Chalo God’s Own Country – Rajdhani Express Takes Kerala’s Hues
From January 17 on, when you board the 2431 Hazrat Nizamuddin-Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express from Delhi, you’ll see Kerala’s colours all over the train. Yes, literally. As part of an advertising campaign by Kerala Tourism,the train’s exteriors – all its 17 coaches – are covered in bright vinyl graphics that showcase Kerala’s tourist attractions. You can see monuments, forts, art and dance forms and tourist sites from Kovalam to Kasargod on this canvas.
One can see beaches, backwaters, houseboats, hill stations, wildlife, and boat races. The captions are ‘Chalo Kerala’ in Hindi and ‘Go Kerala’ in English. This will run for 6 months, till June, 2010. Kerala is the first state to try its hand at this unique form of advertising. More than half of India use the railways as its major means of transport. This will be a definite boost to that.
And it’s not just the passengers who will be enticed by this grand visual display, passing drivers, pedestrians, and onlookers, too, will come to know of Kerala and its beauty. Even international tourists use the trains to travel within the country, so this will showcase the state like no other campaign can. That, too, in a novel way.
“Commuters who use public transport, especially trains, are by far one of the most significant consumer groups in India in terms of expenditure and consumption. In terms of eyeballs, around 85,000 commuters use the platforms on a daily basis and the ‘Chalo Kerala’ campaign is a great way to reach out to this captive audience,” Kerala Tourism Secretary V Venu said.
Director of Kerala Tourism M Sivasankar said the campaign was part of the innovative promotion strategy to enhance visibility for the destination and unique tourism products the state has to offer while directly connecting with potential visitors from key source cities.
“It will be impossible for commuters to avoid an exterior montage of endless holiday possibilities, from adventurous to indulgent all fun and engaging while waiting for their train. Passing drivers and pedestrians will also gain top-of-mind awareness through larger than life images and bold branding,” he said.
