In India’s ever-evolving experience economy, events are no longer just brand showcases—they’re business engines. From immersive brand activations and music festivals to luxury weddings and government-led tourism fairs, every event today is expected to deliver tangible value.
But how do India’s top brands actually measure that value?
It’s no longer enough to count footfalls or rely on media buzz. The ROI conversation has shifted towards deeper, data-driven metrics: lead generation, brand lift, media value, social engagement, and conversion. According to a 2024 EY-FICCI report, India’s events and experiential industry crossed ₹10,000 crore in size, and with this growth comes a more analytical lens on performance.
Let’s break down how leading brands are decoding ROI—beyond the buzz.
Lead Generation: The Hard Currency of Events
How it’s measured:
Number of qualified leads captured (scanned badges, app sign-ups, QR interactions)
Conversion funnel analysis (attendee to MQL to SQL)
Cost per lead (CPL)
Events like Auto Expo, B2B trade expos, and wedding showcases like India Couture Week are increasingly judged on the quality of leads generated. At India Mobile Congress 2023, Reliance Jio and Airtel reported capturing over 70,000 direct enterprise leads collectively via app integrations and live product demos.
According to Bizzabo’s 2024 Event Marketing Report, 68% of marketers say lead quality is a top KPI, with average CPL for events ranging from ₹500–₹1,500 in India, depending on the industry.
Example:
Tata Motors, during the launch of its electric SUV Punch.ev, set up interactive zones across malls and college campuses. The result? Over 1.2 lakh leads captured across 30 days, with 10% converting to test drives.
Brand Lift: Measuring the Intangible Tangibly
How it’s measured:
Pre/post-event brand perception surveys
Net Promoter Score (NPS) uplift
Unaided brand recall (especially in cluttered categories)
Sentiment analysis via social listening tools
With brand differentiation harder than ever, events are used to move the brand needle. From Netflix’s immersive fan events like “Stranger Things House” in Mumbai, to Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked livestream zones, marketers are seeking post-event perception changes.
According to WARC, a 3–5% lift in unaided brand recall post-event is considered strong. Event Marketer’s 2023 Brand Experience Report notes an average NPS boost of +12 points for branded experiences.
Example:
Zomato Live’s “Zomaland”, now in multiple cities, tracked sentiment and recall via post-event app prompts. Over 62% of attendees said they associated Zomato with ‘entertainment and lifestyle’, a deliberate brand pivot from food-tech.
Media Value: Not All Coverage Is Equal
How it’s measured:
Earned media mentions (PR reach, impressions, sentiment)
Paid media ROI (click-through rates, engagement)
Influencer and creator content value (calculated via CPM/CPV equivalents)
From Lakmé Fashion Week to India Art Fair, events generate crores in earned media if executed well. But brands now want more than vanity metrics—they want equivalent advertising value (AVE) and attribution clarity.
According to Deloitte’s Global CMO Survey, average media ROI for experiential-led campaigns hovers around 1.6X. In India, a well-executed luxury brand event could generate media worth ₹3–5 crore in AVE.
Example:
Coca-Cola’s global “Real Magic” campaign was launched in India via a multi-city AR event series. The campaign reportedly drove over 500 press pickups and ₹4 crore in earned media, per estimates by media monitoring firm Meltwater India.
Social Engagement: From Viral to Valuable
How it’s measured:
Engagement rate per 1,000 attendees
UGC volume and reach
Influencer performance vs. benchmarks
Event hashtag traction and trending hours
Social media is the new stage. Whether it’s a SulaFest moment, a Yaari Jam by McDowell’s Soda at 36,000 feet, or Hyderabad Comic Con, the goal is virality with brand relevance.
The India Experiential Trends 2023 Report by WOW Awards Asia indicates a good engagement rate for Indian events sits between 2.8%–5.2%, with luxury and lifestyle events doing best on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Example:
McDowell’s Soda Yaari Jam, in partnership with influencer Fahmil Khan, hosted the world’s first musical jam session on a flight. The event generated 3M+ organic views and became a trending topic on Twitter for 4 hours—delivering a 30X return on content reach compared to baseline campaigns.
Conversion & Sales Metrics: The Final Frontier
How it’s measured:
Promo code usage
QR-based product purchases during event
CRM integration and follow-up conversion
Offline-to-online (O2O) attribution
Events are increasingly linked to e-commerce and sales outcomes. Nykaa’s “Beauty Bar” pop-ups now integrate live shopping, with real-time product scanning, while Maruti Suzuki’s Arena Nights track bookings on-ground through integrated dealer tech.
CEIR’s Global Report shows 38% of event attendees make a purchase decision within 30 days post-event. In India, retail-focused events show an immediate 5–12% sales uplift when tied to experiential touchpoints.
Example:
At Amazon India Fashion Week, attendees could scan designer QR codes and buy outfits on Amazon.in directly—resulting in a 26% spike in sales in the fashion category over 48 hours, as per Amazon’s internal metrics (reported in Mint, Dec 2023).
The ROI Equation is Evolving—and Event Marketers Must Keep Up
India’s brand events industry has grown in complexity, scale, and ambition. Whether it’s a government-led global investor summit or a curated luxury bridal showcase, brands are demanding more precision, transparency, and attribution in ROI.
It’s no longer about the noise an event makes—it’s about the value it creates across the full funnel: from awareness to advocacy to acquisition.
