Head – Brand Marketing

Company Description

AbhiBus is a leading online bus-ticketing platform that aggregates ticket inventory from over 4,000 bus operators - including major State Road Transport Corporations (SRTCs), covering more than 3.5 lakh (350,000+) routes across India. The AbhiBus website and apps allow users to check amenities provided by bus operators, compare booking fares, check bus timings in the searched route, live tracking of the bus before arrival, cancellation protection options and other facilities. It is the official ticketing partner for several state road transport corporation bus tickets and IRCTC bus bookings.

AbhiBus is owned and operated by ixigo (Le Travenues Technology Limited), India’s leading OTA for the Next Billion Users. With over 54 crore Annual Active Users in FY25, ixigo offers AI-powered train, flight, bus, and hotel bookings through its platforms - ixigo, ConfirmTkt, and AbhiBus.

Job Description

We are looking for a Head – Brand Marketing to lead and redefine how India books and experiences bus travel through AbhiBus. In this role, you will blend data-driven performance with emotive storytelling to scale the AbhiBus brand, strengthen market leadership in the online bus ticketing space, and own the end-to-end marketing journey for the modern bus traveler. You will be the brand custodian for AbhiBus—ensuring it is not just a transactional booking platform but a trusted companion for every bus journey across India.

Key Responsibilities

1. Brand Stewardship & Narrative

• Architect AbhiBus’s brand positioning, visual identity, and voice to resonate across diverse traveler segments and regional markets.
• Ensure AbhiBus is perceived not as a commoditized booking tool, but as a premium, reliable, and traveler-first brand throughout the booking and travel journey.

2. Integrated Multi-Channel Growth

• Orchestrate high-impact, 360-degree marketing campaigns spanning Performance, Social, PR, and Influencer channels tailored to the bus travel audience.
• Move beyond transactional marketing to build a cohesive brand ecosystem that drives top-of-funnel awareness and converts high-intent travelers into confirmed bus bookings.

3. Data-Driven Performance & LTV Optimisation

• Own the marketing tech stack and analytical framework to measure real-time ROI across all brand and performance channels.
• Optimise the balance between Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), leveraging first-party data and CRM tools to predict travel patterns and drive repeat bookings in a highly competitive, low-loyalty category.

4. GTM & Product Innovation Strategy

• Partner with Product and Engineering to lead Go-To-Market (GTM) strategies for new features such as booking technology enhancements, fintech integrations, ancillary services, and route-level innovations.
• Translate technical product updates into compelling consumer benefits that improve the user experience and drive app adoption for AbhiBus.

5. Strategic Partnerships & Ecosystem Growth

• Identify and negotiate high-leverage partnerships with bus operators, state transport corporations, payment platforms, travel aggregators, and regional influencers.
• Build alliances that act as force multipliers for the AbhiBus brand—expanding reach into new demographics, routes, and markets, and creating exclusive value for our customers.

6. Competitive Intelligence & Trend Forecasting

• Serve as the internal expert on the online bus ticketing and broader surface-transport landscape, including competitive OTA platforms and emerging mobility players.
• Synthesise market research and competitor moves to proactively pivot strategies—anticipating trends such as tier-2/3 city demand, sustainable bus travel, route-specific dynamic pricing, and AI-driven trip planning.

7. Commercial Leadership & P&L Accountability

• Lead, mentor, and scale a high-performing brand marketing team for the Bus business unit.
• Maintain P&L accountability, aligning the marketing budget with AbhiBus’s broader commercial goals and ensuring every rupee spent is an investment in scalable, sustainable growth.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of marketing experience with 4+ years in a senior leadership role (Senior Manager / Head level) within high-growth B2C travel, consumer tech, or e-commerce companies.
• Proven track record in FMCG, D2C, travel, hospitality, OTAs, or online marketplaces, with deep understanding of seasonal demand cycles and regional market dynamics in India.
• Expert-level command of CAC/LTV modelling, multi-touch attribution, and modern MarTech stacks (CDPs, CRMs, GA4, and equivalent tools).
• Demonstrated ability to marry high-velocity performance marketing with emotive, world-class brand storytelling.
• Experience recruiting, mentoring, and leading high-performance, cross-functional marketing teams.
• Strong P&L management skills with the ability to align marketing output with broader commercial and leadership-level goals.
• Understanding of the Indian bus travel market, regional language nuances, and tier-2/3 city consumer behaviour is a strong plus.

Additional Information

Nice-to-Have

• Experience working in or with online travel aggregators (OTAs) focused on bus or surface transport.
• Familiarity with vernacular and regional marketing strategies for Indian audiences.
• Prior exposure to fintech-integrated or super-app ecosystems within travel.

Why AbhiBus?

• Lead the brand for one of India’s leading online bus ticketing platforms with a massive, growing user base.
• Shape how millions of Indians discover, book, and experience bus travel.
• Work at the intersection of technology, data, and consumer storytelling in one of the country’s most exciting travel categories.
• Be part of a high-growth organisation with the ambition to redefine surface transport in India.

Candidates are responsible for safeguarding sensitive company data against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, and for reporting any suspected security incidents in line with the organization's ISMS (Information Security Management System) policies and procedures.