The festive season is here and so are holidays. Brands in the travel sector are resorting to a mix of mediums to ace their marketing game. While the preferred mode is nonetheless digital, Connected TV is also emerging as a choice for several brands in the sector.

Pratik Mazumder, Chief Marketing Officer, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts Limited says, “This festive season, we have launched our new brand campaign #HappyHolidaysHappyFamilies that showcases amazing holiday experiences for kids and families. In line with the brand’s commitment to deliver magical family holiday experiences, the new campaign places special emphasis on providing children with enriching and enjoyable adventures alongside their families, all while discovering the beauty of India.”

Speaking about the medium being used to amplify this campaign, Majumdar says, “Our strategy is to focus heavily on Connected TV, digital and leading social media channels. We are also looking at brand activations during the festive season, across our resorts for our members and prospects.”

Cleartrip is also planning to amplify some of its features this festive season to attract customers. Kunal Dubey, Chief Marketing Officer, Cleartrip, says, “The festive season is the most exciting time when there is organic demand in the market and consumer willingness to spend is higher. In the travel context, the Indian festive season also marks the beginning of the year-end booking season. Our approach is to craft campaigns that are closely aligned with consumer truth during this period.”

Speaking about their prime medium of choice for the festive season, Dubey says “This festive season, we are planning to leverage Connected TV (CTV) as a prime medium for our advertising efforts. CTV allows us to precisely reach our target audience during the festive season. We can tailor our ads based on demographics, interests, and behaviours, ensuring that we connect with the right viewers who are more likely to engage with our festive offerings. By utilizing programmatic advertising, we can streamline our ad-buying process. This ensures that our ads are displayed at the right time to the right audience, maximizing the efficiency of our budget along with the measurability of the same as opposed to traditional TV. In a nutshell, it enables us to connect with our target audience effectively, efficiently, and at the right moment while optimizing our budget with actionable insights from measurement."

Uptick in travel

Kayak, a travel search engine, recently came out with the expected trends for this festive season. The research found 98% of Indians surveyed intend to travel within India during the festive period this year. The findings also suggest that when it comes to travel budgets, 72% of Indians are willing to spend similarly or more than last year while travelling this festive season.

The study also says that 4 out of 5 Indians are planning on reducing discretionary spending, like gadgets and OTT, to increase their travel budgets this season.

Conrad Bengaluru, a luxury hospitality brand, is also coming up with attractive experiences for their customers. Rajan Malhotra, Commercial Director, Conrad Bengaluru explains how their ad budget is looking this year and what’s their preferred medium of choice. “We have been bullish with our advertising efforts for the season. Our focus is to address the right mix of ideas and strategies alongside tactical marketing and PR spends that aid to garner regional and nationwide reach.

As a leading player in the luxury hospitality space, our outreach is directed at being present at multiple touchpoints. Right from digital to audio and print, we make sure to pivot our communications keeping in mind the dynamic festive season. However, we do focus heavily on the digital front to keep the conversation innovative and engaging.”

As for Shreyas Kudalkar, Kings Hotel & Resort, they are adapting to the changing landscape of marketing. “As we embrace this festive season, we’re witnessing a surge in travellers, with accommodation bookings and occupancy rates on the rise. We’re approaching this season with a renewed sense of purpose, adapting our strategies to the changing landscape. Our media mix has evolved, reflecting our commitment to engaging with consumers through multiple channels. As more people choose to travel to drivable locations during Dussehra and Diwali, day trips and staycations are increasing.”

According to Dubey, despite higher prices, brands are seeing an uptick in bookings and the trend is expected to continue. “For air travel, the average domestic flight price for this festive and holiday season is about 6% more than the same period in 2022. Irrespective of the price increase, ticket bookings are high for the festive season. With the festive season kicking in soon, bookings for both flights and accommodation are expected to increase in the coming few days.”