Salman Khan has signed up as the brand ambassador for travel portalyatra.com.
The Bollywood superstar will pick up less than 5% stake in the company, a company official said.
Yatra.com President Sharat Dhall said the company will launch a multimedia campaign featuring Salman Khan with a marketing budget in excess of Rs 30 crore within a few days, coupled with new product offerings such as instalment payment for air tickets.
"Salman will play the role of Mr Yatra and fits in perfectly as he is the only celebrity who cuts across masses and classes. This will help us further our brand reach to small towns," he told ET.
Dhall refused to share financial details of the deal or to confirm if the company is paying its celebrity endorser in shares.
Salman Khan, who endorses brands such as Wheel, Mountain Dew and Chlormint, charges between 4-6 crore per year, according to estimates.
Yatra.com, launched in 2006, looks to double its share in the online travel business in one year to 50% with the help of the new campaign and new products.
It plans to allow users to pay for air tickets in installments and has tied up with State Bank Of India to launch co-branded credit cards.
Pratik Mazumder, head marketing & strategic alliance at Yatra.com said the credit card has been designed to enable customers to win reward points every time they use the card. "So, the more you swipe your card, the closer you get to your next dream holiday," he said.
The travel portal business in India has been growing at more than 50% a year to reach 37,900 crore in 2011, up from 6,300 crore in 2007 and 25,300 crore in 2010, according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India, or IAMAI, an industry body. It accounts for three-fourths of India's e-commerce market. A Boston Consulting Group report expects online retail in India to reach $84 billion, or about 4,26,000 crore, by 2016.
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