A regional campaign that became an emotion.
Linen Club
‘Homecoming’ - Celebrating Onam Through Heartfelt Storytelling
Client: Aditya Birla Group – Linen Club
Services: Creative Campaign, End-to-end Production
Campaign: ONAM ‘Homecoming’
Platforms: Cinema | TV | Digital
Onam, Kerala’s most revered harvest festival, marks the legendary homecoming of King Mahabali and symbolizes joy, togetherness, and celebration. Traditionally, families unite to honor their roots through vibrant rituals like creating floral Pookalams, indulging in feasts, and engaging in festivities that highlight Kerala’s rich culture.
Linen Club, a leading linen brand under the Aditya Birla Group, sought to strengthen its leadership in the competitive Kerala market during Onam. The challenge was to cut through the heightened media noise, especially from emerging regional brands and aggressive discounting, and reaffirm Linen Club’s premium positioning by emotionally connecting with its audience.
- Maximize brand awareness and emotional bonding in Kerala during Onam.
- Drive increased retail trials and sales, achieving a significant uplift compared to the previous season.
- Create lasting emotional equity that extends beyond transactional marketing.
- Target a sizeable segment of Non-Resident Keralites (NRIs) returning home after COVID, tapping into an underutilized growth opportunity.
Post-pandemic, a surge in Onam homecomings by NRIs (estimated at 23-28% of returning Keralites) presented a unique chance to engage this emotional, nostalgic audience with a tailored narrative. While most competitors focused solely on in-state consumers, Linen Club aimed to resonate with returning families who long to reconnect and celebrate traditions with warmth and authenticity.
Strategy
Execution
- The film ‘Homecoming’ poignantly portrays a son returning home to Kerala, surprising his mother by creating a beautiful linen Pookalam instead of the traditional floral one, symbolizing love, care, and innovation.
- Local celebrities George Korra and Parvathy Malla lead the cast, adding credibility and familiarity.
- The production embraced Kerala’s natural landscapes and cultural heritage, with authentic folk dance and music performances enriching the sensory experience.
- The campaign content was rolled out bilingually in Malayalam and English, amplifying reach across demographics and geographies.
- The song was also launched separately on radio before Onam, increasing anticipation and audience connection.
Festive Element
In this heart-warming musical ad film by Linen Club, the theme “Homecoming” is seen through the life of a mother and son who otherwise live apart. The film's regional flavour and emotional energy align with the festival's values of joy, happiness, and togetherness. At the same time, the film effectively leverages the Onam festival to spread Linen Club's message of quality and design to a wider audience.
Encapsulating the essence of the occasion, the film is shot in Kerala to capture the authentic flavour of Onam, where it’s experienced at its best. Shot outdoors and featuring local dancers, artists, and costumes, ‘Homecoming’ highlights the unique elements of Kerala in all its festive glory.
Traditionally celebrated by gifting and decorating spaces with fresh flowers, in this film, the son passionately (a quality which Linen club proudly stands for), replaces the traditional Pookalam with a beautiful linen Pookalam to surprise his mother, allowing her to cherish and experience the vibrancy and range of colours offered. The fabric in the Pookalam is further used for gifting, which again is an integral part of Onam celebration. By featuring a linen Pookalam, the film showcases the quality and durability of Linen Club's fabrics.
With this regionally flavoured campaign, Linen Club endeavours to capture and express the essence of human relationships, and how festivities help knit some lifelong memories with the family, especially with mothers.
THE LEAP FORWARD: TRANSFORMATIVE PERFORMANCE METRICS
- The ‘Homecoming’ campaign resonated deeply with the audience, successfully creating an emotional bond that translated into strong brand recall and preference.
- Linen Club achieved a disproportionate increase in retail sales in Kerala compared to the previous Onam season.
- The campaign garnered significant chatter and mindshare, elevating Linen Club’s presence amid intense festive marketing clutter.
- It won Gold awards in two prestigious categories: Festive Marketing and Marketing on a Small Budget, reflecting the creative and strategic excellence of the campaign.
- The innovative use of linen in the Pookalam became a standout symbol of product quality and tradition reinvented.
- The targeting of NRIs paid off by tapping into a high-potential, underserved audience segment during the Onam celebrations.