Carnival Corporation has announced that it will launch its first-ever multi-brand marketing campaign on Monday, November 24. The initiative, which will encompass multiple digital and social media elements, will involve all nine of Carnival Corporation’s brands. Carnival’s goal with the new campaign is to introduce more people to cruising, with a focus on those who have never cruised before.

“Across our portfolio of nine brands and more than 100 cruise ships visiting over 700 destinations around the world, Carnival Corporation carries more than 10.5 million guests a year, accounting for one out of every two people who cruise anywhere in the world,” said Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald. “With so many distinctive experiences offered by our industry-leading brands, we truly believe the Carnival family has a cruise for everyone. Our job is to help people understand why cruising is such a great vacation, and to help them find which of our nine cruise brands is the right one for them.”

The website WorldsLeadingCruiseLines.com will serve as the marketing hub for the campaign. Here, consumers will have an opportunity to view several advertising concepts and vote for their favorite. One lucky person will win an annual free cruise for life! You can also check out Carnival’s innovative new CRUISE-A-NALITY tool. According to Carnival, the new tool is “a fun and easy way to find out which of our cruise brands is the best fit for their personality.”

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According to Carnival’s press release, the marketing initiative will include the following elements aimed at growing awareness, consideration and demand for cruising among consumers:

  • The “World’s Leading Cruise Lines Marketing Challenge”:Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald and celebrity emcee Cedric the Entertainer will invite consumers to “join” the Carnival Corporation marketing team and help select creative elements for the marketing initiative. On WorldsLeadingCruiseLines.com Mr. Donald will introduce six distinct advertising concepts and ask consumers to help further shape the stories, as well as vote for which ad concept does the best job of both dispelling misconceptions about cruising and bringing the cruise experience to life.
  • CRUISE-A-NALITY:One aspect of WorldsLeadingCruiseLines.com allows vacationers to find their “CRUISE-A-NALITY,” which is an interactive tool to help consumers find their individual cruise persona — type of cruiser based on likes and dislikes — from a total of 30 personas. After answering six simple questions, the CRUISE-A-NALITY tool provides consumers with their persona, cruise brand recommendations and links to find more information to begin planning their vacation – with a reminder to contact their travel agent for additional guidance on which cruise is right for them. Once visitors know their CRUISE-A-NALITY, they are encouraged to call their travel agent as well as share their results through their Facebook and Twitter social media channels.
  • Twitter Contest: Carnival Corporation will kick off the launch of its new Twitter handle, @CarnivalPLC, on November 24with a contest encouraging consumers to share what they love about cruising. In addition to instant prizes for tweets at 50,000, 150,000, 250,000, 400,000, 500,000 and 750,000, one individual will be selected at random to receive, for themselves and a guest, 100 days of cruising on their choice of Carnival Corporation’s U.S.-based brands to be used at their discretion.
  • WorldsLeadingCruiseLines.com:This site – which promotes the company’s nine brands – serves as the hub for both the campaign and an information source on cruising options and experiences on Carnival Cruise Lines, Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn in the U.S.; AIDA Cruises in Germany; Costa Cruises in Italy; and P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (United Kingdom). The site will help serve as a continuous communication platform for consumers and travel agents.

All sweepstakes rules and eligibility information will be available at WorldsLeadingCruiseLines.com.

MJ’s Take

I think this is the first joint marketing campaign I’ve seen from a multi-brand cruise company. You know I think that cruising represents a great vacation value, and I like the way Carnival Corporation is highlighting the different vacation experiences across all nine of its brands. I really like the CRUISE-A-NALITY website tool. One of the top questions I get from prospective cruisers is “how do I pick a cruise line?” I like the idea of an online tool to offer tips on that. And who doesn’t like an opportunity to win a free cruise?! Good show by Carnival Corporation. One thing I hope we see in the future from Carnival is some form of elite status recognition across all of its brands.

-MJ, November 19, 2014