With nine different lines and a combined fleet of over 100 ships, British-American registered Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise ship operator on the planet. The multinational group launches ships to all corners of the globe, with vessels sailing to the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Asia, Europe and beyond. Now, the industry superpower has decided to take its scope even further with an integrated marketing campaign which features all nine of its iconic cruise brands.
Carnival CEO Arnold Donald explains, “We’ve never before communicated about our nine brands in any kind of organised fashion.”
All-encompassing advertising
The integrated campaign is a first for Carnival Corp. and is rumoured to have a multimillion dollar price tag. All nine lines are taking part including Carnival Cruises Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia), P&O Cruises (UK), Seabourn, Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises. The strategy will be largely online based and will harness the power of several digital and social media platforms.
Interactive elements
In classic Carnival Corp. style the campaign shines the spotlight on passengers. The line has invited cruise enthusiasts to get involved and enter a competition which offers the chance to win an annual cruise holiday for the rest of their life! Participants pick a favourite entry from a short-listed selection of TV advertisements and can also share personal cruise stories and experiences through Twitter in a bid to win prizes.
An aim to change big ship cruise perceptions
According to Carnival Corp. the primary goal of the multi-line campaign is to boost the demand for ‘new-to-cruise’ holidaymakers and disband the stigma accompanying big ship cruising.
“We hope it will help us to inspire people to go on cruises and we hope to grow demand for cruising across the spectrum of cruises,” adds Donald.
A brand new online presence
The heart of the campaign lies in WorldLeadingCruiseLines.com which has recently been given a site-wide makeover. The online information hub offers browsers detailed information on each Carnival Corp. brand as well as an innovative ‘cruise-a-nality’ tool which helps new cruisers find the best line for their personality.
Images courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons. Credit: El Coleccionista de Instante
