Adventures Overland (AO) is a guided, self-drive, overlanding expedition operator, based in India. Since 2012, the company has specialized in off-the-beaten-path, convoy-style adventures for driving enthusiasts. The trips on average cost $500-1000/day and feature strong cultural components in the destinations they visit. With overlanding trips around the world, to destinations like Bhutan, Iceland and Morocco, AO has honed its business model and was ready for expansion into the US market.
As experts in luxury adventure travel marketing and brand development, AO reached out to us to develop a strategic plan to launch the business in the US.
Building the Foundation
Understanding A Unique Guest
We laid out a plan for the AO leadership team that would involve several workshop-style meetings over about a six week period, to take them from concept to a complete marketing plan and product launch.
We began by doing ideal client interviews with several of AO’s past guests. Most were affluent Indian nationals, or Indians working abroad. We learned that AO’s guests loved driving as a way to experience a destination, and especially the lesser traveled routes, for experiences not found anywhere else. These are not 4X4 adventures, like a Jeep Jamboree, but instead a means to combine adventure travel with the thrill of driving. If problems occurred, and they sometimes did, AO’s staff had the knowhow and expertise to safely resolve them, and this was a key part of the adventure. Guests appreciated the immersive experience and the ability to safely reach these unique places, which they would not be able to do on their own.
And despite the remote locations visited, AO was able to provide a comfortable and even bespoke level of accommodation, culinary and cultural experiences.
By the time we had finished our guest interviews, we felt confident that we had identified the key motivators for our marketing personas.
Market Position
The ‘overland travel’ market is large and encompasses many distinct segments: hobbyists wanting to build their own vehicles, guided safari-style multi-day tours, and lastly, the high-end, luxury-outfitted, self-drive style trips led by Adventures Overland.
The commonality among all these market segments is the experience of traveling overland in a vehicle that connects them with nature, culture, and remote destinations without compromising comfort. The marketing must attract and target the small subset of this large audience who are seeking this exclusive style of overland travel.
Our team identified the top competitors in this niche and found key points of differentiation for AO, which lead us to target the upper end of the US market and to build our core messaging and branding around that segment.
Further, we felt that many of the existing AO tour offerings would not translate well into the luxury US market. Some trips were either too long, group sizes too large or were destinations that appealed more to the Indian audience. Our team helped select a small number of core tours and consulted on the itineraries to design the best fit for the affluent, adventurous US traveller. As AO gained traction, more tours would be added later.
Customer Journey
As we worked through the seven stages of the marketing hourglass, it quickly became apparent that the ‘know’ or awareness stage, would be key. This was essentially a brand new tourism product for the US market. For startups, or new travel products, people cannot search for what they do not know exists.
Unlike ‘cycle tours’ or ‘salmon fishing’ there was no audience actively looking for these trips. We would have to make one.
Growth Tactics
It was decided to create a new US website for AO, which would be based on IP addresses for users in the continental US, and be 100% focussed on this market. New core messaging, newly designed tours and content were created.
Similarly, new social accounts were also created for brand continuity and messaging. An awareness-based campaign focussing on top-of-funnel digital ads introducing AO to a targeted US audience, and a strong PR campaign would be used to gain initial traction.
The Results
AO is well on its way to growth in the US market. Its new US-based website, and social channels are generating strong engagement and media campaigns are creating awareness in the luxury adventure travel market. We expect AO to do well in this niche.
Tushar Agarwal
Co-Founder & Director, Adventures Overland
“Aventur Marketing delivered a very thoughtful plan that clearly put us in the right direction for our growth strategy.”