Travel - Rohit Bhargava

Why The Future Of Travel & Destination Marketing Is All About Curation

February 15, 2011 by Rohit

Today content curation is rapidly finding roots in the highly immersive world of travel as more people share their personal experiences as a way to influence others on not only where to stay and what to do … but also where to go in the first place.
The Bottom Line: Curation is already transforming the way that people answer the all important question of where to go, but so far innovations are coming more from technology based startups rather than destinations themselves. In the near future, we will start to see more local, state and country tourism boards as well as convention and visitor bureaus using curation to better promote their destinations to all kinds of travelers.

How Coke Is Reimagining The Future Of Social Events

November 17, 2010 by Rohit

It is easy to complain about the trivial nature of the majority of social media content, but it is rapidly becoming a fact of life that the socially connected among us can’t help sharing our lives as they happen with our virtual networks. One place where this sharing behaviour becomes particularly accelerated is at live … Read more

How A Curated Competition Helped Find A New Logo For DC

November 8, 2010 by Rohit

If you come to Washington DC as a tourist at any time of year, chances are you will spend at least a part of your trip visiting some of the most iconic museums and national buildings in the city. Outside of most of them are a collection of street vendors selling an assortment of life-sized … Read more

How To Take A Journey Instead Of A Trip

March 8, 2010 by Rohit

I used to hate slideshows. Not Powerpoint as many people call slideshows today, but the old style of slideshow. The one where you set up a carousel projector to show lots of little negatives encased in small cardboard frames to unwilling family and friends. If you are under a certain age, you probably won't know … Read more

7 Destination Marketing Tips For Selling Your "Experience"

December 17, 2009 by Rohit

What if what you are selling is neither a product or a service? Most marketing advice is distributed based on the assumption that you fit one of these two categories. The unfortunate gap between them is the large category of organizations or businesses that provide an experience – which are often left out. If you … Read more

Passport Marketing At The Berlin Wall

November 9, 2009 by Rohit

Today is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall and people across the world are focusing on this momentous day. Last week I was in Berlin and spent an afternoon looking at remnants of the Berlin Wall and its defining place in German history. As the German chancellor from the time (Helmut … Read more

Southwest vs. United: Why Authenticity Wins, Even In TV Advertising

October 8, 2009 by Rohit

Over the course of two days, I saw two stark examples of what could easily be considered the best and worst of airline advertising messages encompassed in two ads done for domestic US-based airlines. Let’s start with the worst from United: What makes this ad so ineffective? First of all, the call to action to … Read more

How Carnival Cruises Uses Marketing Inspired By Seinfeld

July 20, 2009 by Rohit

What made Seinfeld one of the best television shows ever? A big part of it was his ability to based an entire episode on an everyday observation. Over the run of the show, this method gave viewers such memorable moments as double dipping (taking a bite and then redipping the chip into the dip) and … Read more

6 Lessons From the Best Marketing Campaign Ever

July 13, 2009 by Rohit

Last month an unlikely underdog stunned the marketing world at the International Cannes Advertising Festival. At the show, a single marketing campaign took home a Grand Prix award in three categories simultaneously–direct, cyber and PR– something that had never happened before in the 50+ year history of the show. Contrary to what you might expect, … Read more