundation are supporting various pilgrim-first civic infrastructure including water kiosks, changing rooms, fans, and crowd assistance zones," according to Chaturvedi.
FMCG major AWL Agri-Business Ltd has opted for a wide array of marketing mediums to engage with consumers. For instance, the company has designed changing stations near the beach, launched a fleet of Fortune-branded e-rickshaws, and product sampling counters, and installed LED displays by the beach along with backlit Fortune product units.
Sarabjit Singh Puri, Chairman of rural marketing firm, Fateh Rural Ltd said that the estimated kiosks & product display booth ranges between Rs 1.5-Rs 5 lakh for the Jagannath Rath yatra. The estimated cost of hoardings is Rs 2 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, mobile LED vans are Rs 5-Rs 12 lakh, beach or temple wrap branding Rs 5-Rs 10 lakh, rickshaw branding is Rs 50,000-Rs 2 lakh, and sponsorship and cultural nights are between RS 10-Rs 25 lakh, respectively.
For the Pandharpur Yatra in Maharashtra, Radhakrishnan expected that marketing kiosks may range between Rs 50,000 and 1.5 lakh, bus stand audio Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising may cost between Rs 25,000-Rs 75,000, and promotions via LED vans between Rs 3 lakh for a 10-day campaign, respectively.
'The high returns'
Spiritual tourism has become a crucial opportunity for brands who are seeking both reach and recall. According to Radhakrishnan, brands have reported 3 to 7-fold returns on ad spending, especially when campaigns are rooted in local culture and involve consumer engagement.
According to Mukesh Mishra- Joint President, Sales & Marketing – AWL Agri Business, they achieved strong returns in both brand sales and consumer goodwill during the engagements for 'Ayodhya Ram Mandir Consecration' and ‘Mahakumbh 2025’.
However, sometimes the promotional activities at such spiritual and cultural events are not purely transactional, the ROAS (return-on ad-spend) is also measured through 'trust & recall, penetration, photo or video virality, emotional goodwill, offline sampling & trials', the Chaaipani founder said.
Mishra acknowledged that AWL's initiatives helped in building a lasting bond by placing Fortune at the heart of moments that truly matter. "We believe that when a brand’s presence is rooted in genuine purpose, the value created goes far beyond any simple number or conventional marketing metrics," Mishra added.
Chaturvedi has projected that Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra is likely to generate over Rs 50 crore in brand value, with the model poised to cross Rs 200 crore in the coming years, as brands shift from conventional advertising to service-led public participation.
