Travel 2022: Why did Cleartrip change its logo design?

Almost 16 years after launch, online travel agent Cleartrip has undergone a brand revamp. The company, which was acquired by Flipkart in 2021, has revealed a new brand identity and logo as a first step toward the brand's next growth phase.

At its core, the company said that the new brand identity represents the company’s refreshed customer-focused approach to enable an easy hassle-free travel journey and encourage customers to travel more. 

The new logo, while retaining its iconic element, stays true to the brand’s mission of making every travel dream a reality. Showcasing optimism, the tick breaks out of the box opening out unbound opportunities to travel.

Taking the brand narrative forward

In a conversation with Storyboard18, Kunal Dubey, chief marketing officer, Cleartrip, says that after the acquisition by Flipkart in 2021, the company has restarted its journey with huge ambitions attached with it.

“The pandemic has changed the whole perspective on travel itself. Also, when we look at the category, OTA has largely been the same and this was the motivation for us to relook at building the brand Cleartrip. We had to take a call on whether we would like to be just another booking agent or serve the customers through innovative products, service and hence gain trust,” he shares.

Dubey says that the new brand identity is only the first step towards steering Cleartrip to take a huge chunk of India’s travel market.

“Cleartrip is not a new brand and it has a huge brand equity. Almost one third of our base is still organic and every small intervention that we make on the brand side has given us extremely positive results. All our research shows that Cleartrip commands brand loyalty in the market, he says.  

The idea of the revamp is to build an image that aligns with the company's future goal of making every travel dream a reality. Hence, "we chose to retain the iconic tick mark, however subtly breaking the box that signifies our core thought of making travel inbound,” Dubey adds.

Addressing consumer travel anxieties

In a post-pandemic world, Dubey says that people do not take travel for granted anymore. Hence, Cleartrip’s intention is to address consumer’s uncertainties, fears and anxieties. 

The company is currently working on a festive campaign which will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

“We are a digital first brand and most of our marketing efforts are digital heavy including martech solutions such as personalization, programmatic and even serving on TV through connected TV,” Dubey says.

In terms of travel trends, Dubey says that in today’s post-covid scenario, the booking window has shrunk across both air and hotel categories. In hotels, the company is witnessing over 50 percent bookings coming in a week before check-in.

“One interesting trend to note includes the length of stay has become longer along with an increase in the count of people in a booking. With respect to the air business, in addition to the quantum of domestic pent-up demand growing, we are seeing a continuous upward trajectory of growth in our international business as well. However, there are certain routes like India and USA where capacity is less than the demand,” he notes.

“The new brand identity had to reflect and deliver to the demands of the consumer and be more energetic, young and dynamic meant for all kinds of travel and travellers," shared design agency Clay that worked on Cleartrip’s new identity. 

"The refreshed design expresses the resurgence that the market will hopefully take to, with a confluence of a reworked identity in a bright orange and white, a more dynamic and free tick mark that breaks all boundaries,” the company added. 

Launched in July 2006, Cleartrip India Pvt was acquired by Flipkart in April 2021 and subsequently, Adani Enterprises acquired a significant minority stake in Cleartrip in October 2021.