MAM
O&M creates Deccan Odyssey campaign for international markets
NEW DELHI: It’s not quite often one gets to see a proactive approach from the bureaucratic offices. But Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) is proving to be an exception.
MTDC, which is gearing up for the launch of luxury train ‘Deccan Odyssey’ in October this year, has already released a print campaign in the leading publications of Europe, US and Asia.
The first part of the campaign, which lasted for three months, was released in January earlier this year. The next round of advertisement is scheduled before the launch of the train.
The corporation has roped in the services of advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather India, Mumbai office, for promoting the train modelled on the style of Indian royalty. In all, four advertisements have been created and the scheduling and placement of the advertisements is being handled by MindShare India.
MTDC has released all the four advertisements in the UK edition of Condenast Traveller and Travel Agent in the US. Other publications include Tutturismo, Gulliver’s India and Quality Travel India from Italy.
France, Germany and Japan are the other key international markets being targeted.
Sumanto Chattopadhyay, senior creative director, O&M, said, “The brief from the client (MTDC) was to communicate the launch of a super luxury train in Maharashtra, in which passengers travel like Indian royalty. The advertising has been released internationally well in advance as this kind of a lead time is required for the international trade.”
The common headline in all the `Deccan Odyssey’ advertisement is: “A train journey where you travel like Indian royalty.” The body of the copy reads, “The Deccan Odyssey invites you to experience the decadent comforts of India’s regal past. Travel from Mumbai to Ratnagiri, Goa, Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik and back…”
The four advertisements depict royalty through a chain of elephants, palanquins, horse drawn carriages and boats, symbolizing a train.
“We depicted Indian royalty through elephants and boats, which were the traditional way of commuting in the ancient times. These were the royal ways of traveling and we accordingly conceptualized the idea. We shot in various locales in Maharashtra for 11 days and it was a great experience,” said copy supervisor of the campaign, Sukesh Nayak.
Deccan Odyssey will start its journey from Mumbai and take the tourists on tour of Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Goa, Pune, Aurangabad and Jalgaon, covering Maharashtra in eight days.
Brands
Ujjwal Jain steps down from PhonePe’s Share.Market to start new chapter
Founder behind WealthDesk and OpenQ exits after decade-long fintech journey
BENGALURU: Ujjwal Jain, the entrepreneur behind platforms such as WealthDesk and OpenQ, has stepped down from his role as chief executive of Share.Market, the investing platform backed by PhonePe, marking the end of a decade-long journey in India’s capital markets space.
In a reflective note, Jain described his journey from launching WealthDesk in 2016 to building a broader ecosystem that eventually became part of PhonePe. Over the years, his ventures focused on bringing data-driven investing tools and model portfolios closer to retail investors, a space that has seen rapid evolution alongside the rise of discount broking.
WealthDesk introduced curated “WealthBaskets” to simplify portfolio investing, while OpenQ expanded access to quantitative research and analytics. Both platforms were later acquired by PhonePe, forming the backbone of Share.Market, which Jain helped scale as a mass-market investing product.
Calling the experience “brutal” yet deeply fulfilling, Jain credited colleagues, investors and industry partners for shaping the journey, highlighting the role of the PhonePe team in building Share.Market into a large-scale platform.
His exit comes at a time when artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape financial services globally. Jain indicated that his next move will focus on this shift, hinting at a renewed push into the intersection of AI and capital markets.
Prior to his entrepreneurial stint, Jain worked with MSCI Inc. on index products and technology, and with D. E. Shaw India Financial Services in algorithmic trading and high-frequency systems.
While he has not disclosed specifics of his next venture, Jain framed the move not as a departure but a reset, signalling that his next chapter will aim to tackle even larger challenges in India’s evolving investment landscape.
With one chapter closed and another underway, the focus now shifts to what Jain builds next in an increasingly AI-first financial world.
