Janbala

The story of a travel startup with a one-year lifespan.

From my hiring in March 2016 to the company's collapse a year later in March 2017, Janbala provided me an unparalleled opportunity to be involved in the creation of a distinctive brand from its inception — and to get the full "startup experience" from my very first job in San Francisco.

Making sense of chaos.

When I arrived as the first (and ultimately, only) copywriter at Janbala, there wasn't much of a brand identity established. The company had worked with a few San Francisco-based marketing agencies to gather some basic research and develop visual concepts. The name Janbala was already a non-negotiable by the time I started, and the general idea of a travel website that would engage travelers with a philanthropic element was set, but the rest was up to interpretation.

Using the previous research and my own insights, I developed a basic marketing and branding guide. Packaged in a clean presentation and quickly passed throughout the company by employees who were hungry for any sense of identity or direction, I felt as though I had already started shifting things in the right direction.

Developing an enduring tagline.

The tagline Janbala was using when I started was "Travel Enlightened." Beyond sounding generic, there was an increasing consensus that it wasn't quite on the mark for the intention of the brand. It elicited notions of spirituality, elitism and relaxation, while neglecting to engage the traveler or accommodate the fact that travel experiences can be so much broader. "Be the Journey" was chosen after much soul-searching and brainstorming for its meaningful connection to travelers. The tagline involved them more deeply with their travel experiences, while alluding to the well-known expression, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Starting a social conversation around an unknown brand.

Together with the newly-hired Content Marketing Manager, we decided that simply slapping #Janbala on some tweets and photos wouldn't get us on anyone's radar. The hashtag #TravelMeans was developed instead, intended to engage social media users by asking what travel means to them while sharing a core value of Janbala: that they care about both the where and the why behind our journeys.

The result? Travel influencers from across the globe embraced the #TravelMeans hashtag as an opportunity to join the conversation and share their own personal stories with their followers. While some influencers were part of a paid partnership, the movement quickly captured organic growth through exposure to their vast follower networks.

Creating brand values for a young company with big ambitions.

Once our marketing team had grown out a bit, the company seemed stable and new ambitions were on the horizon, we decided it was time to work toward developing distinct brand values. These would serve multiple purposes: they would give our current employees a sense of unity and direction; they would facilitate HR activities such as managing company growth or turnover; and they would allow teams across departments to find common ground as we all worked on disparate activities while keeping our core values at heart.

Website content & UX/UI

The site was unfortunately taken down the same day the company was abruptly shutdown, so all that remains are some screenshots as evidence it ever existed. Visiting Janbala.com will redirect you to a legal notice. I had a hand in defining and refining all interface language, ensuring that the most effective words and phrases were used to drive conversion and engage curious travelers.

Click a preview below to see in full size.

Hotel & flight search pages

Our hotel and flight results pages were optimized regularly to maximize conversions through the booking flow. The visual design and the language used was iterated and tested frequently to ensure no opportunity was missed. Elements such as urgency messaging, featured listings, social proof and trust badges were implemented over time to help gain the trust of travelers and secure their business.

Web display ads

A final project: Jaunt | Love Your Layover

Janbala experimented with a new, more focused travel concept toward the end of its existence. Jaunt would allow travelers to make the most of their travel by curating routes with extended layovers in preferred destinations at no extra cost — and sometimes even a lower cost than a comparable direct flight. The product never launched but a preview landing page was created to gauge interest in the target audience.

The end: lessons learned.

While it was disappointing to see the company falter toward the end, the experience taught me a lot and gave me once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to influence a brand. From creating the tagline to writing the first video scripts and even creating exciting internal materials to keep employees engaged, it's a role I'll never forget. On to new journeys!

Main Contributions:
Content Strategy
Copywriting
Brand Development
Creative Direction
Tagline


Visit Website:
Unfortunately the site was shut down along with the company in March of 2017.
The corporate owner, Travana, Inc. maintains an active LinkedIn landing page.
You may also find yourself entertained/distressed by the Glassdoor Reviews.