October 2026
’Tis the Season of Festive Briefs
WRITTEN BY
Divya Khapne
Copywriter
Most people know the festive season is around the corner when the lights go up, the shopping begins, and someone brings home the first box of sweets. At an agency, we get a slightly earlier heads-up: a festive brief.
I would have loved to know the festive season was coming the old-fashioned way.
Kids cracking patakas, people stepping out for their first round of festive shopping, houses lighting up with festive decorations, and the unmistakable aroma of sweets making its way through the neighbourhood.
But if you work in an advertising agency, you know there’s another way to tell the festive season is approaching.
It all starts with a BRIEF
The brief usually arrives with a familiar combination of words: festive, fresh, warm, celebratory, premium, emotional, and definitely not cliché.
Somewhere in there, there may also be an offer that needs to be communicated. Subtly, of course.
The festive season may still be weeks away, but the agency is already figuring out different ways to capture its spirit.
Then comes the reference hunt
We rush through every Wikipedia article, trying to find the significance of different rituals. Suddenly, every regional tradition, family dynamic, and festive habit is worth looking into.
We find ourselves going down delightful little rabbit holes, learning why certain traditions exist, what different celebrations mean to different people, and how a familiar occasion can be seen in a new way.
Moodboards get warmer; colour palettes, brighter. Someone starts looking for a fresh way to use lights, and someone else is determined to make sure we don’t use lights at all.
Then comes the feedback
“Can we make it more festive?”
“Can we make it less jazzy?”
“Can we bring in the emotion?”
“Can we make it feel more premium?”
Somewhere between all of this, the team tries to find that sweet spot where the work does not look like every other festive post on the internet.
Then comes the adaptation avalanche
We now start looking for ways a key visual can translate into posts, stories, reels, banners, emails, offers, reminders, and whatnot!
And then, it’s here!
The people outside are finally putting up decorations. The shops are getting busier. The sweets are being bought. The festive playlists are playing everywhere.
The agency? Well, we’ve already been living in the season for weeks.
We’ve planned it, written it, designed it, adapted it, revised it, approved it, made one more version of it, and perhaps the reason everyone else knows it’s coming.
