The last two years have been rather tough for OYO as the business for tourism, outdoor leisure, and travel sectors plummeted due to the pandemic and lockdown restrictions. However, it doesn’t mean the brand stopped communicating with people or spending on media and advertising. In fact, OYO seemed to have strengthened their marketing game — something that reflects beautifully in their print strategy. We take a look at some of the OYO print ads that have popped up and applauded on social media in the last few months.
A topical around this year’s Tokyo Olympics, OYO’s recent print ad comes with a QR code that people can scan to get the schedule of the games synced with their smartphone calendar. The brand’s relevance is added to the copy — where they are offering quiet spaces for people to enjoy these events, virtually. “Now if you want a quiet space to cheer our companions on, just the OYO app and hit book. Simple,” the copy reads.
For Father’s Day 2021, OYO’s print ad had two key themes to it: Father’s love peace, and that the pandemic has been stifling. They bought it together under the umbrella of ‘What dad really wants this Father’s Day’. The ad copy’s tone and voice feel borrowed from how a child would talk and the questions and logistical issues that would arise while planning for the special day. OYO was sewn into the narrative as the space provider of a room where dad could chill and watch cricket.
Earlier in April this year, OYO released a print ad to focus on sports that often get buried under the glitz, glamour, and fandom for cricket. They were trying to let people know that even though IPL is the talk of the town, there are hockey matches going on — and the Indian team is doing really well there. The brand connect in this ad was that they were offering 45% off on their rooms against the coupon code: HOCKEY. They had also released another ad with the same there with the AKHADA as the code to focus on Asian Wrestling Championship — seemingly a key campaign for the Hindi-speaking markets.
When things get bad, sometimes the only thing you can do is care — and everything else falls into place. OYO’s copy for their Care initiative ad was all about the conversation they had internally while framing it. What should it say? How can one best convey something that is so important and has been spoken about a lot already? They spoke about the partnerships they were building as a part of their plan to help those in need due to the pandemic. There was no direct promotional aspect in this communication — it was more of a PSA.
Last year OYO built a campaign during Women’s Day where they replied to unwanted comments targeting women in the comments section of their posts. This year, they built on it with a print ad — amplifying the impact they were able to create. Drawing from their efforts online, OYO was able to communicate that they go the extra mile to ensure safety for their female consumers.
Do you have a favourite OYO print ad? Do tell us!
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