Positioning Is Proven on the Ground, Not in the Ad

For People Who Stay With You — by Madhulika Joshi, Hospitality Marketing Consultant, CEO, Martist

Hospitality brands spend a lot of time defining who they are — their positioning, promise, tone and the experience they want to be known for.

But in hospitality, positioning is only as strong as the experience that follows it.

A guest may first encounter the brand through advertising, a website or a recommendation, but their real understanding of it is shaped on ground — at arrival, during an interaction with a team member, or in the way a request or problem is handled.

As part of the brand team at The Leela, I saw how the philosophy of Atithi Devo Bhava was reflected not just in communication, but in service standards and in how guests were made to feel. Warmth, attention to detail and anticipating a guest’s needs brought the brand promise alive.

At Accor, while working on ibis brand rejuvenation, I saw a very different expression of the same principle. The brand spoke to a younger, more informal traveller, and the experience reflected that spirit — easy, contemporary, energetic and less bound by traditional hotel formality. Guests were encouraged to simply be themselves.

These experiences reinforced something I strongly believe: hospitality positioning cannot live only in advertising or brand guidelines.

Marketing creates the expectation. The guest experience is where the brand promise is ultimately proven.

About the author

Madhulika Joshi is a senior brand and marketing professional with over two decades of experience across hospitality, lifestyle, retail, wellness, travel and other consumer-facing sectors.

She began her professional journey in hospitality brand communications with Leela Ventures, the parent company of The Leela group of hotels, where she gained experience across brand communication, public relations, media relations and integrated marketing. Her hospitality journey also gave her exposure to brands such as The Park Hotels, further shaping her understanding of experience-led brand building.

She later joined Accor, where she spearheaded brand marketing for India and South Asia, working across a diverse portfolio of hotel brands and strengthening her experience in hospitality marketing, positioning, customer experience and integrated brand strategy.

Her career has also included experience with Pidilite Industries, where she was involved in the launch of Hobby Ideas, giving her a broader perspective beyond hospitality.

Today, Madhulika is the CEO & Chief Creative Officer of Martist Services Pvt. Ltd., an integrated marketing agency she founded in 2021. At Martist, she leads strategy, creative direction, client partnerships and business growth, with a strong focus on helping hospitality, wellness, lifestyle, retail and travel brands build stronger relevance through strategy, storytelling, creativity and customer experience.

She is also a podcaster and regularly contributes as a guest faculty in marketing, sharing practical industry perspectives with students and young professionals.

Across her career, Madhulika has remained particularly interested in the intersection of brand promise and customer experience — and in how businesses can translate positioning from communication into behaviour people can actually experience.

Images: courtesy of Madhulika Joshi