Travel brands unleash marketing arsenals to ride on IPL + summer plot

Delhi: In the summer months, the travel and tourism sector sees a notable surge in advertising efforts. This year, summer holds even greater significance for brands to promote themselves, as they can leverage the extensive reach of the IPL.

Once again this year, brands such as EaseMyTrip, Cleartrip, MakeMyTrip, Agoda, and SOTC have unleashed their marketing arsenal to target consumers. Celebrity endorsements and engaging elements continue to be the cornerstone of their advertising campaigns, as per tradition. 

Having said that, MakeMyTrip is playing on the much-expounded benefits of ‘star power’ albeit with a twist, where the stars signed for the campaign never really show their face.

 

The campaign comprises four films starring Bollywood's Bhidu - Jackie Shroff, the God of Dance - Prabhu Deva, and the 'Breathless' Grammy-winning singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan. Each of these personalities are so distinct in their style, voice and attitude that anyone familiar with their work will recognise them even without seeing their face. 

MakeMyTrip plays on this insight to showcase the platform as the ‘Asli Star’ (real hero) of the campaign, highlighting the benefits of booking hotels and homestays on the platform. The campaign has been conceptualised by the creative agency Talented and directed by Suresh Triveni, Open Image and Radhika Produces Films

The films:

 

Bhidu Shakespeare feat. Jackie Shroff:

Moves Don’t Lie Feat. Prabhu Deva:

Breathless 2.0 Feat. Shankar Mahadevan:

Cleartrip’s new brand ambassador and cricketing icon, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, marked his debut innings with the brand’s latest ad film. Donning 3 quirky avatars - pilot, darbaan and a traveler - MSD aka Captain Cool urges first-time users to book with Cleartrip to score big with offers and enjoy flexibility on flights, hotels and buses under the brand's promise - ‘ClearChoice’.  

Through the campaign, the films highlight the common pain points of travellers, especially for last-minute cancellations and modifications. MSD in his quintessential style reassures the users that with Cleartrip, booking journeys are stress-free and flexible. The unique element of the campaign messaging is Cleartrip's assertion that new customers are lucky if they haven't yet booked with them. 

Agoda too launched an ad with actor Ayushmann Khurrana.

SOTC Travel has collaborated with Mumbai Indians – one of the most popular teams, for the ongoing T20 cricket season as an ‘Official Partner’.

Travel tech platform EaseMyTrip.com has become the Official Travel and Experience Partner with Royals Sports Group-owned franchise Rajasthan Royals for the ongoing 2024 season.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and PhonePe have entered a two-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which builds upon the existing Unified Payments Interface (UPI) linkage between India and Singapore. It allows customers to instantly make cross-border transactions between the two countries directly from their existing Indian bank accounts. As part of the partnership, STB and PhonePe will invest in joint marketing efforts across India and Singapore, to promote the destination’s vibrant offerings and seamless UPI experiences across key tourism hotspots.