Come any festival and brands are quick to jump the ?special promotion? bandwagon of how to colour themselves in light of the occasion. And the unique Indian festival Raksha Bandhan that celebrates the bond between a brother and sister gives brands that perfect opportunity. 

From special product launches on online shopping portals, to coupons, limited edition offers, free gifts and hampers to marketing on special concepts for the season, brands have gone all out this year to make Raksha Bandhan a special affair.

While this is a common practice, there are many brands who stepped above the noise and used a sensible and thoughtful approach to their promotions. Here are a few of them:

1. Cadbury: When it comes to special family occasions there is no product better placed than Cadbury in bringing out the festival?s flavour, especially for Raksha Bandhan. Time and again, Cadbury Celebrations, has been the saviour for those forgetful brothers, who remember to buy a gift for their sister in the very last minute. This year, the brand has focused on the ?khatta meetha? or love hate relationship between brothers and sisters.

The new Cadbury Celebrations TVC from Contract Advertising sheds light upon the fact that the aim of the festival has shifted from just being about protecting sisters, to deepening the bond between brother and sister through playful banter.

2. Blue Dart: For those brothers and sisters who are separated by distance and cannot reach each other physically, Blue Dart has come up with a unique service called the ?Rakhi Express.? With a wide network of 34,285 locations across India and 220 countries and territories worldwide, every sister can now send Rakhis anywhere in India or internationally and be assured of timely and secured delivery. What?s more, apart from their return gift from their brothers, they can now expect exciting gifts from the delivery service provider as well. Lucky girls can win an iPhone 6 and 50 Titan Wrist Watches on domestic shipments and Rs 1000 worth talktime for two winners daily on international shipments. All they have to do is fill a slogan form that makes them eligible for a lucky draw.

3. Best Deal TV: The home shopping channel, which is known for getting popular actors on board as brand ambassadors, has stressed on the time factor this Raksha Bandhan. Understanding how busy lives get post childhood, and how little we get to spend with our sibling, this Rakhi, the channel encourages its viewers to treasure the time they get on the day with their sibling. To reinforce the idea, Best Deal TV launched their special offer on the theme ?Rishton Ki Ghari, Ghari Ke Saath.? The channel is giving away wristwatches from the house of Tim Berto with every purchase of over Rs 1999 from their channel or site.

4. Foodpanda: Food is an intricate part of any festival and Raksha Bandhan is no exception. In fact, Rakhi would be incomplete without the delectable dishes and sweets that are associated with the festival. In order to make your gastronomical experience better this Rakhi, online food delivery portal Foodpanda has come up with several offers, wherein customers can avail of discount up to 30 per cent from eating outlets across cities if they order via Foodpanda.

5. When everyone is cashing in on this festive occasion, why should social networking giant, Facebook be left behind? This Raksha Bandhan, Facebook has come up with a shopping festival with a ?Tied Together? initiative that works perfectly for the occasion. According to a media report, Facebook has set up a website in association with GroupM, wherein Facebook would use its subscriber base and platform to drive traffic to the shopping site. While not entirely thoughtful, it is a clever way to launch the shopping festival at an appropriate time.