| Carnival to launch consumer site

Discover Cruising, a new
resource that helps first-timers
choose a cruise, will be heavily
marketed online.
SIMON Cheng, director of marketing,
Carnival Australia, has revealed the company’s
latest tool to lure new clients:
www.discovercruising.com.au.
“It’s launching soon and it will be much
bigger than a blog,” he said.
“It’s all about tackling our biggest challenge –
finding more new cruisers.”
Rather than expecting consumers to
immediately choose a destination or ship, the
website asks people to specify if they are a
family, couple or ‘empty nesters’ and then to
select activities that interest them.
“It talks to people who haven’t cruised
before, and we think this is the best way to get
into their hearts and minds,” Cheng said.
Discover Cruising, which looks similar to the
P&O consumer site, will be linked to other
personal interest and media sites, relying on
people to click through on the ad.
“For example, if someone likes photography,
we’ll have links to a photography article in
National Geographic; if they’re planning a
wedding, we’ll have links from wedding sites; if
you’re a health freak, we will have a link to a
health site with a story on how to keep fit on a
ship,” Cheng said.
Speaking at the recent partnership summit,
Cheng also detailed the success of P&O’s latest
consumer marketing campaign, ‘Landlubbers
Wanted’.
“It was an act of supreme confidence, a risky
venture, but we were willing to put money
where our mouth was,” he said.
“We thought we could convert landlubbers
into cruisers and it worked – all 14 loved it and
they are even planning a reunion.”
Cheng urged agents to share the landlubbers’
videos with clients and to make the most of all
of P&O’s marketing initiatives throughout
2012, its 80th year of operation in Australia.
“Next year is a real landmark year,” he said.
Meanwhile, P&O’s “Facebook army” has
doubled in less than a year to 54,000 fans.
“Facebook has been fantastic – it’s marketing
gold,” Cheng said.