Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise company, today announced its first-ever multi-brand marketing initiative incorporating all nine of its leading global brands to drive increased awareness, consideration and demand for cruising as a great vacation option at an exceptional value. Targeting consumers who are new to cruising, the campaign will kick off on November 24 with several digital and social elements and will continue to ramp up through 2015, the company said in a statement.
As part of the marketing effort, Carnival Corporation & plc will introduce the “World’s Leading Cruise Lines Marketing Challenge” – an interactive crowdsourcing program in which CEO Arnold Donald and celebrity emcee Cedric the Entertainer ask consumers to “join the company’s marketing team” and pick their favourite TV ads from a selection of creative concepts, with the chance for one lucky participant to win a yearly cruise for life.
Carnival Corporation & plc's newly redesigned World’s Leading Cruise Lines website – WorldsLeadingCruiseLines.com – will serve as the campaign hub. The new site will feature content from each of the company’s nine brands and also house new tools and functionality in support of the campaign.
The campaign elements are designed to educate consumers and especially non-cruisers on why cruising is an extraordinary vacation experience at an exceptional value. The campaign will help consumers understand how contemporary cruising has evolved, with grand cruise ships offering something for everyone and how common myths about cruising are untrue. The campaign will also encourage consumers to consult a travel agent as a valuable resource for planning a cruise vacation.
The goal of the marketing program is to help inspire consumers to consider cruising as one of their top options when planning vacations -- and, ultimately, to grow demand for cruising. While cruising continues to grow in worldwide popularity, with nearly 22 million people expected to have taken cruises in 2014, only about 3.3 percent of people in North America in any given year go on a cruise – providing a significant marketing opportunity.
