Disrupting the cruise industry

It’s not easy to disrupt a category, but Carnival and TBWA\Chiat\Day NY plan on doing so. The brand will use its broad fan base, which Martin Ziegenfuss said is “absolutely passionate about this brand in a way that is absolutely a dream for marketers,” as a guide for much of the communications.

Wilcox set up the challenges and steps needed to create marketing success. They first need to capture and articulate what it is that the most loyal and enthusiastic fans know and feel about the brand, and then figure what is preventing people from choosing the brand and the barriers that marketers need to overcome.

With an iconic hospitality brand like Carnival, much of the work is capturing the stories and data from the cruisers and translating it into coveted experiences.

“If we do our job really well, we’ll capture the energy, the emotion and the end benefit of what a Carnival Cruise actually brings to people, which is much bigger than just a travel experience or a vacation,” said Wilcox.

Martin Ziegenfuss said a lot of the cruise line’s fans are very active in social, so the team is leveraging that social listening, as well as using proprietary first-party data and tools to better understand consumers and find out how Carnival can fit into their lifestyles.

While Carnival has moved on from Anomaly after a successful run starting in 2017, it will continue with Shaq as a brand ambassador and will still play off the concept of fun.

“Fun is definitely in our DNA. We were literally called ‘the fun ships’ in the beginning for a reason, and that goes back to our origin story. It’s all about the energy and what we bring to the table,” said Martin Ziegenfuss.

Details of the deal were not disclosed but the 2023 estimated spend for Carnival Cruise by COMvergence is $76 million, which includes traditional and digital media.