Club Mahindra

Brand Management Case

Study

Unique Membership model

Membership for 25 years
Flexibility in: Location (Terrain, Hill station, Beach, Water-front, Jungle,
Himalayas, Dessert, Region wise)
Room (Studio, One-bedroom, Two-bedroom)
Season (Purple, Red, White, Blue)
Holiday types (Adventure, Active, Wildlife, Heritage,
Cozy/Romantic, Relaxed)
No. of vacations in a year

Rent, gift, transfer timeshare

Accumulate, advance and upgrade
A two year RCI membership free

Consumers
Children, young parents, young
honeymooning couples, retired, DOINK (IT
Sector boom)
Targeted towards middle class, upper middle
class families, people with predictable
income, of 20 lakhs a year
Luxury product, not necessity, requires push
Holiday: a very new idea to Indian families
Adds to social status

What does the Indian consumer look

for?
What does the Indian
consumer look for?

Safe, secure and

comfortable location,
good food, activities:
complete package
Standardized product
Pocket friendly (EMI)

Club Mahindra Positioning

Positioning:
A
fun
brand that can be
enjoyed by families
who like to travel to
different destinations
and
spend
quality
time with loved ones.

Rebranding of the Brand

Club Mahindra's new brand identity features
a symbol made up of four hearts coming
together. Inspired by the 'colours of
holidays', the hearts are in vibrant shades of
blue, yellow, orange and green, symbolise
families and friends coming together.
The thought behind rebranding was to reflect
the ethos of the organization which strives to
create magical experiences for the entire
family during their holiday period.

Communication
Word of Mouth (Referral)
Trip advisor, travel portals (business shifting
from offline to online)
Direct Selling
Tele-marketing
Digital (Member acquisition, customer
service, member engagement), good data for
insight marketing
Events
Onsite sales

Competitors
Club Mahindra: 1.8 lakh members (70%)
Sterling Holidays and Resorts: 76,000
members
Country Club: 25,000 members
Panoramic Group (Magic Holidays): 4000-5000
members
Leisure Holidays: 5000-7000 members
Other proprietors offering weekend homes
with recreational facilities
Real estate companies with large land banks

Competitor Analysis

Club Mahindra
Largest number of
resorts
Light balance sheet
Wide geographical
presence
Strong backing of the
Mahindra Group
Great stake in Finlandbased Holiday Club

Sterling Holidays
Pioneer in the Timeshare Industry
Based mostly in South and West India
Embarked on a Rs 500 crore five star
resort project with two 16-hole golf
courses in Noida, near Delhi-Bombed
Merged with Thomas Cook in 2014
Entry into adventure tourism (Nature
Trail) religious circuit, backpackers,
corporates- Scaling up
Country Club
Smaller membership plans (5 years
also)
Pioneer in the concept of family
clubbing

Sustainability Quotient
Restricting it to family audiences (more stickiness),
Senior citizens back-end costs a lot, difficult to service it
Not restricting model to Timeshare, looking at newer
segments (corporates, honeymooners)
More focus on packages for non-members or for solo
travel enthusiasts, during off season when families do not
prefer travelling
System based selling than expensive one to one
customer acquisition
Innovative concept like Fundays and Teddy Travelogues
Make the industry more transparent to the customers

Recommendations for the Brand

Implementation Feasibility
Better utilization of Instagram for the brand
(consumers love talking about their holidays)
Kiosks can be set up in 'Baby Oye' stores which are
visited by families, the brands target audience
A tie-up with Incredible India, wherein Club
Mahindra can talk about providing safe, serene and
luxurious stay and accommodation. It also can talk
about how it reflects the true nature of India being
a hospitable nation (i.e. Athithi Devo Bhava) and
that it is an Indian company.
Tie-up with travel partner SOTC, etc.

Tv ads- series of ads for the future

An old couple sitting in their backyard talking about their
retirement. Their son has just got a job recently. The mail
arrives. It is from him. He calls them. As they open the
package they see that it is a gift coupon for a Club Mahindra
holiday. Focus on the gifting. And at expanding the
audience. Can be done any time of the year.
A young woman who is going to get married is getting pre
marital jitters. Her father comes in. talks to her, gets her a
gift. It is a gift coupon for a Club Mahindra holiday.
Ja
Simran
ja,
jee
le
apni
zindagi.
Expanding the audience to the bachelors and bachelorettes
for
pre
wedding
holidays.
Launched before November as December is the peak
wedding season in India.

Holistic view
Challenges

Loopholes are found

by consumers
EMI and AMC
Payments not done on
time, Requires follow
up, collection team

Strengths
Domestic travel
market growing faster
than foreign travel
market
Fixed Occupancy
Strong upfront cash
flow
IHCL, Hyatt, Leela with
ready customer base
not tapping on the
timeshare model

In the times to come

Survey Facts

Positive Sentiments

Survey conducted by
Sterling Group, 2013
Potential: 3 Million Indians
Untapped: 1.5-2 million still
Indians capable of timeshare
Tourism Industry growing
@10%
South East and Middle East
markets growing, Go where
Indians go..
Excessive advertising by
State Tourism

Stability of Indian
government
Consumers developing a
taste towards luxurious
lifestyle.
India is a safe region to visit.
Timeshare is the fastest
growing segment of leisure
tourism clocking around 20
per cent CAGR
Improvements in road and
air infrastructure.