Healthcare brands lead the way at Pandharpur Yatra 2025

As the sacred Pandharpur Yatra unfolds across Maharashtra, one trend stands out with clarity: Healthcare and wellness brands are leading the charge, making a beeline to connect with millions of rural pilgrims. In what is traditionally a space dominated by FMCG and telecom giants, this year’s Yatra has seen a seismic shift in brand priorities, with pharma majors like Dabur, GSK, Baidyanath, Cipla, Sun Pharma, and Mankind Pharma anchoring their presence through immersive, educational outreach.

The change is rooted in a deeper realisation: that conventional mass media — television, print, and radio — though heavily invested in, fail to penetrate the rural heartland with the nuance and depth required. In contrast, the deeply devotional and immersive context of the Yatra offers a high-touch, high-trust platform. Rural healthcare awareness remains critically low, and brands are seizing this opportunity to educate pilgrims about everything from managing acidity and respiratory infections to understanding nutrition and first aid in formats that are both accessible and emotionally resonant.

From Telecom to HealthTech

In the early years, telecom brands dominated the Yathra, followed by agri-tech and later FMCG. Then came a wave of BFSI participation. This year, it is clearly the turn of healthcare and fintech. 

Fintech players like NPCI are using the Yatra to drive awareness around digital payments and financial literacy. Agri-tech still maintains a steady presence, but the real story of 2025 is how purpose-driven healthcare brands are turning the Mela into a large-scale public health activation — one foot massage and hydration station at a time.

Experiential Engagements: Marketing that Provides Support

Along the Yatra route, lakhs of pilgrims, or Warkaris, walk for days, resting in tents or community camps. Brands have tailored their engagement to this unique context. From head and foot massage booths, tea tasting counters, and hydration stations, to simple but effective interventions like mobile clinics, first-aid zones, and bhajan-enabled digital darshan corners with charging stations, marketers are doing far more than just visibility. They are offering value.

These are not fleeting touchpoints either. Pilgrims, often in a spiritual trance around their devotion to Lord Vithoba, retain a vivid memory of brands that helped them recharge, heal, or just pause for a breather. Add to those physical cues such as direction signage, information boards, changing rooms, pillar gates, and sponsored police or health helpdesks — and you have got a multi-sensory branding ecosystem with soul.

Passenger Information Systems: The Unsung Hero of Rural Advertising

One of the most underappreciated yet impactful advertising tools during the Yatra is the Passenger Information System (PIS) at bus stations. Over 4,000 additional buses are deployed to ferry 30-40 lakh pilgrims across Maharashtra, buses being the most preferred mode of transport due to their reach and frequency.

With trains offering limited connectivity, the bus has become more than a transport service — a moving platform of communication. Audio OOH network leverages this, using PIS to deliver contextual, timely audio messages. From welcoming Warkaris and informing them of safe travel practices, to promoting travel kits and conducting quiz contests, the format is engaging, trusted, and most importantly, vernacular.

Pilgrims are constantly alert and tuned into audio at the bus stands. This is giving the brands an uncluttered window to connect with audiences they would otherwise find hard to reach. There is also growing interest in wrapping buses with branding, and coupling these efforts with Facebook geofencing or Instagram campaigns to drive digital amplification.

LED Vans: Mobility Meets Messaging

Adding a dynamic layer to the outreach mix, LED vans have emerged as a highly effective mobile engagement tool. These vans are travelling along the Yatra route, playing devotional songs, brand messages, and healthcare awareness videos in vernacular languages. Their mobility allows them to reach even the most interior halt points and gathering spots, creating high recall through audiovisual storytelling. Some vans are even equipped with interactive screens, quiz formats, and sampling counters — transforming a moving vehicle into an engagement hotspot. For brands, LED vans are becoming an impactful blend of visibility, education, and entertainment — all on wheels.

From Physical to Phygital

The fusion of digital and physical — or ‘phygital’ — engagement is making inroads even into rural religious events. Brands are creating YouTube-friendly content at activation stalls, building Insta moments, and using QR codes for pilgrim feedback or discount redemptions. WiFi-enabled zones are slowly emerging, opening possibilities for live streaming and product demonstrations that can travel beyond the footfall.

The narrative is no longer limited to the physical event — it is about capturing the moment, sharing it, and building digital community memories around it.

Hyperlocal, Heartfelt Communication

Language and cultural sensitivity remain non-negotiable. The audience here is predominantly from the farmer and lower-middle-income communities, deeply attached to their dialects and traditions. Every successful campaign is deeply rooted in vernacular voiceovers, local idioms, and visuals that reflect rural aspirations. Emotional connection, not urban polish, wins trust.

Cause-Marketing with a Devotional Core

This year has also seen a rise in cause-linked campaigns. Brands are aligning themselves with the spirit of service — distributing water, setting up health camps, offering spiritual giveaways, and even creating safe resting zones for elderly pilgrims. The impact is two-fold — enhanced brand recall and genuine goodwill.

Metrics and the Path Ahead

With crowds ranging from 30 to 40 lakh people, brands are seeing high ROI even on modest spends of ₹10–20 lakh. Each activation is tied to performance, whether it is through direct sampling, product demos, or real-time sales of balms, gels, or immunity boosters. Many are also testing new launches in this controlled rural environment, using feedback to refine offerings before a larger rollout.

Pilgrimages as Future Rural Marketing Templates

Events like the Pandharpur Yatra will become templates for rural outreach strategy. Above-the-line mass media like TV and print require huge spends — ₹10–15 crore and still may not reach the intended rural consumer. But below-the-line activations via Yatras and Melas offer an authentic, experiential, and cost-effective way to connect, educate, and convert.

For brands looking to build enduring relationships with Bharat’s next billion, the Pandharpur Yatra is not just a pilgrimage. It is a purposeful marketing moment, where devotion meets decision-making.

This article is penned by Rajesh Radhakrishnan, Co-Founder & Director, Vritti Mindwave Media.

Disclaimer: The article features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the stance of the publication.

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