MAM
India’s experience economy grows as live events market hits Rs 13,000 crore
EY-Parthenon and BookMyShow report finds 78 per cent Indians prefer experiences over products
MUMBAI: India’s live entertainment scene is no longer just about music, comedy or festivals. It is increasingly becoming a powerful stage for brands seeking deeper connections with consumers.
A new report titled Beyond Attention, Into Immersion by EY-Parthenon and BookMyShow suggests that India’s experience economy is entering a strong growth phase, driven by consumers who are choosing memorable moments over material purchases.
According to the study, the country’s live events ecosystem, which includes concerts, comedy tours, festivals and immersive exhibitions, is estimated to reach around Rs 13,000 crore in 2025. The growth reflects a broader cultural shift in how Indians spend their time and money.
The report finds that 78 per cent of Indian consumers now prefer spending on experiences rather than physical products. From attending concerts and festivals to participating in interactive brand installations, audiences are increasingly seeking engagement, community and shareable moments.
This change in consumer behaviour is particularly evident among younger audiences who want to participate rather than simply watch. Instead of passively consuming entertainment, many now look for experiences that allow them to interact, express themselves and connect with like minded communities.
For marketers, this shift has turned experiential marketing into a strategic priority rather than a promotional add on. Brands are moving away from interruption driven advertising and towards immersive formats that allow consumers to discover, test and emotionally connect with products.
The report suggests that experiential marketing now plays a role across the entire consumer journey. It can spark brand discovery, strengthen storytelling, encourage product trials and ultimately influence purchase decisions and loyalty.
The impact is already visible. Post event surveys conducted among 7,450 attendees at major events including Lollapalooza India and concerts by Ed Sheeran and Guns N’ Roses highlight the effectiveness of these experiences.
Around 59 per cent of attendees recalled brands they interacted with during the events, while 55 per cent said those interactions increased their likelihood of purchasing from the brand. A further 63 per cent reported that brand activations actually enhanced their event experience rather than distracting from it. Nearly 29 per cent also said the interaction improved their perception of the brand.
Brands are also changing the way they approach events. Instead of simply putting logos on stages or banners, companies are building experiences into the fabric of the event itself.
Financial services brands, for example, are offering early ticket access, exclusive lounges and curated event experiences for cardholders. Fashion and beauty companies are using festivals to showcase products through pop ups, interactive installations and social media friendly spaces that encourage visitors to share their experiences online.
The scope of experiential marketing now stretches far beyond live entertainment. Retailers are designing experiential stores where customers can explore products in lifelike environments. Entertainment platforms are extending popular intellectual properties into immersive exhibitions and fan events. Technology is also playing a growing role through augmented reality and virtual try on tools that blend digital discovery with physical interaction.
Cultural festivals remain one of the most powerful platforms for such engagement in India. Celebrations such as Navratri and Holi bring together large communities, emotional participation and heightened consumer spending. For brands, these moments offer an opportunity to become part of the celebration rather than simply advertise around it.
Despite the momentum, the report notes that some companies still hesitate to adopt experiential marketing at scale. Budget constraints, limited expertise and uncertainty around measuring return on investment remain common concerns.
However, the growing body of data around consumer engagement and brand impact is gradually addressing these challenges. More marketers are expected to allocate a larger share of their budgets to experiential formats over the coming years.
Taken together, the findings point to a clear trend. As consumers seek meaning, memories and moments worth sharing, live experiences are emerging as one of the most powerful ways for brands to stay relevant in a crowded media landscape.
MAM
Reliance-Meta AI JV names Parminder Singh as CEO
REIL, backed 70 per cent by Reliance and 30 per cent by Meta, targets enterprise AI scale.
MUMBAI: India’s AI ambitions just found their chief navigator and the roadmap looks anything but small. Reliance Enterprise Intelligence Limited (REIL), the enterprise AI joint venture between Reliance Industries Limited (70 per cent) and Meta Platforms (30 per cent), has appointed Parminder Singh as its founding Chief Executive Officer, signalling a serious push to scale artificial intelligence adoption across Indian businesses.
The mandate is ambitious: fuse Meta’s AI capabilities with Reliance’s enterprise reach, AI compute infrastructure, and the nationwide connectivity of Jio to build a full-stack enterprise AI ecosystem. In simpler terms, REIL is positioning itself as both the engine and the highway for India’s AI journey.
Singh brings a heavyweight résumé to the role, with leadership stints across Google, Apple, Twitter, and IBM. His experience spans large-scale digital transformations across Asia-Pacific, most notably at Mediacorp, where he led an AI-driven overhaul as Chief Commercial and Digital Officer.
More recently, he co-founded Clayboxai, an advisory firm focused on building AI fluency within organisations, and Wekamp, an AI-powered community platform currently in pilot both signalling his continued focus on practical, enterprise-led AI adoption.
The appointment comes at a moment when India’s AI narrative is shifting from experimentation to execution. Akash Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm, described enterprise AI as a “generational opportunity”, noting that Singh’s mix of global expertise and regional understanding makes him central to REIL’s next phase.
For Singh, the decision appears equally deliberate. A conversation with Ambani during a trip to New Zealand, he said, framed the opportunity as one that could shape the future of enterprise AI in India, a proposition difficult to ignore.
At its core, REIL is betting on a gap in the market, enterprises need not just cutting-edge technology, but a partner that understands local business realities. With Reliance’s scale and Meta’s AI backbone, the venture is positioning itself as that bridge.
If execution matches ambition, this is less about launching another tech venture and more about laying the groundwork for how Indian enterprises think, build, and scale with AI in the years ahead.
