e4m Award
Bengaluru: Vijay Karnataka’s community-led culinary initiative, VK Karunada Svaada, has won Gold in the Best Use of Experiential Marketing category at the e4m Indian Marketing Awards – South 2026, recognising its efforts to turn Karnataka ’s diverse food traditions into a large-scale engagement platform.
The recognition, organisers said, underscores how media brands can create engagement that goes beyond conventional audience reach by combining content, participation and real-world experiences. Built around food as a powerful cultural connector, Karunada Svaada sought to bring the state’s home cooks, communities, readers and brands together through authentic culinary experiences. The initiative was based on the insight that Karnataka’s culinary traditions vary significantly across regions and that much of this knowledge is preserved within homes rather than restaurants or cookbooks. Brands were integrated into the culinary journey through contextual partnerships. Freedom Healthy Cooking Oils came on board as Presenting Sponsor, while EXO partnered as Healthy Tiffin Partner and KMF Nandini as Dairy Partner. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Bengaluru | Silver Rate in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru | Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Petrol Price in Bengaluru | Diesel Price in Bengaluru | CNG Price in Bengaluru | LPG Price in Bengaluru
The initiative travelled across 77 towns in all 31 districts of Karnataka, engaging more than 7,000 women home cooks through activations. It reached over 20,000 participants and family members across nearly 80 events, before culminating in two semifinals and a grand finale. The initiative marked a shift in the relationship between the newspaper and its audience, turning readers from passive consumers of food content into active participants and storytellers.