Navigating media-dark, how brands market without advertising

In some industries, where regulations restrict direct advertising, marketing becomes a true test of ingenuity. The pharmaceutical sector, for example, often operates in a media-dark environment — one where companies cannot openly promote prescription medicines to the public. Despite these limitations, brands continue to find innovative and ethical ways to build awareness and trust among consumers through education, advocacy, and lifestyle-driven engagement.

Apeejay School, Noida alumnus Sidhant Mohanty, now a Strategy Consultant at Accenture Strategy & Consulting, offers a glimpse into how brands operate in such a restricted space. “We employ surrogate marketing since we can’t directly use the brand of a company,” he explains.

“This involves using the brand to run campaigns around the brand. We collaborate with influencers for campaigns like ‘Kings are made overnight with…’ and the name of our brand, without ever mentioning the name of the company. We also partner with football fans, promote match-day experiences, and work with music events and IPL teams to build associations. Through these efforts, we cover three passion points: Sports, music, and lifestyle.”

The idea behind surrogate marketing is to sustain brand recall without breaking advertising laws. It allows companies to use alternative products, like as soda, music CDs, or merchandise, to carry the same name and imagery as the main brand. These campaigns are often tied to lifestyle experiences, sports fandom, or entertainment, helping the brand remain visible in culturally relevant ways.

As Mohanty adds, such initiatives always respect regulations and never directly promote what the actual brand is. They instead focus on brand storytelling and consumer engagement. His insights underline how modern marketing, even under constraints, is driven by ingenuity, compliance, and an understanding of human passion points — proof that even in the media-dark, brands can still shine bright.