A 'Nut Case' that ensures you 'sleep with your wife'

Known for its punctuality and profitability, IndiGo has also been a trendsetter in advertising and branding innovations. Attractive in-flight meal packaging and innovative products such as boarding ramps and web chat facility for customer queries help IndiGo stand out in the crowded sector.

IndiGo began operations in August 2006, ticking all the right boxes - clean aircraft, on-time flights and reliable service. "IndiGo brought in reliability and punctuality and also made flying an enjoyable experience. It does not serve hot meals like other airlines, yet it made its on-board food desirable with attractive packaging. The cashew nut tin is called a 'Nut Case'. It is not that IndiGo flights do not get delayed, but customers tend to forgive it because of its high likeability factor. Above all, IndiGo is an aspirational brand," said N Chandramouli, chief executive officer of brand insight company, TRA Research.

IndiGo operates 800-plus daily flights, with over 38 per cent share in domestic market. Between January and May 2016, it flew 6.4 million passengers and had the second-lowest number of passenger complaints, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

"The best advertising for a brand is the product itself, and IndiGo is a living example of that. With the product experience being extremely consistent and dependable, satisfied customers do great word-of-mouth advertising for it. Even in terms of advertising, it is quite 'to the point' while being witty with lines like 'Sleep with your wife' for same day return flights," says Saurabh Parmar, founder and CEO of brand consultancy firm Brandlogist.

"Our thinking from the start was to create the best experience for the customers. Whether it's in-flight or on-ground, we looked at every touch point to deliver certain level of quality and fun," says V Sunil, former executive creative director of Wieden+ Kennedy, which handles advertising and brand design for IndiGo.

Sunil says the creative work for IndiGo began a year before the launch of its operations. "We were able to design every experience, including the lighting in the cabin, carpet, safety cards and air sickness bags. We focused mainly on experience design and did very little traditional advertising. Our first television commercial, 'On time is such a wonderful thing', was done after three years of operations," he adds. In 2011, the airline came up with its Broadway musical themed television commercial (TVC) coinciding with the launch of its international operations. Both TVCs focused on the airline's USP - on-time performance. Wieden+Kennedy also designed meal packaging, including the 'Airwich' sandwich box containing a mix of illustrations and stories. With no on-board entertainment, it was felt that smart meal packaging would engage and entertain passengers. IndiGo's cookie tins too have become popular. Last August, IndiGo said one of its passengers had collected 30 such tins.

The airline also sells merchandise on-board, including miniature aircraft models, T-shirts and caps with the IndiGo logo, children's watches, toys, lunch boxes and other accessories. "By adding a strong branded experience on top of the basics, IndiGo touches people in a more emotional way - similar to the likes of Jet Blue and Virgin America in the US. The appeal and success of IndiGo also ties in with the changing perception consumers have of value. Value used to mean quality and price, but today it is defined as quality, price and experience," says Raymond Kollau, founder of Amsterdam-based market research agency, airlinetrends.com.