IMC- INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

Submitted to:

Prof. Milind Fadnavis

Submitted by:

Rohit Jain (2013242)

1. INTRODUCTION

Along with its heritage, the continued focus on customer service and innovation helped

Taj Hotels maintain its position in the Indian industry. It portrays itself as a brand where traditiona l

and contemporary attributes are showcased at same time. It is positioned to ensure that déc or and

ambience of hotel echoes the region’s culture complemented with the comfort of modern facilit ies

and services. To stay ahead of its competitors, Taj Hotels has adopted systems like corporate

standardization, renovation of previous properties, and new age services like loyalty programs and

spa services.

2. TARGET & SEGMENTATION

The major segmentation that the Taj group of hotels follow is as follows on the basis of “Purpose”.

THE TAJ GROUP OF HOTELS

SEGMENTATION

TAJ LUXURY

HOTELS –

TAJ PALACE,

TAJ MAHAL,

TAJ BENGAL,

TAJ WEST END

OFFER FINEST

STANDARD OF

HOSPITALITY &

SERVICE

TAJ BUSINESS

HOTELS:

TAJ PRESIDENT,

TAJ RESIDENCY,

TAJ CONNEMARA,

TAJ BLUE

DIAMOND

OFFER

MULTI – CUISINE

RESTAURANTS &

BEST BUSINESS

FASCILITIES

TAJ LEISURE

HOTELS:

TAJ BEACH

RESORT,

TAJ CULTURAL

CENTRE,

TAJ GARDEN

RETREATS

LOCATED AT

BEACH

RESORTS, PALACES,

PILGRIM CENTRES

ETC.

Decision Making Process

The Taj hotels epitomize the best in class services. It is associated as a status symbol in the society

to host events at the Taj. Also Taj boasts of “flawless catering services” along with impeccable

staff to provide not just satisfaction but services that exceed customer expectations to leave them

nothing less than overwhelmed. Thus the above form great motivation for customers to choose

Taj for special occasions like birthday parties, anniversaries, marriage functions etc. For the

NRI’s Taj promises to provide the Indian touch whether the customer wants it to be typically

Indian or with a twist bringing fusion of Indian & the western culture. Taj also provides the

themes & special celebration rooms for various purpose, thus offering high level of customizat ion.

3. PROMOTION MIX

As happens with most luxury brands, the emphasis in the social media strategy of Taj Hotels is

more on the experience of being in Taj and the services rather than anything else. Promotiona l

schemes are carried on regularly the hotel has many loyalty programme, clubs, membership,

privilege etc. Taj also offer Taj surprises including weekend savers, value vouchers, book early

get more etc. It has been observed that the Word of mouth & the Taj’s brand equity is the major

influencer for people to choose Taj. Taj regularly comes up with offers during season and off-

season such as Taj Holiday Summer Package to boast occupancy in their hotels.

A. INTERNAL PROMOTION

When it comes to internally promoting their brand

they do the following activity. They carry out their

promotions by means of Calendars, monthly

letter to their ‘Inner Circle Customers ’

informing them about their upcoming events.

In order to attract business clientele, Taj Hotels

is providing corporate clients a mix of practical

utilities with luxury. It is focused on

developing cutting edge technology, and

introduced an innovative service called

“cyber butlers” in some of its properties,

which allow guests to help get connected to

the Internet in any part of the hotel. Wi-fi

technology has also helped the company

promote “green workstations” particula r ly

at a time when India is emerging as an

important MICE (Meetings, Incentives,

Conferences and Exhibitions) destination.

Interactive marketing: the experience the customer gains while interacting with the staff & thus

building relationship for repeat business.

To earn customer loyalty, Taj group has initiated many loyalty programs. They are:

Taj Inner Circle Programme:

The Taj Inner Circle is the frequent guest programme of

Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces. Besides a bouquet of

benefits, as a member one can earn points when they

stay or stop by for a meal at one of their restaurant sat

participating Taj Hotels in India and abroad. Member

can earn points on their eligible spend son room, food

and beverage, laundry, telephone and business centre.

They can also earn points on their spends at the Taj

Khazana boutiques located in select Taj Hotels in India.

Redeem their points for room nights, memorable meals,

and gift certificates redeemable at Taj Khazana, Taj

Salon, Jiva Spa, and gifts from a hand-picked selection

Taj Advantage Plus

Taj Advantage Plus is the perfect programme for their valued corporate bookers in India and comes

power-packed with great earning and redemption opportunities, special benefits and exciting

offers. Enrolment to the programme is by invitation only.

Taj Alliance Preferred Partner Programme:

The Taj Alliance Preferred Partner Membership (TAPP Me) Programme

has been designed exclusively for their partner’s in the travel trade in

India. Enrolment to the programme is by invitation only.

Others

For the banquets per say, attractive discounts are

offered along with huge discounts on rooms. The

pricing varies according to the number & the extent of

requirements & spending that the customer is doing.

Also repeat customers are given special discounts,

the details of which are not disclosed & is customer

specific. Also the high level of comfort &

customization in their services helps Taj to earn the

Loyalty of its customers. Taj also offer Taj surprises

including weekend savers, value vouchers, book

early get more etc. Cross selling to these customers is done by hosting various events &

packages like Dussera Special, Diwali Package, Christmas & New Year Package, Surprises,

Suite Celebrations, Taj Early Bird, Taj Last Minute Rate, Taj Club and Suites. Some of them

are:

Diwali Package Christmas and New Year package

Surprises/suit celebrations Taj early birds

Taj Last Minute rates. Taj clubs and Suits.

Weekend rates Colors of life

Extended stay

B. EXTERNAL PROMOTION

Print media

When it comes to print media Taj Group of

Hotels has been using the print media

especially the business newspaper like

Economic Times, Financial Express, and

Bombay Times mainly to attract its upper class

corporate clients who are its major targets. The

various campaigns are effectively shown in

these newspapers.

Besides in case of magazine it has also done a

similar work as it has perfectly targeted its

client tale by advertising in magazines like

THE OUT LOOK TRAVELAR, GO NOW

and TRAVEL which are mainly read by upper

class corporate clients and travellers.

Television

Since its major target customers are the corporate and professionals it tends to advertise itself on

news channels like STAR NEWS, CNN and CNBC and on some of the lifestyle channels like

NDTV Good Times, Fox Travel etc.

Advertising

It was only when the product was ready, was a major advertising campaign developed. Earlier,

advertising had been restricted to the major feeder markets: the US, UK, Germany, Singapore and

Hong Kong. And the advertising emphasized the hardware aspect of the hotel. The new campaign

developed a specific brand identity for the hotel.

Though the Taj had high unaided recall, it launched a corporate campaign to reinforce this new

identity. The ad (made by Rediffusion) shows the enigmatic woman who stands for both hospitality

and efficiency. The identity was developed after extensive research on the consumer’s attitudes

towards the Taj. Over 60 in-depth interviews were conducted by client and agency. The

parameters? Not quantity, but quality. The things done right. The quality of check-in, the smile,

the greeting or the welcome drink. The insights gathered were analysed and a clear slot, which the

Taj could occupy when global competition arrived, emerged. This was translated into creating a

distinct personality of the Taj as caring, efficient and enigmatic. The line went: ‘She is the Taj,’

the base line was ‘Nobody cares as much.’

Exhibitions

Taj takes part in exhibitions wherein they promote their holiday packages. Internationally, Taj

Hotels is generating brand awareness through niche promotions like participation in global

travel exhibitions and marketing alliances.

Digital media

Taj Group of Hotels has a pan social media presence, courtesy of spaces in several social media

platforms. A major hit in terms of social media is their website and the way with which they have

organised outreach.

On Facebook, almost each and every hotel of the

chain has a separate page. The frequency of posts

is optimum, generally talking about offers and

services. Many a time, there are also posts to sell

that product effectively. They have taken

hashtags seriously and usually add appropriate

hashtags to their posts. Majority of the posts

happen to be photos, with small descriptions

coupled with hashtags and shortened links. The

responsiveness is on the page is decent with

customer complaints and as well queries being

addressed. Both comments as well as user posts are given importance on the page.

The brand’s activity of Twitter is fairly good with the platform being used for some great

engagement with customers. However, the follower count does not reflect all that. The prime

variable in this is the fact that most of the tweets are replies or conversations with customers.There

are extremely few occasions when the brand itself is initiating the discussion. Adding to this, there

is not much of retweeting amidst the various Twitter accounts of the Taj brand of hotels. However,

the response time and the level at which they engage with the client is surely praise worthy.

The brand’s usage of YouTube though

limited, but is surely interesting. Since, there

are around 20 videos in total, surely there is

less amount of content available and this

reflects on the number of views and

subscribers as well. In terms of cross platform

usage also, while these videos are often shared

on Facebook from time to time, not many are

tweeted from the Taj Hotel’s accounts.

Others: While international branches of the

brand have explored social media spaces such as Pintrest, Instagram, Flickr and Google+ as

well, none of the Indian outlets have reached out to audiences through them. However, all of

them have a presence on TripAdvisor and according to the purpose that is an important place to

be at.

4. PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS

The most famous promotion campaign are listed below:

“She is the Taj” campaign:

The company regularly undertakes advertising

campaigns to reinforce its brand values of warmth,

luxury, and efficiency. In the 1990s, the brand

launched the “She is the Taj” campaign, which

emphasized that the Taj was modern and efficient, yet

traditional in its respect and care for people. It was

personified as the Indian woman who is traditiona l

and graceful.

Recently, the Taj has launched a campaign to promote its palace properties. The advertising is

reminiscent of India’s bygone era and entices travellers to savour the lifestyle of the Maharaja.

Performance.Art:

Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces announced the launch of its new global advertising campaign titled

“Performance.Art”. The campaign is a creative distillation of what the Taj stands for and promises

to deliver. Taj produces an operational performance and, when perfected, the practice of any

discipline, craft or talent, whether music, drama, sport or even luxury hospitality is elevated to an

art form is what the campaign propounds. The campaign is presented in two complementary levels;

one metaphorical and the other literal. For the metaphorical level, the campaign employs the

analogy of dance for the practiced preparation that distinguishes Taj hospitality. Five global dance

forms have been selected and photographed to communicate, both visually and emotionally, this

distinctive quality. On the second level, the concept of Performance.Art has been dramatized

literally by featuring eight of the unique, signature experiences that embody the spirit of the Taj.

Each has been shot from two adjoining perspectives, presented as an ‘A-Side’ - the Art in

Performance.Art, and a ‘P-Side’ - celebrating the Performance behind the scenes.

5. RECOMMENDATION

As far as promotion is concerned the Taj group of Hotels have done an excellent job. They have

used nearly all the media as perfectly as possible. Their media are properly targeted at the upper

class corporate professionals and travellers. The only thing that they can do is improve their

website as it is not that catchy and keep up the good work. The power of their brand and excellence

is so good that even after the attack on one of its Taj Mumbai could not stop its customers from

coming back to it.