Strategically building product & brand love for Kogo - a travel & discovery app

ABOUT THE BRAND

KOGO (Travel discovery app)

The Gamified Explorer's Companion"
Kogo is a community driven platform that turns travel into a rewarding, social, and discoverable adventure, leveraging the precision of MapmyIndia's maps. Kogo is a travel & discovery platform that lets you discover niche experiences that you may not usually find on an instagram influencer's profile.

TLDR

Problem : Compete against established global giants (like Google Maps) which are primarily navigation tools.

Solution : Create a niche by shifting the focus from utility (getting from A to B) to experience & discovery. By integrating gamification (KOGOCOIN rewards), commerce, and community, they create a 'sticky' product that's fun, not just functional.
Focus on the high-value user : people who ride / travel a lot and are actively seeking new experiences. This audience is easier to monetize through the in-app marketplace and is highly engaged with community/social features.
Unbox the planet : one experience at a time

Kogo moves beyond mere 'finding' a place to 'experiencing' and 'discovering' it. It taps into the emotional desire for adventure and the thrill of the unknown, positioning the brand as the key to unlocking the world's hidden gems.
Campaign messaging such as "Unlock new places" or "Earn as you travel" works to educate the user on the new benefits (gamification, discovery) while reassuring them on the core necessity (reliable, precise navigation) by association with the trusted MapmyIndia name. The gamification message is the key differentiator.
In a crowded category dominated by utilitarian, logo-driven apps (Google, Apple Maps), an anthropomorphic mascot instantly builds personality, recall, and a foundation for storytelling.
The Kogonaut. A character—an eclectic explorer in a spacesuit—who comes to Earth to rediscover the planet. Campaign : #unboxtheplanet.
Sending the Kogonaut to specific, diverse, and often intricate locations (from city centers and complex flyovers to remote scenic routes and hidden local spots) served as a real-world demonstration of the Mappls mapping capability.
This generates earned media and social virality far beyond a standard travel photo. It literally and figuratively turns "exploring" into an "adventure," aligning perfectly with the brand's promise to turn travel into a rewarding, gamified, and social experience.

Case study

The problem

KOGO started as an app for the niche community of extreme riders who may want to track their journey and create a journey map along with photos and videos of every destination.
With the biker community covered, the platform now wanted to go to the masses. The transition was difficult since the product was designed with a specific community - The Riders.

Rediscovering the product's purpose

The app needed to be redefined and it's new purpose needed to be unearthed.. Through intense research and extensive discussions we discovered that the new app needed to fill the gap of travel discovery..

We're relying only on influencers or social media to help us find new places that may turn out to be underwhelming ultimately. So why not democratize the discovery? Let the users discover the places themselves and list it on KOGO.. KOGO is now a travel discovery platform.

The benefit : A 3 sided demand generation that incentivizes everyone.
Creators get :
Organic Reach, Better monetization opportunities, Complementary to Instagram
Consumers get :
Curation, deals & rewards Hope to become the next creators
Brands get :

Revenue, Discover Right audience, Brand awareness

Positioning & Strategy

Kogo moves beyond mere 'finding' a place to 'experiencing' and 'discovering' it. It taps into the emotional desire for adventure and the thrill of the unknown, positioning the brand as the key to unlocking the world's hidden gems.

The target audience being young travellers who're looking for novelty. They're not searching for another restaurant to eat but potentially a once in a lifetime experience that they may stumble upon. These are the people living their best lives on social media and reality.

The GTM strategy & mascot

Unbox the planet : one experience at a time

Campaign messaging such as "Unlock new places" or "Earn as you travel" works to educate the user on the new benefits (gamification, discovery) while reassuring them on the core necessity (reliable, precise navigation) by association with the trusted MapmyIndia name. The gamification message is the key differentiator.

Brand communications

Sending the Kogonaut to specific, diverse, and often intricate locations (from city centers to remote scenic routes and hidden local spots) served as a real-world demonstration of the Mappls mapping capability.

This generates earned media and social virality far beyond a standard travel photo. It literally and figuratively turns "exploring" into an "adventure," aligning perfectly with the brand's promise to turn travel into a rewarding, gamified, and social experience.

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Sample text

The content spread accross various genres of content. Right from the kogonaut travelling accross India to having the influencers create content for us. The goal was to connect with the right audience while still communicating the right message; even if it's through memes. Why not!