Malayala Manorama ties up with Kerala Shopping Festival
24 Nov 2008
The ministry of tourism's plans to create a 'second shopping season' for Kerala are going on in full swing. Onam was the first season and the ministry has chosen Malayala Manorama as partner for this initiative. The festival will begin on 1 December and go on till 15 January 2009. The festival is being coordinated jointly by the various state departments of tourism, industries and commerce, finance, local self-government and civil supplies, along with the traders and manufacturers in the state.
The government of Kerala will pitch in with Rs20 crore for the activity. Junction K, the integrated media solution from the Manorama Group, is the media partner for the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF).
Varghese Chandy, senior general manager, marketing operations, Malayala Manorama, said: ''The main objective is to develop a second shopping season in Kerala. It is the largest ever initiative of its kind. The vision of GKSF is to make Kerala an international shopping destination over a period of five years and to develop the Festival in the scale of Dubai/ Malaysian shopping festivals. Malayala Manorama will pool its resources to develop GKSF to achieve its objectives.''
Minister for home, vigilance and tourism, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, said: ''The Festival is a strong step taken forward to regain the lost glory of Kerala in the map of international trade and commerce. The government aims to utilise the growth in the tourism sector to develop the state as an international trade and tourism destination. As compared to shopping festivals being held in other countries, GKSF converts the entire state of Kerala into a giant shopping mall, incorporating not just the big players, but also the small and medium scale industries in the state.''
As for the marketing and promotional strategies of the event, Chandy added: ''The venture is designed to induce remarkably large number of footfalls into the member establishments and to ultimately effect shopping through the exciting offers. The results of this festival will also serve as a pointer to the success of Junction K and also its inevitability as a choice for effective marketing solutions in the state. Connecting the readers of Malayala Manorama to GKSF through promotions, readers' contests and editorial would be key factors for the same.''
