Incredible India: Evolution of Brand India

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One option to implement this strategy would be the creation of a new logo to help marketing for specific regions and/or services. This logo would read “Incredible India Presents…” and would be added to informational marketing to signal to travelers that the product/service they are using is approved by the national brand. This would increase association between distinct regions and the national brand, while still allowing regions to create their own materials to market themselves. This would be beneficial to the sub-brand, as markets already recognize the original parent brand and are more likely to trust it (Exhibit 6). This would also be beneficial to the parent brand by taking the weight off of one party having to take on the promotion of every different region. It also gives specific regions a chance to focus on different themes/vacation-types when promoting themselves based on the different services they offer.

One potential weakness of this strategy would be the disjoint in ideas that could stem from giving regions too much freedom in creating their marketing. As stated in the case the multiple taglines, although successful in bringing tourism to specific areas, were unsuccessful in increasing overall tourism into the country. The aforementioned issue in clarity and cohesion can be remedied by giving regions guidelines and parameters to follow when creating their marketing. The consistent use of the “Incredible India Presents…” wording would be present on all marketing materials including commercials, print ads and brochures. The regions would also not be allowed to manipulate that logo, they would simply design their marketing to include it. The regions can then focus on creating campaigns that highlight the attractions they want to draw tourism in while keeping the approval from the national brand.

Another way to incorporate the strategy would be a redesign of the current Incredible India website. The current platform includes all information for the various regions, products and services in the same area and leaves visitors feeling overwhelmed with the sheer amount of content to view. Creating a cohesive image of the country and its regions through the implementation of a design standard, as mentioned above, would help to reduce some of the noise on the site. The Incredible India website should also only be used as a springboard to access regional tourism sites. Allowing regions to create their own websites gives them the opportunity to highlight their best products and helps to streamline guiding visitors to the appropriate place. Regions could include pictures, keywords or description of popular attractions next to their name, which would be hyperlinked to their own websites. Having all of the options presented under the Incredible India name would also increase association between the regions and the national brand that already exists and it allows visitors to the site the opportunity to scroll through and learn more about all the different destinations within the country.

This new campaign ultimately serves tourists not by making them aware of India, but finding their place within it. By highlighting the different regions under a unifying front, while still allowing them flexibility in marketing their unique offerings, the country will be able to capture different markets and thus increase variability in their travelers.

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