‘Cleartrip focusing on emotional connections, stories instead of just promoting offers’

Burnout is becoming the norm in today's fast-paced world. As a reminder to break away from the daily grind and embrace the joys of travel, Cleartrip has launched its latest campaign "Life Mat Jhelo, Bas Niklo" launched alongside The Big Billion Day.

In an interaction with e4m, Tavleen Bhatia, Chief Marketing Officer at Cleartrip , sheds light on the campaign’s inspiration, how it balances creativity with emotional relevance, and how it aims to position the brand as a trusted companion for travellers seeking affordable and stress-free getaways. Bhatia also shares how Cleartrip is navigating the highly competitive travel space.

Edited Excerpts :

What inspired Cleartrip's latest campaign, "Life Mat Jhelo, Bas Niklo," for the Big Billion Days, and how do you see it resonate with your target audience?

The line "Mat Jhelo, Bas Niklo" came from seeing how many people feel stuck in their daily lives, dealing with constant stress. Today, hustle culture is everywhere, and people are burning out. We wanted to flip that and remind them it’s okay to take a break. Our audience, especially working professionals, often feel overwhelmed, and this campaign speaks directly to that feeling. With The Big Billion Days, we’ve made travel affordable so they can book a trip without thinking twice. The message connects with people who need a break but feel held back by costs.

What was the core strategy behind going ahead with traditional media and turning it into an interactive experience, and what impact do you expect from this approach? How was this campaign promoted overall?

We wanted to bring something new and fun to traditional media. Turning a newspaper ad into an interactive paper plane made it more than just something to read - it’s something people can play with, making the message stick. This strategy helps us stand out from the usual digital noise and brings our message to life in a memorable way. The campaign was promoted across multiple platforms - CTV, digital, social media, and outdoor ads - ensuring it reached as many people as possible. We expect this approach to get people talking and increase brand awareness.

How do you see this campaign shaping Cleartrip's brand identity, and how does it align with your long-term marketing and brand strategy?

This campaign strengthens Cleartrip’s identity as a brand that understands the emotional and practical sides of travel. We’re positioning ourselves as a brand that not only helps you book a trip but encourages you to take a break when you need it most. Long-term, this aligns with our goal of being a trusted partner for people looking for simple, stress-free travel solutions, not just a platform for deals.

In a highly competitive travel market, how does Cleartrip’s marketing strategy differentiate itself?

We focus on emotional connections and relatable stories instead of just promoting offers. This campaign taps into the real feelings of burnout and stress, which helps us stand out in a crowded market. Big Billion Days discounts are positioned as enablers for people to re-energize themselves, instead of being the end in itself.

Secondly, we have ensured we use disruptive innovations in media - whether it is in social content or WiKi How style OOH, or even the origami plane in print. This has helped us connect better with existing & new customers.

How do you align your marketing initiatives to drive both brand awareness and revenue growth?

We make sure every campaign does two things: build awareness and drive bookings. For example, "Mat Jhelo, Bas Niklo" creates a strong emotional connection with the brand, but the Big Billion Days sale gives people a reason to act and book a trip. This combination ensures we grow the brand while also bringing in bookings. Within offer constructs, we have unique constructs like Child Flies Free / CT Upgrade etc which help drive both user and bookings frenzy.

With digital platforms becoming key to modern marketing, are there specific trends that you're leveraging to strengthen your marketing strategy?

Yes, we’re focusing on trends like personalization, where people expect content and offers tailored to their preferences. We’re also creating short, engaging content for platforms like Instagram and YouTube since those are becoming more popular.

With our messaging becoming bolder, we want to break away from traditional brand marketing and do a lot more genuine and relatable content to become relevant to the Indian traveller and more talkable as a brand. Our choice of media also reflects this. We’re also focusing a lot more on product marketing. We want to be known for our seamlessness and simplicity and be more of a travel tech brand and not just an online travel agent.

What travel trends have you noticed in the post-pandemic world, and how has Cleartrip adapted to meet these changes?

Since the pandemic, we’ve seen more interest in staycations and short trips (micro-vacations) close to home. Domestic travel has also grown because it’s easier and more accessible right now. We’ve adapted by adding more local destinations and creating deals for short, affordable getaways. We are also noticing that Indians are becoming more experimental with where they want to travel on their international trips - we are seeing disproportionate spikes in places like Almaty / Hanoi/ Baku. We’ve also made our booking options more flexible to give travellers peace of mind.

Looking ahead, what are some of Cleartrip’s key priorities in terms of marketing innovation?

We’re always looking to innovate, especially by using AI to offer more personalized travel experiences. We’re also excited to keep pushing creative ideas like our paper plane ad that engages people in fun ways.

The OTA landscape is cluttered with very little innovation and differentiation. Customers’ attention spans are shrinking and choices are increasing. Differentiation is key. We are working towards defining a distinctive CVP to make Travel tension-free.