Brands
Chaaipani takes the reins at Rath Yatra with divine brand partnership
MUMBAI: Where faith meets footfall, Chaaipani is scripting a new chapter in spiritual storytelling. Chaaipani has been named the exclusive advertising and brand activation partner for the Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra 2025, one of India’s most spiritually charged and widely attended festivals, drawing over 1.5 crore devotees annually.
As the grand chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra prepare to roll through Puri on 27 June, a different kind of journey begins behind the scenes. With this partnership, Chaaipani is tasked with orchestrating branding, sponsorships, and immersive on-ground activations carefully designed to resonate with the spiritual atmosphere while elevating the experience for attendees and brands alike.
For many marketers, the Rath Yatra offers a rare confluence of scale, sentiment, and visibility, especially across Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. But this isn’t your usual marketing pitch, it’s faith-first. And Chaaipani, known for its culturally rooted storytelling and community-first ethos, aims to walk the fine line between devotion and disruption with thoughtful precision.
Speaking about the partnership Chaaipani founder Shruti Chaturvedi said, “We are deeply honored to be entrusted with the advertising and brand activation for the Jagannath Rath Yatra 2025. This is more than just a festival, it is an embodiment of faith, devotion, and centuries-old tradition. Our goal is to create a respectful and authentic brand storytelling experience that enhances the Yatra for millions of devotees while preserving its spiritual essence.”
The mandate covers end-to-end execution from planning to on-ground integration ensuring every participating brand not only shows up but does so meaningfully. With a reputation for balancing modern storytelling with cultural sensitivity, Chaaipani’s playbook promises reverent innovation.
As faith takes to the streets this June, Chaaipani will be curating not just a brand campaign, but a collective memory for millions who gather for divine darshan, and for marketers hoping to walk beside them respectfully.
Brands
Uber launches hotel bookings feature in partnership with Expedia
From hotel bookings to room service at your door, the ride-hailing giant is making its boldest push yet into everyday life
CALIFORNIA: Uber is done being just a taxi app. At its annual GO-GET product event, the world’s leading mobility and delivery platform unveiled a sweeping set of new features designed to plant itself at the centre of how people travel, eat and shop, hotel bookings included.
The headline move is a partnership with Expedia Group that lets Uber users in the United States book hotels directly within the Uber app, with access to a catalogue that will eventually grow to more than 700,000 properties worldwide. Uber One members get 10 per cent back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and savings of at least 20 per cent on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels globally. Vacation rentals from Vrbo, Expedia Group’s home-rental brand, will be added later this year. The partnership is expected to expand beyond the United States. From June, Uber rides will also be integrated directly into the Expedia app, with push notifications sent to travellers ahead of hotel check-in to book discounted Uber rides for the duration of their stay.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, framed the expansion in terms of the modern condition. “Uber is becoming an app for everything, helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” he said. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Ariane Gorin, chief executive of Expedia Group, struck a similarly ambitious note. “Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveller experience,” she said. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travellers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Beyond hotels, the product announcements come thick and fast. Travel Mode, available within both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offers curated recommendations on local favourites, tourist destinations, OpenTable restaurant reservations and on-demand delivery to hotel rooms. Uber One International means the membership programme now works globally, allowing members to earn credits on rides abroad that can be redeemed once back home. A new Shop for Me feature lets users request items from any store, even those not listed on the app. Eats for the Way allows riders in select cities booking an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to have a drink or snack waiting for them in the car. Voice Bookings, powered by artificial intelligence, lets users book a ride conversationally, without touching their phone. And a redesigned One Search bar consolidates results for places, food and items across the entire Uber platform in a single query.
Uber has now logged more than 72 billion trips since it launched in 2010. The question it is now answering is what comes after the ride. The answer, apparently, is everything else. Whether users want a hotel in Paris, a coffee in the back of a car or a snake plant from the local garden centre, Uber would very much like to be the one to provide it. The app economy’s land grab has a new front-runner.
NOTE: The image used is AI generated and only for representational purposes.
