Delhi
As the number of Indian travellers grows, travel companies in India are upping their game to garner a share of their wallets. The latest to do so in Expedia India. It has decided to spend Rs 50 crore for marketing its services int he country in 2014. Advertising agency Lowe Lintas has been hired for a new campaign to educate Indian traveller’s about Expedia’s product proposition of being the world’s largest online travel company. The company claims to have an inventory of more than 260,000 hotels, over 438 airlines and 7,500 holiday activities and attractions from across the world.
Manmeet Ahluwalia, head, Marketing, Expedia India, says that his company has seen that more Indian travellers now do their research online. They are looking for most affordable deals on hotel prices with there being little negotiation on flight prices. “The money they save is spent on shopping or consuming experiences like spa, theme parks and casinos. Some extend their hotel stay for a longer holiday and some choose room upgrades,” he says.
Expedia’s campaign – “what’s your hotel type’ has been designed keeping in mind such insights. “Expedia is in a position to offer huge discounts on hotels and thus enabling the travelers to spend less and experience more during their holiday”, says Ahluwalia.
The ad for campaign has been designed as an animation and has a catchy jingle. Shayondeep Pal, Group Creative Director, Lowe Lintas further explains the idea. “We all have our favourite vacation spots. We also associate those vacation spots with the hotels we’ve stayed in. That red-roof cottage in the hills. Or the secluded bungalow on the beach. So it was a simple connection. Whatever is your hotel type, you get it all with a guaranteed discount. Essentially a tactical message based on a simple travel insight.” He adds that the campaign has bright and solid colours to build on the generally happy mood people have while travelling.
In India, Expedia.co.in is operated by AirAsiaExpedia, the joint venture company between Expedia Inc. and the low cost airline, AirAsia. Headquartered in Singapore, AirAsiaExpedia operates Expedia’s businesses in India, Japan, Southeast Asia and East Asian markets and the AirAsiaGo.com business across Asia.
