ITV

Tag: Travel

  • Zeel’s Ashish Sehgal’s positive ad outlook for Q1’23

    Zeel’s Ashish Sehgal’s positive ad outlook for Q1’23

    Mumbai: Ouch! Speak to any senior advertising or media agency official or even a broadcast sales executive, and they all seem to be yelping in pain, courtesy the evaporation of premium ad spends by innovative and new age digital startups. Forced by investors to tidy up their operations and balance-sheets, the latter have been focusing on consolidation, rather than going berserk spending big on giddying growth through advertising and marketing.

    However, this is not causing broadcast major Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) chief growth officer of ad sales Ashish Sehgal to have any sleepless nights. A sales veteran, he’s witnessed the ups and downs that the media industry goes through periodically – needless to say, he’s seen it all.

    Sehgal believes that the silver lining of the advertising drought is that the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) category has to an extent, come to the rescue and is cushioning some of the blows. He estimates that TV ad spends during the festive season, which is on currently, will show a growth of seven to eight per cent.

    Those used to the heady growth figures of 10-20 per cent may consider this too low, but one has to remember that this growth is coming in at a time of economic upheaval, crashing of global currencies, high fuel costs and rising inflation.

    “The way things have been while it was good, the festive season could have been better. The absence of new clients has made a difference. E-commerce has also reduced spending a bit. While inventory has been going jam-packed, the premium money has not come in the festive season. This has been made up for by the FMCGs to an extent, and TV will see an ad revenue growth during the festive season. This is a good sign as this category will continue to spend even beyond the festive season.”

    He also notes that the TV industry has gone in for a rate hike across the board, which was long overdue. TV viewership was affected in June and August. But post August, the number of eyeballs glued to TV has grown, which is why the FMCG category is spending a lot more.

    Sehgal highlights that general entertainment channels (GECs) are starting to get the reach that they were delivering earlier. Categories like beauty will count on the festive season heavily with the top five advertisers on TV coming in from FMCGs. He feels that the latter’s contribution to overall TV adex could rise by five per cent this festive season compared to the previous year.

    The scenario for 2023

    Sehgal believes that the situation can only improve going forward in Q1 ’23 with spends going up for television advertising and overall ad expenditure. “Every category may come back,” he reiterates.

    He says there are enough signals emanating from the market. Amongst them, the expected spurt in marketing spends by the automobile sector will fire more in the coming months.  “Demand was high during the festive season but supply was low due to the earlier supply issues. So they did not advertise much,” he declares. “They will spend some money in November and December to sell the remaining inventory. That may be a small burst. But now that production capacity has gone up, they will have new launches in Q1’23. That is when they will spend it.”

    “Also, for some new age categories, D2C companies like ed-tech could have digested their heady growth by then. Of course, the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) category – say companies like Policybazaar – will be strong in Q1’23, so some of the premium money that was missing in the festive season could come in then,” Sehgal asserts.

    Then, the funding tap for startups could once again open and start flowing by January 2023.

    “This year they have been trying to balance out their bottom line. How long will they continue to do that? They will have to look at growth as well. Hopefully, they will start triggering spends in Q1 ’23,” he says.

    According to him, with FMCG input costs going down, companies will be forced to pass on the benefits to customers through price cuts and promotions. “So they will have to advertise more to promote that,” he says. “A lot will hinge on FMCGs implementing price cuts and promotions. Right now, that has not happened, maybe due to a fear of raw material inflation returning.”

    But he says the FMCG companies would benefit immensely if they slash prices. “Consumer sentiment will bounce back. More consumption will happen. Things look good for Q1’23 as long as no adverse issues come from Europe and America.”

    Sehgal discloses that while travel and tourism ad spends have risen now, most of those are going into print and social media. “TV, too, will get some state tourism ad spend money whether it is on news media, GECs or on regional channels,” he says.

    He feels that while ad spend on OTT platforms is growing, it is seen as an add-on to TV – especially in entertainment. “Whenever there is a TV campaign, the same person likes to also advertise on OTT. OTT helps them add on to their TV reach. It is not an either-or situation,” he explains.

    For the industry’s sake and his too, here’s hoping Sehgal’s forecast does come true!

  • Explurger App downloaded by 1.3 mn users; expands footprint to 50+ countries

    Explurger App downloaded by 1.3 mn users; expands footprint to 50+ countries

    MUMBAI: Explurger, an AI-powered intuitive social media app that lets users connect and share their moments with friends and family online said that it has crossed several milestones in a short span of time. The gamified social media app has expanded its footprint to over 50 countries, been downloaded by 1.3 million users, and seen a three-fold increase with over 900,000 new members being added in just three months itself.

    Explurger App highlights:
    • Downloaded over a million times from the App Store and Play Store
    • Gained over 900,000 new users in three months
    • Over 226 million people have been invited by registered users
    • Users are on average spending 15-minutes on the app, which is at par with other popular social media apps
    • Over 612,897 ‘Explurger-ins’ (location check-ins) have been posted by users so far via the app
    • Users have cumulatively covered 63,179,971 miles, which is equivalent to circumnavigating the globe more than 2,537 times
    • A total of 190,794 rewards have been accessed through the app

    Till date, over 75 per cent of users who installed Explurger have synced their contacts with it, showing that they trust and enjoy this social media app and want their friends to join them as well. This has resulted in over 226 million invites being sent out by registered Explurger users to those who are not yet on this platform.

    Explurger founder & CEO Jitin Bhatia said, “Our sign-up rate increased substantially post-launch in June. We are seeing higher traction in engagement, with an increased number of posts per day. We appreciate the enthusiasm of our user community, which has steadily risen and has crossed the one million download mark in less than three months. There is no doubt the numbers will grow exponentially as our users continue inviting more people to come and create thriving travel communities on our platform.”

    Explurger also has an 80 per cent sign-up rate with an average engagement time of over 15 minutes, which is at par with other global social media apps. The app also claims to have a 90 per cent retention rate of users who have travelled over 1,000 miles and have AI-based travelogues in at least three cities.  

    “The bucket list has also turned out to be a popular feature in Explurger. If you see someone Explurge-in at an interesting place, you can add that place to your bucket list. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill bookmarking feature. The app will automatically remind you when you are in that area. So even if it happens after years and you have forgotten, Explurger will notify you that you had saved it in your list,” shared Explurger co-founder Sonu Sood.

    Explurger has been selected by Google as one of the top 100 promising startups and top 30 mobile startups in India. An AI-powered social media app with a gamified user experience, it lets users connect and share their moments with friends and family online. The app goes beyond just sharing pictures and videos, it uses cutting-edge AI to automatically create travelogues of the memories users share on their profile. Whenever a user creates a post or ‘Explurge-in’, the app’s AI updates the travelogue, so every mile, city, country, pub, and club gets added.

    Each user’s Explurger level goes up as in-app engagement increases, leading to more recognition on the platform. Users accrue rewards based on their activity, which in turn can be redeemed later. Currently, Explurger has more than 40 top brands on board as part of its rewards system and over 190,794 rewards have been accessed by users.

    Explurger has been part of the Appscale Academy, a growth and development programme launched by MeitY and Google, where Indian start-ups are mentored on building high-quality apps for a global audience. The social media start-up was also recently recognised by Google in its Top 10 Innovative Apps in India list.

  • Zee Zest has a 40% market share in the lifestyle category, says business head, Amit Nair

    Zee Zest has a 40% market share in the lifestyle category, says business head, Amit Nair

    Mumbai: Since its inception in 2020, Zee Entertainment Enterprises’ first lifestyle channel, Zee Zest, has established itself with a diverse and comprehensive lineup of shows.

    Zee Zest, which is known for its global content, hosts a great mix of Indian and international lifestyle and infotainment shows.

    The channel’s content includes food, travel, lifestyle, home improvement, wellness, culture, and do it yourself (DIY). Apart from producing travel category shows including Kahani Kashmir Ki, Shonar Bengal, Safari India, Mast Maharashtra, and Goan Gullies, the channel also has highly popular food shows like Patt-ay ki baat, Taste Ki Gully, Papad Pickles Aur Pyaala, Simple Korea, and The Baker’s Table.

    In an exclusive conversation with Indiantelevision.com, Zee Zest’s business head Amit Nair talked about the content & business strategy for Zee Zest shows. With a key focus on bringing original content to the platform, Nair added 100+ hours of original content every year across food & travel, in partnership with award-winning chefs, anchors, influencers, celebrities, and hosts. From documenting the evolving Indian culture and contextualizing it for modern sensibilities, he created a contemporary brand identity for both Living Foodz and Zee Zest, on-air, online, and on-ground.

    By delivering substantial revenue growth through a combination of advertisements, subscriptions, and syndication, Nair oversees all major functions of the brand, including business strategy, content, editorial, marketing, and product development.

    With over 10 years of experience at Zee Zest, he was instrumental in the acquisition of major international titles and the development of relationships with top international distributors such as BBC, Freemantle and Banijay. He also built mega tent poles, including “Ganga–The Soul of India” with Dia Mirza, “Station Master’s Tiffin” with Ranveer Brar, and “Fit, Fab and Feast” with Huma Qureshi.

    Edited Excerpts:

    On Zee zest’s viewership

    Amit: Zee Zest’s viewership is always in the top ranking. They have overshadowed their competitors every year. We have 40 per cent market share. There are five or six players in this market, and we always keep 40 to 42 per cent viewership as our benchmark to be there.

     On Indian content growth

    Amit: We are looking at a high-growth strategy right now. So we are investing significantly in content. Indian stories have more takers than international stories. When you create content for India or the Indian market, there are many more takers as compared to international stories. Our primary goal is to produce original content from India.

    On the importance of user-generated content

    Amit: Zee Zest is looking forward to collaborating with content creators to develop unique content, preferably recipe shows. Audiences watch user-generated content to be entertained as well as to learn something.

    User-generated content has its importance, and it’s something that we’ve also been keenly looking into because certain formats want to develop where a user is a central person where we can develop ideas and content around them.

    There are several formats currently. The easiest is the one where, if it’s a food show, you invite them to be part of the audience or share something that’s part of the entire theme of the particular show.

    Zee Zest will soon focus on user-generated content where users want to express themselves, their skills, and their talents. We are trying to balance this entire thing by keeping audiences engaged but at the same time engaging with our advertisers and with the users as well so that we bring them on a platform that gives them better reach.

    On Zee Zest’s online reach

    Amit: The channel has about three million users per month and is among the top 15 websites in the country. It’s a multi-platform brand. We don’t want Zee Zest to be just a television-centric brand. Since our users search for us or various media, they are different from TV. As a publishing platform, it makes perfect sense for us to not only provide a platform to watch a point of view, but also to serve as a handy guide for their lifestyle.

    The social media platform offers recipes and interactive content as a way to make it happen, while the channel offers interesting viewing content. Web platforms and events have become the two-way communication channels between the audience and the brand.

    Zee Zest is investing in the web platform as well. We’re also looking to buy a couple of untitled Intellectual Properties (IPs) this year, which will be mostly online. So several more ideas are being put into play. And all of this will be taking shape next year.

    On the competition in the OTT space

    Amit: Interest among the audience has remained unchanged. We always find our audiences when there is new content because that is when we create content that is entirely original, new, and innovative. It’s a mix of finding and wanting the content rather than the medium, which is particularly important.

    On regional collaborations

    Amit: Zee Zest, along with the network’s sub-channels (regional channels), is venturing into various regional collaborations. While Mast Maharashtra and Sonar Bengal are already on Zee Zest’s channel, the upcoming show Highway Dream will start in mid-September and will be on Zee’s south sub-channel. There are a lot of insights, knowledge, audience insights, and so on.

    On new content and ideas

    Amit: We have a great ideation cell internally, which manages to churn out some interesting formats and ideas. Now, these ideas are also taken to advertisers, where they find fitment. The newly launched eight-episode series Luxe Pins aims to let the audience experience exclusivity through the host’s eyes.

  • “We have penetrated globally, and that shows the strength of our content”: Travelxp’s co-founder & CEO Prashant Chothani

    “We have penetrated globally, and that shows the strength of our content”: Travelxp’s co-founder & CEO Prashant Chothani

    Mumbai: Having endured two difficult years due to Covid-19, travel channel Travelxp is now looking at strong growth. Travelxp co-founder & CEO Prashant Chothani said that the broadcaster, which recently launched in Portugal, will also expand its presence in 10 more countries in future. It will also triple the content output compared to pre-Covid. He mentioned that the broadcaster is profitable while noting that content costs have more than doubled, in part due to sharply rising airfares.

    In an interaction with Indiantelevision.com, he said, “We have just launched in Portugal, which is our 81st country and 21st language. We will launch in 10 more countries in the upcoming months. We will soon be introducing a dedicated feed for Latin America. The aim is to enter more markets. We will ramp up our content & production initiatives to make up for the time that we lost due to Covid-19. As you know, we are a travel channel and nobody could travel. So, producing travel content was impossible. That was the biggest drawback. Now we are ramping up content production like never before. The aim is to cater to the accelerated market growth and demand.” 

    Growing during Covid-19: In India, the channel is produced in English and then dubbed into Hindi, Bengali, and Tamil. More Indian languages will come by the end of the year or the beginning of next year. “We will launch at least three to four new languages in India.” He maintains that the channel is profitable. 

    He added, “Even during Covid-19, our subscription revenues almost doubled worldwide. 95 per cent of our revenues come from subscriptions. During Covid-19 we did several distribution deals. People were sitting at home and viewing the world. We have almost grown two times. India was stagnant. 95 per cent of our revenues come from subscriptions. We are largely a subscription-driven business globally. Advertising is something that we introduced recently.”

    “Audiences’ minds are open when they watch us, and they are in a great mood to receive advertiser messages. The communication impact is much higher. People are in a happy state of mind when they watch us. We have very high-end advertisers who value the kind of audience that we bring. The plan going forward is to ramp up marketing initiatives, affiliate marketing initiatives, and work with platforms around the world. Viewers will be updated on the content being produced,” Chothani said.

    Content costs: He noted that the content production costs have at least doubled and, in some cases, have tripled. The cost of travel has shot up. “The flight that earlier cost Rs 40,000 now costs Rs 1,20,000. Also, content production costs are at an all-time high. But at the same time, we will produce three times the amount of content compared to pre-Covid. We have to do justice to the platforms that we are present on. We have to showcase not only good but the best quality content.”

    Distribution: He maintains that not being part of a distribution network is not an issue. Today, he said, with the NTO (new tariff order), Trai wants to de-bundle. Success, he maintains, is about a channel’s USP and not being part of a network. “Nobody produces the kind of content that we do. We have penetrated globally, and that shows the strength of our content. We talk to mainstream audiences in various countries. In India too, there is an advantage. It all does not boil down to the network. That is irrelevant if the content is bad. If the content is good, anybody can sell it.” He added that NTO will keep on evolving. “People have different views on it. It is confusing. Where it will go, there is no clarity. It is caught between regulation and litigation. There is also no clarity between linear and non-linear as the latter is not regulated.”

    “The distribution platforms have been impacted more. People work around it, which means that you adjust your business plans. There is both a B2B2C and D2C business. It depends on where you are and how you are being impacted. I think that DD Freedish may be a bigger issue for some broadcasters and platforms than the NTO. With changing times, channels have to change. If viewership is falling for a channel, then the programming strategy for that channel may not be correct. Or in the case of a platform, maybe the platform does not have the channel that subscribers want. It is not that viewership per se is falling. It is just that viewers have gone elsewhere. For us, we are happy with the viewership.”

    At the same time, he also noted that distribution platforms have to make an effort to educate consumers about the content available on various channels. In a B2B2C, the B in the middle has to properly market to the C at the end. “There has to be the proper focus between both the Bs to reach out to the C.”

    Content strategy: In terms of shows on Travelxp, he said that they are about the destination, food, culture, history, and heritage. The aim is to have the travel experience percolate into the viewer’s mind. “It is about having travel content that is informative, well researched, and produced with the highest production quality. This makes the difference. It is not a fiction show where you have to think of new stories. We have to ideate new ways of experiential travel that can be introduced and what new destinations in the content line-up can be showcased. Till now, we have filmed in 65 odd countries. There are always new ways of presenting content and presenting a destination. Each piece of content is unique. It is completely different.”

    Shedding light on the amount of time it takes to produce a show, he said, “It takes nine to 10 months to create a show of two to three hours. Research takes two months at least. One month is spent on pre-production, getting the required permissions, etc. One to 1.5 months is spent on production. Then two months are devoted to post-production in terms of things like colouring, grading, etc. It is like making a movie. We will make a movie about that destination. You cannot go wrong when it comes to research. It is not like filming for a social media platform. You cannot take away from what they are doing, but the audience there consumes it for fun.”

    “People consume us for information, knowledge, entertainment, and infotainment. People come to us. On social media, travel content comes to you. It is content that comes by the way. People, on the other hand, watch Travelxp by appointment,” he explained.

    The travel scenario: He noted that right now there is a huge boom in travel and it is about revenge travel. But he also explains that things will be moderated in a few months. He does not think that Covid-19 and monkeypox will be a challenge. People, he noted today, do not care about it. “I don’t think people are even bothered about them. Nobody is withdrawing from travel due to any threat. Unless something dramatic happens, there will be no impact,” he said.

    The potential inflation impact: He does, however, concede that inflation is a challenge. The challenge will be seen months down the line. That is because people plan their travels slightly in advance. So the inflation impact on travel will come up pretty late. There is a time lag. He noted, “The cause and effect time lag will be there, and at the same time, revenge travel will settle down. Between 3-6 months, you will see revenge travel moderately. Things will become real.”

    “Inflationary pressures will add to the travel impact. There will be a scale down from the travel levels that are being seen now. This is a temporary travel boom being seen now. My hope, though, is that more and more people will want to travel now, which will be very good for us and other travel stakeholders. Earlier, travel was a luxury. Now people view travel as a necessity.”

    Travelxp, he added, also plays the role of a memory re-collector for viewers who have visited a destination that is being showcased. “It is also a great infotainment entertainer. You want informational content that gives you relief from the pressure of the inflationary times that we live in. Viewers get refreshed and inspired by our content. Viewers relive memories with us. People remember our content for a long, long time.”

    The challenge: Right now, the challenge for the travel industry is that the stakeholders, like airports, are struggling to cope with the huge demand. “Fares are exorbitantly high; airports and hotels are facing financial pressure. Revenge travel is happening. People just want to travel. We are exploring new destinations. We are also revisiting destinations that we have covered in the past, and we aim to show viewers how they can explore the same destination in a new way. Our job is to excite travellers,” he said.

    Being about the big screen: On digital, Travelxp has an app which was launched in the previous quarter. But he stressed that content created is meant to be watched on the television set, not on the mobile. That is why features like augmented reality will not play a role in Travelxp.

    “Travelxp is a big-screen television experience. We are not producing content for mobile phones. There you fight with the likes of Youtube and Instagram, where user-generated content comes into play. Television cannot work for augmented reality. Even on non-linear apps, everything has shifted to the television set.”

    He also noted that it is a false statement that content viewership is migrating from TV to OTT. People are also taking OTT and are also watching linear TV. It remains to be seen if OTT growth remains high. The base was low, he explains. In the long run, the current distribution platforms like Tata Play and Hathway will offer an aggregated offering of linear and non-linear. The aggregator model also has a role in Travelxp’s distribution plans, he explains. “The future will see everything available. You can buy an app on a standalone basis and also through the aggregator route, where both TV channels and OTT apps are available in one place.”

  • Explurger’s efforts to create an impact on the online travel community

    Explurger’s efforts to create an impact on the online travel community

    MUMBAI: Actor, philanthropist Sonu Sood and tech entrepreneur Jitin Bhatia have launched a travel based social media app Explurger. They claim that half a million users from over 40 countries are already present on its beta version. The app creates automatic travelogues by using artificial intelligence. It gamifies the social experience and rewards users for being socially active.

    Talking to Indiantelevision.com Explurger founder, CEO Jitin Bhatia noted that the idea came to him a few years back “I remember that I had come back from a place that I had visited. I had been to that place many times. I looked at social networks where I had earlier shared photos and content to find out how many times I had been to that place but I could not find any travelogue. That is where the whole concept of a social media app for travellers came to my mind. While users share photos and videos and get a few likes, comments after a few hours or days that content becomes history. Everyone forgets about it. So, I felt the need to create a social media app where every time a user creates a post and shares a photo or a video the A.I. in the app automatically creates a travelogue.

    “It keeps track of the miles, cities, places that the user has been to without any extra effort from the user’s side. That was the eureka moment for me and I started speaking to my friend Sonu Sood. He also had the vision that there should be a made in India social media app that is used by global audiences.”

    Bhatia added that the aim was also to give something back to users who share so much content and information. “In other networks they spend so much time but they do not get anything back in return. We combined these two concepts and we also decided to give rewards to users for being socially active. This is the second differentiator in our app. Another differentiator is that this is a social media app that uses gamification. The user level goes up every time a post is shared. The user earns Explurger counts. Higher the level more is the user’s recognition on the platform. This is how Explurger was born.”

    On the investment side he said that the app was bootstrapped initially. Last year a pre-series round of $1 million was raised. “Even then people had no idea of Sonu Sood being involved. We went out in the market and the virality around the beta version was good enough to raise the pre-series round. From three people we now have 22 people. We have reached a level where we can go global. In the past six months we have got users from over 40 countries.”

    On the revenue side he said that there will be five sources. “We have not started monetisation yet but we are looking to do so in the coming six months. We are looking at raising series A. We will close it soon and in a year’s time from now we expect three of those revenue streams to be active.”

    He added that so far 39 brands have tied up with the app and that is how rewards are being given to users. These, he said, are category A brands and the app is talking to global brands also including an airline. “More brands will come on-board. Brands want the amplification of their brand name.”

    The aim of the app is to create a solid base of content creators who will be rewarded. “In addition, we are looking to monetise the content that is created. This is the second phase. Revenue will be shared. Alliances are being done with different partners.”

    Bhatia added that Sonu Sood is not a brand ambassador.   “He is my partner, co-founder and is fully involved in the product. I handle the technology side. On the creative side he is fully involved. In fact, we have two offices in Delhi and Mumbai and we have our tech team sit in Delhi while in Mumbai we have our creative team. This is where he plays a big role. He also plays a big role in terms of the user acquisition.  He is well known on social media. People love him.  He has over three million followers across social media.”

    He said that the opportunity for his app is that 76 percent of four billion global social media users share pictures while on the move. That means around three billion people and this is the potential market. On the promotional and marketing activities front he said that so far user growth has been organic in the apps’ beta version. Now as Sonu Sood has been unveiled to the people as co-founder Bhatia is sure that many people who love the actor would start coming. 

    “He is a known personality. Our intention is to grow the app through word of mouth.  This will happen only if the product speaks for itself.  Our goal is to improve the product and features.

    On the tech front he said that the challenge is to come up with new ideas that have never been seen before. “The kind of concept that we have has not been done before by anyone.  A lot of R&D (research and development) was required in creation, developing new algorithms around the app. But user acquisition has not been a challenge. As we improved the app the usage also improved. Now we have to make sure that the product keeps engaging people. They must use it on a day-to-day basis.”

    With Sonu Sood as his partner, the Explurger idea might well travel.

  • Actor Sonu Sood & Tech entrepreneur Jitin Bhatia launch a travel based social media app ‘Explurger’

    Actor Sonu Sood & Tech entrepreneur Jitin Bhatia launch a travel based social media app ‘Explurger’

    Mumbai: Actor and philanthropist Sonu Sood & tech entrepreneur Jitin Bhatia have launched a travel-based social media app Explurger. They claim that half a million users from over 40 countries are already present on the beta version of the app. The app creates automatic travelogues by using artificial intelligence. It gamifies the social experience and rewards users for being socially active. 

    Explurger, which targets the travel community, claims to be the first social media app that offers rewards for its users to be active on its platform. Also, the more a user engages with the platform the higher the Explurger level goes. This results in more recognition on the platform. It creates a personalised travelogue for each user. Every time a user creates a post or an Explurge-in, the app’s artificial intelligence updates the travelogue, so every mile, city, country, pub, club,etc., get added to it. So travelling within one’s own city and exploring new areas also counts. The app has features like a bucket list and future travel plans.

    Explurger co-founder actor Sonu Sood explains that exploring new places is a passion of his. “So Explurger is basically borne out of this love for visiting new places and sharing them with my friends & family. Teaming up with Jitin to develop a made in India social media app for the world is akin to a new journey for me and I am super excited to put India through Explurger on the global map.”

    Explurger founder and CEO Jitin Bhatia noted that humans are travellers and social beings & Explurger will help them discover real travel itineraries written by real travellers with real route maps, photos and guides. “Explurger is an indigenous app platform that facilitates this in a unique and intuitive way, rewarding users for their posts on their travel updates, triggering wanderlust in followers and spreading positivity among the online community.”

  • Guest Column: Hospitality brands repositioning themselves in the market post-pandemic

    Guest Column: Hospitality brands repositioning themselves in the market post-pandemic

    Mumbai: The pandemic has affected a substantial amount of businesses globally and has severely impacted the travel and the hospitality sector. The Indian hotel industry has suffered losses of Rs 620 crore. The hotel chain and standalone hotel segments are expected to lose more than Rs 130-155 crore, while the alternate accommodation category is expected to lose more than Rs 420-470 crore. This has changed the way hospitality brands used to engage and position themselves in the market.

    During the pandemic as the restrictions were imposed, the restaurants and F&B services of the hospitality brands managed to survive through home delivery of food, which was possible through service partners like Zomato, Swiggy, Uber eats, etc. The experience of fine dining, the ambience, ordering through a menu card, and the special hospitality services that customers used to gain were completely lost. Now that the pandemic restrictions have been lifted, they will expect more from these hospitality brands, as people no longer circumspect about the food they eat but it is about the services that they experience. This emerges the need for brands to invest in strong marketing and consumer engagement plans which will help them to stand out from their competitors.

    With the help of an effective PR strategy, these hospitality brands can once again gain visibility among their stakeholders and consumers, using announcement campaigns or a simple consumer engagement campaign. This can help in announcing their return to business with newer offerings and covid appropriate services, etc. thereby engaging with and reassuring their customers.

    Here are some of the benefits that the hospitality brands can obtain with a strong PR campaign to win back visibility and business opportunities:

    Brand positioning

    With a strong marketing and consumer engagement plan, the hospitality brand will be able to create a top of mind recall among the customers. With the change in the market scenario, most businesses have to innovate and create covid appropriate solutions and services, while also focusing on their existing products. A well-planned PR campaign can help hospitality brands to be relevant and effective in the new market.

    Long term customer loyalty

    An effective PR campaign can help in building the lost touch and renew customer relationships that were present before the pandemic. Through effective media engagement, brands can build transparency, trust, and credibility for the brand and in turn create visibility and rebuild a set of loyal customers.

    Helps build a narrative for the business

    A PR specialist can help in forming a strong narrative for the company, be it talking about the sanitized and safe environment, special menus, newer innovations in services and focused customer service. This helps in building an appropriate solution based on the scenario. With a better understanding of the problem, a PR specialist can accurately offer solutions by using the right phrases to help build the image of the brand.

    Ease of doing business

    PR campaigns that are developed around spokesperson profiling through interviews, industry story participation, opinion pieces and authored content, etc. can help in the building thought leadership and help in targeting the relevant customers. This in return gives the brand better support in the market among the stakeholders, resulting in ease of doing business.

    More engaging campaigns

    With the help of a PR specialist, hospitality brands can connect with their target customers with more engaging programs, which in return will increase brand engagement. These programs can be centered through experiences, which is possible by optimizing the product offering, complementary events, gigs/ live music, special celebrity appearances, etc. which is a great way to promote the brand, engage with the target audience and ultimately boost sales.

    With the help of an effective PR campaign, hospitality brands can reposition themselves with a strong PR narrative which can help them garner visibility and build the right image of themselves post-pandemic. Partnering with a good PR agency will help you combat these difficulties and provide solutions that will give you a strong head start to successful growth in the hospitality sector.

    The author is Anindita Gupta, Co-Founder, Scenic Communication

  • Thomas Cook India posts consolidated income growth of 46% to Rs 3,573 mn

    Thomas Cook India posts consolidated income growth of 46% to Rs 3,573 mn

    Mumbai: India’s leading omnichannel travel services, Thomas Cook announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31 March 2022 reflecting a strong rebound with sustained improvement in profitability despite the third wave of Covid-19 (reducing the effective quarter to 45 days), growing geopolitical concerns and a highly delayed restart of India’s scheduled commercial flights.

    TCIL has reported consolidated operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) of Rs 239 million, a 19 per cent growth over Rs 201 million in Q3 FY22 against a previously reported loss of Rs 361 million in Q4 FY21. The consolidated income from operations for the quarter grew by 46 per cent from Rs 3,573 million for Q4 FY21 to Rs 5,221 million in Q4 FY22. The cash and bank balances of the company at a consolidated level as on 31 March 2022 are at Rs 6,399 million. The company continued its focus on cost prudence with reduced costs for Q4 FY22 at Rs 2,754 million, registering 37 percent saving at pre-pandemic levels in Q4 FY20.

    According to the reports, TCIL standalone operating Ebitda of Rs 28 million against a loss of Rs 74 million in Q3 FY22 was led by strong sales recovery by Forex 56 percent and business travel 50 percent. The trend continued in April 2022 with foreign exchange, corporate travel and domestic holidays registering a recovery of 62 percent, 81 percent and 85 percent of pre-pandemic sales respectively.

    TCIL income from operations for the quarter grew by 25 per cent from Rs 636 million in Q4 FY21 to Rs 794 million. The margins for the holiday business & foreign exchange grew by 326 bps and 29 bps, respectively.

    The company continued its focus on cost prudence with reduced costs for Q4 FY22 at Rs 767 million, registering a 51 per cent saving from pre-pandemic levels of Q4 FY20.

    The company’s sustained focus on technology delivered end-to-end digitization across its businesses, including B2C and B2B self-booking/servicing tools and dynamic customization, vendor management and automated accounting/payment solutions. The digital acceleration serves to further augment the company’s omnichannel model towards an enriched customer experience, cost and efficiency benefits.

    Thomas Cook’s managing director Madhavan Menon said, “Despite the Omicron wave reducing the quarter to 45 days and the reopening of Indian skies for scheduled international flights only on 27 March, our teams have delivered a commendable performance this quarter with an operating Ebitda of Rs 239 million. The group’s strong performance was led by foreign exchange, business travel, sterling holidays, DEI & desert Adventures. With other markets opening up, we expect the other group companies to stage quick recoveries too.”

    “Our focus on sustainable cost management balanced with a thrust on technology over the past three years is delivering results in the form of speed, productivity and improved customer experience. Recovery is accelerating continually, with our foreign exchange, corporate travel and domestic holidays businesses registering an estimated sales recovery of 57 percent, 81 percent and 99 percent of pre-pandemic levels as of the end of May 2022 and strong pipelines for the coming quarter and beyond,” Menon added.

  • Travelxp to launch ‘The Gypsies’ Season 2 in association with Maharashtra Tourism

    Travelxp to launch ‘The Gypsies’ Season 2 in association with Maharashtra Tourism

    The leading travel channel Travelxp has announced the launch of The Gypsies season 2 in association with Maharashtra Tourism. 

    Produced by Travelxp, the exclusive twelve episode show, divided into nine episodes and four mini-episodes will be telecast from 30 April, 2022 across the Travelxp TV channel network and OTT platform.

    Featuring international TV presenter, Reanne Brown and leading Indian host and TV actress, Krissann Barretto, the show aims to promote Maharashtra as an adventure tourist destination and will feature Building on the success of season 1 of The Gypsies.

    The strategic association will enable Maharashtra Tourism to showcase its unexplored destinations and influence a wider audience to experience adventure tourism within the state.

    The show will further offer Maharashtra Tourism access to its core target audience of travel enthusiasts across the channel’s network. 

    The series is shot across some of Maharashtra’s most exciting, picturesque locations. From trekking across Kalsubai Peak, the highest point in Maharashtra, to devouring some delicious homemade Kolhapuri food. From bungee Jumping in Kusgaon, Pune to relaxing on Guhagar beach, the show captures the fearless duo as they leave no stone unturned in rediscovering the very best adventure experiences Maharashtra has to offer. 

    Maharashtra Tourism principal secretary Valsa Nair Singh said, “There is huge potential for adventure tourism in the state. Through key partnerships like this, we look to persuade aspiring travellers across the country to experience the unexplored adventure destinations in the state. This collaboration with Travelxp perfectly showcases Maharashtra in a way that has never been seen before”.

    Travelxp 4K HD regional head – sales Altaf Ladak commented, “We are delighted to showcase the adventure offerings of Maharashtra to aspiring travelers across the country through the power of 4K HDR content. In a period where travel is witnessing a resurgence, this strategic association will allow Travelxp to be at the heart of positioning Maharashtra as one of the most attractive adventure destinations for tourists.”

  • Cleartrip’s latest ad gives travellers liberty to ‘Book Abhi, Travel Kabhi Bhi’

    Cleartrip’s latest ad gives travellers liberty to ‘Book Abhi, Travel Kabhi Bhi’

    Mumbai: While people had just resumed their travel journeys, conversations around the new Covid-19 variant have curbed some of the enthusiasm once again, adding to the hassles around planning a trip. Keeping this in mind, online travel company Cleartrip has launched its latest advertising campaign. 

    The campaign reflects the brand as the most flexible travel partner for consumers in times of uncertainty, drawing upon customer-centric flagship products which take care of uncertainties around travel planning.

    Talking about the campaign, Lowe Lintas chief creative officer Sagar Kapoor said, “Cancelling or postponing a vacation or a trip can be a tedious and often expensive affair. This is what stops people from making plans and bookings in advance. And this is where Cleartrip’s features like EzCancel and Flexifly come in – by giving travellers the opportunity to plan travel with complete peace of mind. So, we crafted a campaign that brought alive all the joys of travel planning and negated all the pains and uncertainty associated with it. The cast added charm and believability to the stories. And the treatment drove home the point – don’t just dream about travel, start planning for it.”

    Based on key insights, the latest campaign conceptualised by Lowe Lintas Bangalore, highlights the travel app’s product offerings like offering 100 per cent refund on cancellations and enabling consumers to change plans easily. Launched with the idea of ‘Book abhi and Cancel kabhi Bhi, the offering makes travel plans truly flexible. While cancelling or postponing travel plans were so far costly choices, the Flipkart Group company, through its latest campaign, informs consumers that these options are readily and economically available to them when they book travel plans through the platform.

    “With consumer sentiments at their peak during the holiday season, we predicted travel aspirations to increase as well,” Cleartrip chief marketing officer Kunal Dubey said. “The latest campaign celebrates this excitement of planning a holiday while diminishing the ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’. We are confident that this ad campaign will resonate with the travellers and give them the confidence to book their holiday plan without worries.”