Aarya

About the Company

Ballal Jyoti Travels, founded in 2004, is a leading Corporate Fleet Management services company that provides passenger logistics support to Citigroup, Wipro, E-Funds, Convergys, Airtel, IBM-Daksh amongst others. As a part of the company’s growth and expansion plans, Ballal Jyoti Travels forayed into the fleet taxi business by launching ‘Aarya Cabs’ to cater to the growing demand for radio taxis in the country.

Aarya Cabs was first launched in Delhi in December 2010 with, a fleet of small hatchbacks. At Aarya Cabs, the mission is to provide reliable, timely and efficient private radio cab services by utilizing state of the art logistical technology coupled with a new age fleet and a company certified based of drivers.

The Challenge

Though the company had huge experience in fleet management, the new business posed a different challenge. The cab service was a new and different business spread in the market. The company discovered it as a completely new initiative with a different team. The market was booming with the high demand in cab services and the supply was not honoring that much. Finance and cab licenses were major hurdles to enter the market with full strength of numbers. So we decided to advertise the arrival in a controlled manner, at the same time the brand identity had to make a mark for people to remember the brand and call for the service. In order to set the standards apart from the regular service providers, we intended to make the brand identity such that it has a national appeal and reaches out to the people in every part of the country since the campaign was to be launched in various cities.

The Solution

We started out with making a logo that was simple, with limited production challenges yet, it would convey a clear message to the target market. The name suggested for the service was something that we knew we could play around with graciously. ‘Aarya’ means noble in Sanskrit. To compliment its name that was based on the deep-rooted culture of the company, a complimentary baseline was carefully chosen as ‘Aao milo chalein’ in Hindi and ‘Lets go miles’ in English, which immediately described the company’s intention to connect with the customers and be a part of their journey. The logo turned out to depict the image of the company distinctly as an associate rather than just a service provider. We realized that the clients would immediately take to the connect that it proposed and that would help establish loyalty.

Further it was realized that as a brand strategy we wished to lay low on advertising noise in market yet leave a mark with service and connect with customers. It was absolutely pertinent to create that established trust with the customers so that they would chose “Aarya” cabs as their only option for travel. To keep this in mind, utmost importance was given to the branding inside the cars. The cab color chosen was white and red which signifies passion for service and differentiates it from other single colored cabs in the market, hence making it easily identifiable while on road. At every customer touch point the underlying brand message of care and innovation was delivered through comfortable interiors, interesting branding and a drivers pledge card. The meter box was placed so as to assist visibility even from back seat.

The next challenge was the color of the drivers’ uniform, since the drivers have long working hours and the color had to be able to withstand the long hours. At the same time we fancied the uniform to be inviting and pleasing for the customer. After much deliberation, slight grey color was selected for the uniform, which was appealing and fresh. The first launch was in Delhi, the capital of India, which has extreme weathers, so the shirt was full sleeved with provision to be made half sleeves for summers. To add a streak of service and passion, sufficient amount of red was incorporated in the uniform.

Hiring good drivers was the next challenge. Leaflets elaborated with the advantages of being a part of the company were printed in dual language-English and Hindi. This ensured that the incumbents did not feel intimidated and could connect with the purpose of the company well. An exclusive drivers kit was designed to let the drivers know about the commitment of the company. An extensive training was provided to the drivers in order to provide standardized services to all the customers, which was accompanied by a Drivers Certificate.

In all, the strategy to create freshness of attitude and delivery turned out as conceptualized.

The Result

The initial launch at Delhi was done with the economy version called “Aarya Lite”. The Delhi Chief Minister, Ms. Sheila Dikshit, flagged it off. All the communication aspects during the launch were well coordinated and well thought of to give a customer friendly image to the clients and the media. To flag off the fleet, a branded flag was created and an Aarya Smiley badge for all the team members underlined the customer service commitment of the company.

In our endeavor to constantly upgrade our brand message we keep reviewing the impact and challenges of the earlier communication and make it stronger and customer friendly. It was realized that, while choosing a cab service, most customers seek a brand promise, which talks of security, hygiene, comfort and convenience. The message was conveyed to them through an elaboration made at a specific place identified inside the cab. Such sustained and careful communication resulted in a trusted brand image for ‘Aarya cabs’.

After the successful launch at New Delhi, a year later, a grand launch at Mumbai was organized. And now the company has launched rental car services to add to the basic services.

Both the launches were covered in a number of electronic and print media, thanks to a well-woven and coordinated communication and efforts of the client, Vivid, the branding agency and the PR agency.