# Great Indian Festival ad campaign ideas

> Amazon's Great Indian Festival 2026 started on 8 October. How to plan ads around it, answer its offers with your own, and avoid mistakes that waste budget.
- **Author**: Marxx
- **Published**: 2026-10-23
- **Category**: Sales events
- **URL**: https://marxx.ai/library-campaigns/great-indian-festival-ad-ideas

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Amazon's Great Indian Festival 2026 started on **Thursday 8 October**, a day before Flipkart's [Big Billion Days](/campaigns/big-billion-days-ad-ideas) (checked 2026-10-20). Whether you sell on Amazon or on your own site, the plan is the same: build interest before, protect your margin during, and keep fresh offers coming after.

## What Amazon announced (checked 2026-10-20)

[Outlook Business](https://www.outlookbusiness.com/corporate/amazon-great-indian-festival-2026-to-begin-october-8-prime-members-to-get-up-to-10-extra) reported the following on 22 September 2026, from Amazon India's announcement:

- **Start:** 8 October 2026. The end date was not given.
- **Prime members:** benefits of up to 10% extra.
- **Bank offer:** 10% instant discount on SBI credit and debit cards and eligible EMI transactions.
- **Deal formats:** Blockbuster Deals, Top 100 Deals, Mega Deals and 8 PM Deals.

Amazon's own [festival page](https://www.aboutamazon.in/news/retail/amazon-great-indian-festival-2026-dates) says the festival is live. Amazon has not announced 2027 dates. Diwali 2027 is Friday 29 October, ten days earlier than in 2026 ([Dekho Panchang](https://www.dekhopanchang.com/en/festivals/diwali/2027/pune)). Plan for an earlier start, and confirm when Amazon announces.

## How to answer each Amazon offer

| Amazon does | You can do |
|---|---|
| 10% off on one bank's cards | A flat rupee offer for everyone, such as INR 200 off above INR 1,999 |
| Extra benefits for Prime members | An early link on WhatsApp for your repeat buyers |
| 8 PM Deals | Test your best offer or reminder in the evening |
| Ranked deal lists | Lead with your top three sellers, not the whole catalogue |

## A simple budget split

Say you have INR 3,00,000 for the festive month. One way to split it:

| Stage | Share | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Four weeks before | 30% | INR 90,000 |
| First 8 days of the sale | 50% | INR 1,50,000 |
| After the sale | 20% | INR 60,000 |

Your split will differ. The point is to hold half your money for the days when shoppers are ready to buy.

## If you sell on Amazon

- Check price, stock and delivery date on your listing before you send traffic to it. Ads that land on an out-of-stock listing waste spend.
- Send Meta traffic to your best-selling listings, not the whole range.
- Track [ROAS](/glossary/roas) per listing, since each one has its own margin.

## Mistakes to avoid

- Starting new campaigns on day one, when they have no time to learn
- Matching a discount you cannot afford; work out your margin first
- Fake scarcity. India's consumer regulator lists false urgency among 13 dark patterns in its [November 2023 guidelines](https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1983994)
- Running one ad for ten days; use the [launch checklist](/templates/launch-checklist-for-meta-ads) and swap in new versions

Navratri 2026 began on 11 October, three days after the sale. See [Navratri ad ideas](/campaigns/navratri-ad-ideas) for how the two overlap.

## FAQ

### When is the Great Indian Festival 2026?

It started on 8 October 2026, according to Amazon India's announcement as reported by Outlook Business (checked 2026-10-20).

### When is the Great Indian Festival 2027?

Amazon has not announced it. Diwali is on 29 October 2027, so plan for the build-up to start in September.

### Does it matter if I do not sell on Amazon?

Yes. Many brands push offers in the same weeks, so attention gets harder to win. Launch and test your ads before the festival, and run an offer of your own.

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