case study
CLIENT_ Trunk India
NICHE_ Premium Small Group Travel
TIME FRAME_3 years
How Trunk India grew from 36 to 86 annual guests while increasing tour fees by 50%
After three years working with Rain Machine, Trunk India has become one of the leading operators for women's group travel to India.
Over that time, Rain Machine helped create a boom in demand - allowing Trunk to increase tour fees by 50% while more than doubling the number of paying guests.
Trunk tours now typically sell out 6-12 months in advance, attracting guests from Australia, the UK, Europe and the US.
Year | Insta Followers | Newsletter Subscribers | Guests | Tour Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | 2K | 0 | 36 | $5000 |
2025 | 8K | 600 | 66 | $6000 |
2026 | 13K | 1800 | 86 | $7500 |
Year | Guests | Tour Fee |
|---|---|---|
2024 | 36 | $5K |
2025 | 66 | $6K |
2026 | 86 | $7.5K |
The Strategy: A clear brand story guests could step into
Before creating content, Rain Machine clarified the emotional story behind Trunk: a premium women's travel experience for guests who wanted adventure, culture, connection and the confidence to travel somewhere they may not have gone alone.
The Trunk Brand Story:
Trunk takes women travellers on a two-week, group adventure through India, guiding them through the secret spots and local highlights so they can authentically experience what this incredible country has to offer whilst holidaying with like-minded people.
This simple brand story became the foundation for Trunk's Instagram, ads, newsletter and website - giving every touchpoint the same emotional direction.
For similar boutique travel brands, this is the foundation: a clear story that allows the the guest to easily read themselves into the experience.
Emotional Pillars Behind the Content
Rain Machine mapped the emotional drivers behind the Trunk guest: what she wanted, what she feared, and what would help her feel ready to book. This shaped the content across social media, ads and email.
- Adventure: Breaking the monotony of daily life
- Letting Go: Leaving responsibilities behind
- Wellbeing: Putting yourself first
Turning the Brand Story into create content, newsletters and ads
Rain Machine turned the Trunk brand story into a consistent marketing system across Meta ads, newsletters and organic social media.
This included film and photography shoots in Jaipur, Pondicherry and Varanasi, giving Trunk a bank of high-quality material to use across the full marketing system.
Organic Social - Instagram
Organic social media helped Trunk make the trips feel immediate and alive. Some reels were carefully produced, including a Jaipur shoot with models to capture the feeling of travelling through North India. Others came from real moments on the trips, including guests celebrating Holi and having the time of their lives. Together, the reels helped viewers feel like they were really there in India — seeing the colour, movement, energy and emotion of the experience.
Building a Visual Library
Photography was a key part of the system. Rain Machine built a library of authentic images for Trunk, which could then be used across the marketing system. This helped every touchpoint feel consistent, real and recognisably Trunk.
Newsletter - Email as the Trust-Building Engine
The newsletter became one of Trunk’s most important conversion tools. While Instagram and ads helped generate attention, email gave us a place to build trust over time — sharing guest stories, trip updates, practical reassurance, founder notes and timely booking prompts. This helped turn interested travellers into confident guests.
Meta Ads - Reaching new travellers and Retargeting
Meta ads helped introduce Trunk to new audiences while also bringing warmer audiences back into the booking journey. Because very few people book a premium trip after seeing one post or ad, retargeting was important: people could discover Trunk, return to the website, see more content, join the newsletter and gradually build the confidence to enquire or book.
The Marketing System
Ads
Newsletters
Organic Social Media
Watch below the Testimonial from Trunk Founder Ali Barter
You can also see the Rain Machine system in action across Trunk's website, Instagram and Newsletter.
Website: www.trunkindia.com.au
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/trunkindia