Cool Branding Moves Indigo from a Budget Airline to a Preferred Business Carrier - the Economic Times

3/20/13 Cool branding moves IndiGo from a budget airline to a preferred business carrier - The Economic Times

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20 MAR, 2013, 05.36AM IST, ANINDYA UPADHYAY,ET BUREAU Cool branding moves IndiGo from a budget airline to a preferred business carrier Story Comments (26)

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NEW DELHI: In 2006, when global advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy took on the task of building a new, cool airline brand from scratch, their peers laughed. Indian passengers, the conventional wisdom went, cared only about price, and no amount of branding could change that. "Today, they don't ask us that question anymore," says Mohit Dhar Jayal, MD, Wieden+Kennedy Delhi.

LATEST FROM ET LATEST FROM WEB Despite launching squarely in the budget airline segment, IndiGo promoter Rahul Bhatia and his agency Railways to press services of 360 special trains t... were clear about their goal: IndiGo would be the third GM crops cannot be abandoned completely, says Jaip... cool international budget carrier after JetBlue and Promoter buy 8.78 lakh Bharti Airtel shares worth ... Southwest Airlines of the US. Despite launching squarely in the budget airline segment, US Federal Reserve to stick to stimulus as Cyprus ... IndiGo was able to build a reputed cool brand name for Hrishikesh Sharan new Ombudsman for indirect taxes... And it's got there. According to aviation expert Rajan itself, in a very short segment of time. more » Mehra, IndiGo now carries more corporate passengers EDITORS PICK than leisure travellers. "The mix of corporate and Terminal 2 can be a game changer for Mumbai airport holiday travellers for IndiGo has increased to 60:40," he says. and a challenger to Delhi's T3 How telcos poach subscribers | Court summons This transition in positioning and perception was the Mittal Loading result of a very conscious plan put together by the PM's dependence on SP, BSP increases brand and agency. At the time of launch, print and Will Ceylon now become a Cyclone? outdoor media were used to focus on launch markets, Karunanidhi tsunami w ashes aw ay RBI's rate cut with the tagline "Ready for take-off".

Bharti Airtel Ltd. The airline's first TV commercial was clearly targeted Modernization of India's Airports on a first-time or at least infrequent traveller, describing BSE NSE 280.05 how IndiGo made the process easier. But quite soon, 281.15 focus was switched to customer touch points - -12.25 (-4.18%) -13.35 (-4.55%) everything from the design of the safety instruction card, to the availability of a boarding ramp instead of a Vol: 1719083 shares Vol: 20799128 shares staircase, to the packaging of in-flight snacks were traded traded aimed at being more engaging, while still on-brand. Prices | Financials | Company Info | Reports This was the crucial phase when the voice of brand IndiGo would speak directly to the passenger, drawing attention to the high standards of service.

"The real challenge was the transition to the new ideology and clientele because low-cost carriers behave in a certain way. They wear the 'common-man' badge, like say Air Deccan. Once that was overcome, the position Terminal 2: Game changer for Mumbai only evolved," recalls V Sunil, executive creative director, W+K. airport, challenger to Delhi's T3 For those who complain about never ending The next stage was a subtle switch to target the corporate passenger by emphasising on-time performance. walks at Delhi's T3, Mumbai will offer 44 One of IndiGo's most popular TV commercials in 2010 featured a musical-style depiction of the link between travelators with one of the largest car parks in the making its processes more efficient and getting its passengers to their destinations on time. A voiceover country--5,200 cars at any point in time. added: "When we get our work done on time we become the world's most powerful economy on time; on time Can Delhi's T3 be like London's Heathrow? is a wonderful thing." Delhi, Mumbai, Hyd in world's top 5 Design flaw in Chennai's new terminal Indigo's outdoor advertising of new flights also emphasises their value to the business traveller, focusing on Modernisation at India's airports metro routes and frequency. Today, it has companies like Airtel BSE -4.18 % , Coca-Cola, the Tata Group, GSK and the Aditya Birla Group signed up as corporate clients - giving them a premium seat allocation and on- board meal bundled with each ticket purchased. economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/cool-branding-moves-indigo-from-a-budget-airline-to-a-preferred-b… 1/7 3/20/13 Cool branding moves IndiGo from a budget airline to a preferred business carrier - The Economic Times Global brand consultancy firm Wolff Olins feels that IndiGo's high service standards are the key to its share of the corporate travel market. "For a Tikona Broadband 4Mbps business traveller, IndiGo stands for reliability. It then stands for low cost," Rs4499, 3 months No GB restrictions Test Speed Then says Zia Patel, Wolff Olins India strategy head. Pay, Order Now : w w w .tikona.in/Subscribe Ads by Google

But like all market leaders, there is now tremendous pressure of expectation. Anand Halve, founder of communications consultancy firm MOST READ MOST COMMENTED MOST SHARED chlorophyll points out: "When you start slipping on things, people start In This Section | Entire Website noticing. They have a huge lead compared with rivals and so a margin of error too, but not for long." Fresh competition from AirAsia could mean 1 Terminal 2 can be a game changer for Mumbai a... trouble as well. "The biggest mistake that IndiGo could do is to ignore 2 Delhi Metro: How it has become a convenient a... AirAsia. They should not let AirAsia prove that the latter could be better. The 3 Cool branding moves IndiGo from a budget airl... focus should be to enrich, extend and deepen the brand," Halve added. 4 Left in the lurch, Kingfisher employees to de... 5 Kingfisher woes: What about loan recovery fro... No problem, says Wieden + Kennedy. There'll soon be something new that addresses these issues, but "the IndiGoness will not go," says V Sunil. more »

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PREVIOUS STORY NEXT STORY Terminal 2 can be a game Kingfisher woes: What about changer for Mumbai airport and loan recovery from others? News In Pics 1 / 3 more » a challenger to Delhi's T3 Vijay Mallya asks bank chiefs The GVK-led consortium that operates the Mumbai airport What about loan recovery from those other than w ill throw open terminal 2, or T2, that it hopes w ill Kingfisher?, w ondered its promoter Vijay Mallya w hile outshine Delhi airport’s T3. taking a dig at bank chiefs in his tw eet for their "constant speak" to media on getting back dues from the grounded airline.

Dhishum (Jupiter) 1 1 3 16 Follow ers Gold: 6788 All ET My Profile

Its not the brand but the punctuality that attracts business travelers to Indigo Agree (1) Today Last 7 Days Last 30 Days All Time Disagree (0) Recommend (0) D D Offensive Points: 240 1 Moti Chow dhry (Jammu) 1 1 1 Zeyaalam Silver: 266 Points: 156 2 If you know your goal you consciously follow a business strategy to achieve Agree (1) Disagree (0) the goal. Indigo has done it. Ashok Patel Recommend (0) Points: 146 Offensive 3

Amal Chaudhuri (Kolkata) Kskasinathan Points: 120 4 The best thing about Indigo is maintaining flight schedules to the dot. Agree (3) Besides, the standard of cleanliness is remarkable. The best among all the Disagree (0) AarGee Recommend (1) present ones crowding our sky. Points: 117 Offensive 5 Know more about Times Points

Santosh Balan (Pune)

Indigo may be market friendly going by the comments from their ad agency. Agree (0) But definitely they are not customer friendly. Would share my experience Disagree (2) economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/cool-branding-moves-indigo-from-a-budget-airline-to-a-preferred-b… 2/7 3/20/13 Cool branding moves IndiGo from a budget airline to a preferred business carrier - The Economic Times But definitely they are not customer friendly. Would share my experience Disagree (2) when booking a ticket through their website. There was an offer by HDFC Bk Recommend (0) credit card whereby you can avail a discount by punching the promocode. Offensive While filling the booking details couldnt find the promocode button due to some problem in their website or internet service provider. Moreover could not revert to the previous window from the browser as the payment transaction was in process. Thought that this can be taken offline and so called their customer service lines. Since they had all the payment and credit card details requested to them if the offer can be honoured by refund of the excess amount. They were just stubborn and was not courteous enough to give a proper explanation as to why this offer cannot be honoured.

Santosh (Pune)

Indigo may be marketing friendly with lot of comments from their ad agency. Agree (0) But it cannot be construed that they are customer friendly. Would like to Disagree (2) share a personal experience when bought a ticket from their site. There was Recommend (0) ET Mobile an offer on HDFC Credit cards whereby promocode needs to be filled to avail Offensive Get Economic Times on the go. Get your the offer. This code somehow could not be entered while purchasing the portfolio updates by the minute ticket as one cannot not go back to the previous window through the browser due to some issues with their website or internet service provider. I thought this offer can be discussed offline as they already have all the records of my payment details. Hence informed their customer service centre to pass on the ET ePaper benefit through the backend. They just stubbornly refused and was not even Get a replica of your favourite edition of ET courteous enough to explain why this cannot be done. Any customer friendly and feel at home. organisation would have gone that extra mile in honouring the offer knowing Mumbai | Delhi | Bangalore | Kolkata very well the issues in internet connectivity in India.

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Agree (0) Very true. Covers personal finanace Disagree (0) topics ranging from stocks, Recommend (0) property, gold to tax Offensive plannning. Your regular source of personal finance Randhir Kumar (Bangalore) Preview knowledge. 3 1 4 Follow ers Silver: 1108

Action speaks louder than words. Action time Agree (0) Disagree (0) Recommend (0) Offensive

DA (Mumbai)

Check what is the debt of this airline... who is the owner,,,,, how much indian Agree (0) banks have funded... check out the novel ways of funding,,,, are the planes Disagree (2) owned or leased,,, check out lease companies,,,, (many times leased at high Recommend (0) rates) are the leasing cos indian or foreign.... what is the outgo of foreign Offensive exchange of the exchequer.... this kind of cos, like KFA will one day wake and say,,, oh we are sick.... and will defraud PSU banks of the borrowings... inturn indian public..... Now public is happy.... but it is a low cost carrier.... Not like full service carrier like Air India,,, Air India was on the operation table to be slaughtered by such carriers,,, by wrong policies of some fools... let us see how the airline industry turns out...

Amdsajjad (Hyderabad) 1 1 2 20 Follow ers Gold: 11K

indian skies needs a compiteter to the present fleet of different airlines Agree (0) including indigo Disagree (1) Recommend (0) Offensive

Bangalorew ala (Bangalore) 3 4 3 105 Follow ers Platinum: 27.4K economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/cool-branding-moves-indigo-from-a-budget-airline-to-a-preferred-b… 3/7 3/20/13 Cool branding moves IndiGo from a budget airline to a preferred business carrier - The Economic Times Platinum: 27.4K

Indigo has done well and has a reputation now. Agree (3) Disagree (1) Recommend (1) Offensive

Sanjay Gupta (Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh) Replies To 2 4 3 Bangalorew ala 24 Follow ers Gold: 5434

It is now my preferred airline. Clean, professional and punctual. Agree (8) Disagree (1) Recommend (0) Offensive

COLRANBIRLAMBA Lamba (PTA) 4 5 2 317 Follow ers Platinum: 50.4K

MAKE UR SELF SAFE >> NO FOOLISHNESS LIKE >.KF Agree (1) Disagree (4) Recommend (0) Offensive

Abduer (Cochin) Replies To COLRANBIRLAMBA Lamba 1 1 1 33 Follow ers Gold: 11K

You mean the passengers? Agree (0) Disagree (0) Recommend (0) Offensive

Abduer (Cochin) Replies To COLRANBIRLAMBA Lamba 1 1 1 33 Follow ers Gold: 11K

Who are you telling this to? Agree (0) Disagree (0) Recommend (0) Offensive

Sanjay Gupta (Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh) Replies To 2 4 3 COLRANBIRLAMBA Lamba 24 Follow ers Gold: 5434

I must say I used to like KF but then the discourteous service on Agree (1) Red and then the slow death has put me off them for sure. At one Disagree (0) time their food was the best - but then tapered off very fast. Recommend (0) Offensive

Amit (Mumbai)

They are not innovative at all.....its just that Kingfisher is no longer available Agree (3) hence we need something to fly right. If Kingfisher starts tomorrow it will pull Disagree (18) 50% market share from this cheepo indigo within a span of 2 days. Anyways Recommend (0) is this a paid article??? Offensive

Satya (Bangalore) Replies To Amit

Did you fall on your head when you were a baby? Agree (6) Disagree (1) Recommend (2) Offensive

Amit Replies To Satya

are you talking about yourself....seems so, as only people like Agree (0) you can believe that Indigo has gained business travelers Disagree (0) because of cool branding???? or you must be working for ET. Recommend (0) Offensive

Dinesh (Kashipur) 1 3 3 2 Follow ers Silver: 884

preferred corporate flyer? i guess its just the companies who want to check Agree (5) their costs, insist Indigo. thats all. I have seen many people, from corporate Disagree (0) economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/cool-branding-moves-indigo-from-a-budget-airline-to-a-preferred-b… 4/7 3/20/13 Cool branding moves IndiGo from a budget airline to a preferred business carrier - The Economic Times their costs, insist Indigo. thats all. I have seen many people, from corporate and otherwise complain about Indigo and my personal experience has never Recommend (0) been great. anything from, hot cabins to 'have to ask for water'. Offensive

Aeidal20 (Gurgaon) 1 2 1 3 Follow ers Silver: 1161

Indigo has maintained its claim of being on time .....Hoping it introduces a Agree (4) frequent flyer programme soon...... The only feather missing from its Disagree (1) crown..... Recommend (1) Offensive

Sk (Randominium) Replies To Aeidal20

They already have something similar, just register/sign on to the Agree (0) site before you book your tickets. you should be getting a Disagree (2) discount or a freebie based on ur travel miles or frequency of Recommend (0) usage. Offensive

Aeidal20 Replies To Sk 1 2 1 3 Follow ers Silver: 1161

I've never come across one though i use the same medium to Agree (3) book.... Disagree (0) Recommend (0) Offensive

T S Rajagopalan (Namma Bengaluru) 2 2 2 1 Follow er Silver: 1143

Innovative approach but shouldn't get head-long like Jet nor flamboyance like Agree (2) KF. Need to care for the general passenger's needs and to upgrade as per Disagree (0) time and not ignore competition. Recommend (0) Offensive

Ivan Bigger (Gamburtsev Province) 1 2 1 5 Follow ers Silver: 1576

They are copying Kingfisher thats all... Agree (1) Disagree (5) Recommend (0) Offensive

Saw ant (Goa) Replies To Ivan Bigger 1 3 2

Silver: 685

Kingfisher was good in the good olds of its launch, in its last days Agree (2) of survival it was the worst airline to fly with. Disagree (0) Recommend (0) Offensive

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