It is a detailed report on the Integrated Marketing Communication practices of Taj Group that has made it so successful. If anyone has any new information any anything i had missed please share in the comments below.

1. IMC- INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
Submitted to:
Prof. Milind Fadnavis
Submitted by:
Rohit Jain (2013242)

2. 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 traditional
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. 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. Promotional
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:

4. 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,

5. 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.

6. 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 hospitalit y
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.

7. 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.

8. 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 traditional
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:

9. 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 dramatize d
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.