1. Talk about ‘The Jurni’ in detail. Why did you choose India as your first market?

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Who are the competitors?

People often ask - what does The Jurni represent? The Jurni is for those who seek more, learn more, and do more. We believe in a life of no limits – how far genuine hard work can take you and to the remarkable abilities of our imagination. Essentially, The Jurni is for those who never stop seeking.

The Jurni is our weekday newsletter and it’s targeted at working professionals who enjoy learning about cultures and places near and far. We created a newsletter for the things we felt were missing in our lives.

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And why India? Well, fundamentally, we saw that there is a need for this type of content to be created for the Indian market. The country lies at the intersection of a burgeoning economy of travellers who are digital natives, and, undeniably, the size of this audience works in our favor.

I have been observing media trends among urban professionals in the US and Europe for over a decade, and have seen a gap in the Indian market for concisely curated and clever insights on culture.

As we focus on culture, work-life and travel, we do not have any direct competitors in the Indian marketplace per se. There are websites, blogs, and, of course, companies launching their own newsletters as a way of keeping in touch with their customers. But producing a newsletter is not their main business like it is for The Jurni.

2. What is the USP of the brand and how is it different from other industry players or travel newsletters?

Time-poor professionals of today have been hit by social media fatigue. They are passionately curious about the world, but largely receive the same kind of content, curated by algorithms, over and over again. Now, they are seeking a platform that can neatly cut through the noise and bring them the most fascinating content, that is also relevant to them.

Our editorial team scans over 200 websites from across the world every day, carefully selecting relevant stories for the inquisitive, culturally-inclined young professional – whether it’s a glimpse into Chinatown in San Francisco, a taste of coffee trends brewing in Australia, or hybrid work models springing up in Hong Kong.

Through an innovative media format, thought-provoking curation, and an ardent reader base garnered entirely through word of mouth, we bring the world closer to the Indian millennial, one Jurni at a time.

3. Expansion plans and growth projections for the upcoming year? How has been the market reaction?

Though we have grown rapidly we are nowhere near saturation in India – while India is large enough, we have naturally received interest from abroad, specifically Southeast Asia and the US. Frequently our readers tell us how these markets need The Jurni.

In the short term, we are very much committed to India and seeing what happens over the next few months and what other markets seem viable from where we are operating. In the long term, as and when we see how we can expand intelligently into these markets, we would consider it.

And, as far as the market reaction goes - in less than a year, The Jurni has grown to be India’s largest newsletter on travel and culture, and our pace has only picked up.

4. What makes The Jurni millennial-friendly?

While there are several emerging platforms for news in the country, no established player has been interpreting the contemporary zeitgeist for the Indian millennial, in the world’s largest millennial market.

Our unique yet relatable voice is of a globally-minded 30-something-year-old working between ‘Zoomland’ and the office in India, facing the same daily quandaries we all do – from staying motivated at work during a global pandemic to wondering when it’s safe to travel again, to learning deeper insights on cultural etiquettes and the world around us. The voice is inquisitive, conversational, and smart.

And finally, our tone is one of optimism, not only as that is who we are as a brand, but also, we believe that’s the only way you can start your morning.

5. Why did you come up with the Carbon Offset initiative? Aim behind it?

I cannot think of a more urgent issue facing our planet right now than climate change. As the human race, we can affect change, but we must all take action collectively and swiftly. Being acutely aware of the impact air travel has on our environment; we want to inspire a generation of Indians to become more conscious travellers.

Since ‘The Jurni’ is a natural advocate of travel, so instead of producing ‘freebies’ for our captive audience every time they introduced a friend to our platform, we have designed a unique referral programme that helps offset carbon emissions.

As a thank you to our readers for referring their friends to The Jurni, we fund the planting of trees in India. We are committed to offset 100 metric tons of carbon in 2021 with our charity partner. This idea came to mind in February, and we were able to implement it within a few weeks. We needed all hands-on deck, but we made it happen – our carbon offset program, our signature initiative, went live Earth Day, April 22, 2021

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