Culture is one of the strongest and most effective ways to connect with people – whether it’s a similarity in cultures or enjoying the vivid details of diverse ones. Needless to say, since time immemorial, culture has been the substance and very essence of experiential marketing.
Sanjeev Bhargava, Founder Director & Producer, Seher Festivals was appointed by the Ministry of Tourism and Government of India to the National Tourism Advisory Council in 2004 to give a special direction to cultural heritage tourism in India. Talking about his thoughts and views about his plans and what is lined up for India in the space of outdoor events, he sketches his two-decade journey of creating experiences in the country and abroad.
Bringing cities to life
Reiterating the intricacies of experiential marketing, whether it’s presenting Shaan on stage, Shankar Mahadevan, or any sort of artist – an opera singer, or presenting the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Delhi, in Chennai, what is different between Shankar Mahadevan and Shaan singing in Mumbai at IIT Powai and at another festival?
“The only different thing is the complete holistic experience that you can give not only to the artists but to the audience. And not just to the audience, but even to your stakeholders, your sponsors, the city that you are in, whichever city you may be. We've done events in Goa, we've done events in London, we do events in Rome.
There must be something iconic about the city - the holistic experience that you can bring through your creation. That is your event. That is what is going to stay with the artists, with the audience, with the stakeholders, with your sponsors and with the people who come even for half an hour to your events,” Bhargava explains.
Tryst with Culture
Talking about his encounter with Sheila Dikshit, “She had a chat with me about promoting culture through festivals and events and her inclination to have me come on board as a cultural advisor. I asked her to give me free access to heritage monuments and parks of Delhi and I'll tell you what to do with the rest. I also requested her to give me only one organisation to work with, without wanting to get involved in the bureaucracy – we worked with the Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation and I worked directly with the chairman. The first festival we did was the Purana Qila Dance Festival.”
Talking at the exchange4media Red Carpet Experiential Marketing Summit 2024 which took place on 27 December, 2024 at the Eros Hotel in the capital, Bhargava spoke extensively about the experience of working on his movies such as ‘Aakrosh’, ‘Masoom’ and his other projects; working alongside the legendary Javed Akhtar; his first instance of working with Amitabh Bachchan; being discerning and aware of the intricacies involved in myriad cultural events executed by him – both nationally and internationally – appealing to the attendees who could have only been yearning for more.
