WITH LOVE FROM AUS

Tourism Australia has come up with a charming and beautiful film that shows the various aspects of Australia - its architecture, its wild life and so much more.

This new ad, made by M&C Saatchi wants to tell the world that Australia will be waiting with open arms, ready to welcome visitors as soon as normalcy returns. 

Enjoy the wonderfully well shot film and put Australia in your travel plans of the future!

DIWALI KA SAFAR

As #India gears up for #Diwali, there are many new brand campaigns that are being launched. Each one of them tries to build an emotional connection, showing bonds between families and relatives, distribution of sweets, bursting of crackers and all the other rituals that you associate with this festival. However, in their new TVC, Samsonite India Pvt Ltd takes a step back and weaves a beautiful story through long form content with an impactful voiceover. It is a well made film with the right level of emotions and the connections between the scenes. I do not want to give away much as I would like you to enjoy and feel the ad film. 

Do notice how every story is related to travel, making it perfect for #Samsonite to own it. 

                                #diwalikasafar #kunalviews #communications #marketing

NO NEED TO FLY AROUND THE WORLD

In the world of #Instagram and #Facebook, where travel is a passion and aspiration for all, people are flying to faraway destinations much more in this decade than ever before. 

German Rail was feeling the pressure of this as 72% Germans were flying out rather than taking trains within Germany as they felt German destinations were boring.

Here is what German Rail and #Ogilvy did to fix the problem:

1. They identified great locations from around the world and juxtaposed it with a similar shot of a German location next to it to encourage Germans to holiday in their home country.

                                  

2. They used Facebook data and targeted travel enthusiasts interested in those specific destinations on Instagram and Facebook.

3. Through geo-tagging technology and Google Search, they served video ads to the audience, updated with real-time prices, comparing two gorgeous locations (one in Germany and one abroad), detailing the cost of travel from their closest airport to the foreign country.

Results: An increase of 24% in brand revenue. This is a great example of: 

• Using #insights to convert it into an idea.
• Then leveraging #data to sharply target the right audience.
• That ultimately results in #revenues, which is what matters.

So many lessons in this case study!

TRAVEL WITH BOOKS

If you are a book reader, you know that #books make us travel, giving wings to our imagination and perspectives to our thoughts. 

Lectura, a book store in Bolivia wanted to show people the power of reading. So they launched a print #campaign showing passports with visa stamps. The visa stamps did not belong to countries but rather to the titles of different books!

Pay attention to the titles on each passport and notice how smartly the three passports are meant to attract three different reading segment of customers - kids, teens and adults. 

I like the subtlety with which each ad ends - Go travel.

                        #communications #printad #advertising #kunalviews #travel #creativity

The Misadventures in this Adventurous Trip!

Every time, man thinks that he has become the most powerful being on this planet, nature has its way of telling the person who is the boss! Who said reaching the mountains was easy? Every mountain comes with its own story of adventure, surprise, excitement and many other emotions. 

Last month, that is the month of Aug’16, I got a chance to visit two mountainous areas in two different countries – The Highlands of Scotland and the Cliffs of Moher of Ireland. Technically, both are not mountains that I had to trek or climb, but yet the view and the experience was just like that of a mountain. 

Taking a flight to India and then a car to the highlands should seem like very normal and easy but like I said at the beginning, mountains will test you, your patience, your perseverance, your passion before they reveal themselves to you. So what really happened and how did my story unfold?

Let me begin from the time I left India. I was flying on an Emirates flight, which had a stop over in Dubai and just two days before my flight was when Emirates had a crash landing in Dubai, which was in the news all over the world. Do you see the similarities? I am flying the same airline from the same country (India) to the same country (Dubai), where one of the planes of the airline had crash landed! But I wasn’t changing my plans because of this incident so I decided to go ahead.

Changing of flights at Dubai airport was hassle free and I was amazed that the airport seemed absolutely calm, two days after such a big event. Little did I know that there was a storm that was brewing at the back end of the airport, which we would only get to know about much later. From Dubai, I landed at Glasgow airport and kept waiting for my luggage at the conveyor belt. From ten minutes to half an hour to an hour and there was no sign of my luggage. And then I saw a few other passengers from my flight filling up a form at a temporary table that had been set up at the airport. On going there, I got to know that about 200 bags had not been loaded at the Dubai airport due to the ongoing chaos and so people were filling their baggage details so that the airline could get in touch with them once their bags would arrive. Obviously, I was one of the victims! So here I was, in Glasgow for just three days with no clothes, no toiletries and no other items that I had carried. I was sure that I would get my baggage in a day but that was not to be! Multiple calls and follow ups later also, the authorities weren’t able to locate my baggage. The day I was supposed to leave for the Highlands is the day I decided to go to the airport to the Emirates counter to inquire about my bags once again but they had no trace of it. What that meant was that I couldn’t hire a car to drive into the highlands and at the last minute, I had to take a bus to reach my hotel in the Highlands with still no trace of my baggage.

The bus ride was smooth except the rains that were coming. I kept thinking to myself that how would I go to my hotel from the bus stop in this rain. Since I had not managed to get a hotel in the main town of Glencoe, I had booked a hotel in another town called Crianlarich, which was about an hour’s drive from Glencoe, which I thought could be covered easily since I would have a car. As soon as the bus reached Crianlarich Bus stop, I got off and right in front of the bus stop was my hotel. Now that seemed like a good sign till I realized that all of Crianlarich town was this hotel plus a few houses! That isn’t the best of places for a solo traveler, but then what choice did I have. 

The next morning, I took the city bus and got off at the entry point of one of the National Parks. I realized that I was one of the first ones to arrive at the pier and there was no one in site. I soaked in the beauty, took a few pictures and by the time I was done was when a few tourists started arriving. I decided to stay back and spend more time with people around. Soon I realized that most of them had come in huge groups and were a part of the tourist buses that had come in from Glasgow. I decided to try my luck and requested many bus drivers to add me to the tour so that I could also see the other sites along with some company. Unfortunately, either the buses were full or they did not have a policy to add one more passenger in the middle of their tour. With no other choice, I once again took the local bus and decided to go all the way to Glasgow and get off there. I enjoyed the sights of many mountains as the bus drove to Glasgow, got off and took a lovely walk in the town of Glasgow, enjoyed a hot chocolate in one of the cafes and spent a couple of hours before the same bus was to pick me from here and drop me back to my hotel. 

Now if you are thinking that what happened to my luggage all this while, then here are the details:

a. My calls to Emirates call centre continued throughout the day.

b. I had done a bit of shopping in Glasgow to manage clothes once my baggage didn’t arrive for more than 2 days. 

c. Emirates finally located my luggage and sent it to my hotel in Crianlarich a day before I was leaving Scotland!

But then again, these were not the only mountains that I was visiting. So the next set of mountains brought its own set of challenges. I flew from Edinburgh to Dublin and landed with the intention of hiring a car and driving to the countryside and spending a few days there. For some reason, there weren’t any small cars available and I did not want to pay a bomb for a bigger car for a single person. I decided to use the RyanAir website to book a car as I had flown through them and they were offering me an option. Once the booking had been done, payment had been made is when I got a mail that said ‘Your booking is being processed. We will let you know once it gets confirmed. It may take anywhere from 15 minutes to 24 hours.’ Ouch! That was not what I was expecting. I kept waiting at the airport for a confirmatory mail for two hours but when I couldn’t see a ray of hope, I decided to approach the RyanAir counter to seek help. They were kind enough to give me the Customer Service number, which I called. They regretted that the booking hadn’t happened as no car was available, but they could book me on another car after half an hour, but I had would have to pay more than what I was paying earlier. With no other choice in hand, I decided to go ahead with whatever I could get. 

I got a nippy little hatchback of Volkswagen and I went off to continue my trip. After driving about 100 km, I decided to take a break and pulled myself into one of the food courts that come on the highway. On coming back in the car, I realized that my car was not getting into reverse gear. Now that was not good! I tried changing the gear multiple times but to no avail. Finally, I saw a young man passing by and I asked him if he could help me with this problem. He got into the car and was able to put the car in reverse within seconds. He then told me that there was a particular way in which this car would go in reverse gear. I heaved a sigh of relief. 

Going ahead, another 50 km down the road is when I reached the toll plaza. Due to some miscommunication, I thought that all tolls on my hired car has been paid and so I decided to drive through the unmanned toll plaza but the boom barrier did not open. Now I couldn’t figure how to operate the toll machine. Thankfully, there was an old gentleman in his car right behind me who told me about the Assistance button that I had to press and speak to toll help. After about ten minutes, a toll assistant came to my rescue, explained to me how it works and then I was able to move forward. 

It took me 5 hours to reach my hotel near Cliffs of Moher and I was so relieved that I finally made it. 

On reading this, you must be thinking that this trip must have been so much of a hassle and pain for me. Let me tell you that once you see the beauty that nature has kept in store for us, all these hassles and pain just go away as you realize that the world is so beautiful and one has to take some efforts to witness this beauty. As the old adage goes ‘No pain, no gain’ and these pictures below will prove that!

2016: The Year of Extensions

So the dates on the calendar has changed, another year of hope, optimism and aspiration has dawned on us, the resolution test has been cleared by some and failed by many. We are 24 days into the year of 2016 and it is only apt that I once again talk about the ‘E Model’ that I have been writing about since the last few years with a new perspective to this model every year. 

If some of you are wondering what am I talking about, fret not my friend, as here are the links to all the perspectives that I have given over the years:

· 2015: This is How I am Avoiding Resolutions:

http://fugleman.blogspot.in/2015/01/2015-let-us-continue-with-e-model.html

· 2014: A Year where no Resolutions shall be Broken:

http://fugleman.blogspot.in/2014/01/2014-year-where-no-resolutions-shall-be.html

· 2013: No Resolutions. Just Follow the Es:

http://fugleman.blogspot.in/2013/01/2013-no-resolutions-just-follow-es.html

· 2012: A Year of Four Es:

http://fugleman.blogspot.in/2012/01/2012-year-of-four-es.html

This year, I did not want to come up with another set of multiple words within the model, because as they say ‘Why fix when something is not broken’. The E Model is working absolutely fine for me and it allows me to become better as a ‘Collector of Experiences’, which is how I like to define myself. 

So then, the question that comes to mind is that what will be different or how will I enhance this opportunity of being a Collector of Experiences? For this, I want to declare 2016 as The Year of Extensions for myself. You could also use this model if it works for you. 

What this means is that I will be stretching myself. No, no, not stretching myself physically to increase my height (even though I would love to do that if that was possible). This stretching is all about coming out of my comfort zone in various aspects and extending the standard. 

Let me try and explain this with concrete examples:

1. So when it comes to running, I have so far been in the range of 5 – 6 km regularly, but this year, I will be stretching myself and extending what I accomplish. 

2. In the last few years, my reading of books has come down significantly. Once again, I want to use this year to stretch and extend the number of books that I read. 

3. This model of extension will also be used on travel, exploration and other aspects of life.

4. And of course, what this also means that the earlier E Model will continue to be extended further.

Coming out of your comfort zone is not an easy task. It begins with a mindset and an attitude. It means, sometimes shaking off lethargy, laziness, that moment that tells you to press the snooze button, those moments of self-doubt, that urge to spend a few minutes more with your mobile and much more. 

As I begin this journey of extensions which should be exciting, I urge you to also join me in this journey and see if it works for you. By the end of 2016, all of us will be proud with the distance that we would have covered. 

The irony is that this blog is coming up in the month of February in a year that I am declaring as the ‘Year of Extensions’. So the time has already come to step out of the comfort zone, because magic only happens when you step out of the comfort zone!

Were we lucky or is Kindness the norm in and around Jaisalmer?

Traffic in India can not only make you miss your deadlines and your meetings but can sometimes also make you miss your holiday! We realized this the hard way, when we missed our train to Jaisalmer because we could not reach the Delhi station on time, despite being on the road for more than two hours to cover a distance that shouldn’t take more than 45 minutes! After thinking and exploring various other ways and ideas to reach Jaisalmer – bus, cab, own car, another train – it seemed like we will have to bid goodbye to our plans and to all the money that we had paid for the entire package. As disappointment was setting in, we managed to get lucky and find seats on a direct train to Jaisalmer the next day, which would reduce our holiday by a day but yet allow us to savour the rest of the time. 

Putting the disappointment behind us, we boarded the train that would begin our family holiday. After an overnight journey, the train chugged in slowly at 10.30 am at Pokharan – a town that I had heard so much of – a town that was in the papers many times in the last few years for conducting successful nuclear tests. It seemed like a small and sleepy town like many other parts of India, but the station was buzzing with activity. We were told that the train will halt at this station for 30 minutes. 30 minutes is a fairly long time, but then patience has never been a virtue with us Indians and as expected, the lone tea seller on the station was busy handing out cups of tea as fast as he could to all the people around him, who were shoving the Rs. 10 and Rs. 20 notes on his face to catch his attention. 

Being patient can sometimes show you a different side of humans as I discovered when my turn came. I asked him for four cups of tea but his tea kettle could fill in only three and a half cups of tea. I handed him Rs. 40 at the rate of Rs. 10 each, but he returned Rs. 10 saying that since he had not given me the entire fourth cup of tea, he would not charge for that last cup. I was pleasantly surprised. I did not know that this was the beginning of the many acts of kindness that I am going to witness in the days to come during my short but wonderful holiday to Jaisalmer, Rajasthan in India. 

We reached Jaisalmer station at 2 pm and the driver who came to pick us up seemed to be a helpful kind. Our first impression of the driver turned out to be bang on. During the three day trip, we asked him to show us one Jain temple and the luxurious Suryagarh hotel, which were not a part of the itinerary or the route, but he did not hesitate one bit as his single objective was to ensure that we have a great holiday without missing on a single thing. 

We were staying at Hotel Rang Mahal and the last night of our stay was planned in a tent in the middle of the desert, but seeing the temperature in Jaisalmer, my family felt that it would be prudent to stay in the comfort of the hotel rather than the tent. This meant adding one more night to the hotel’s package and cancelling our stay at the tent. I called up the manager later in the evening, who had already left for the day. I explained him the situation, told him about how I had anyway paid for a night which we didn’t utilize because of our missed train and requested him if he could extend the stay by a night. Initially, he said that we will have to pay for the extra night but I requested him to see on what best can be done. The next day, despite it being his mother’s death anniversary when he was supposed to be home, he came to the hotel to only look into my case. After a brief meeting and discussion with him, he extended our stay by one night and made that extra night completely complimentary! I was completely blown away by his act of kindness. 

Now that the hotel stay was taken care of, we headed to Sam to enjoy our desert safari. Since we stopped in the middle to enjoy the beautiful hotel of Suryagarh, by the time we reached Sam, it was nearing sunset and we had a camel ride lined up for us. There was also the option of doing a jeep safari and we could decide to see the sunset from the camel or from the jeep. We decided to do a quick camel ride against the normal time for the ride which is much longer. While getting off, the guy who took us for the camel ride mentioned this to us in Hindi “Please go and enjoy the sunset on your jeep safari. In case, you decide to not take the jeep safari, you can come back and I will be here and I will take you further into the desert so that you can enjoy the camel ride for more time.” Another pleasant surprise for us. 

Next was the turn to meet the tent operator and ask him to help us in getting a good jeep safari and also figure out on what can be done since we were not staying in his tent that was booked in our name. He said that at the last minute, since he won’t be able to give the tent to anyone else, he will have to charge us the amount. But to help us, he will bring down the price of the jeep safari from the usual Rs. 3,000 to 1500. We went ahead with what we got. After coming back from the safari, there was a complete Rajasthani folk dance that had been planned, which was really enjoyable. After the dance, when we went to pay the tent operator for the jeep safari, to our surprise once again, he refused to take the money and said “Since you have already paid for the tents and not staying here, the least I can do is not charge you for this jeep safari.”

Now with so many incidences, we just came back wondering with one thought ‘Did we just get plain lucky during the entire trip or is kindness the norm in Jaisalmer?