The cruise business in Australia is booming but Royal Caribbean's research shows that customers down under are most concerned about price and don't really care who they sail with. This is has lead Royal Caribbean to invest more in brand marketing to separate itself from the competition.
Royal Caribbean Commercial Director Sean Treacy told Mumbrella the research showed people did not look at brand at all.
"What was really surprising, and frankly a little damaging to our egos, was that people who are new to cruising can’t tell one cruise brand from another,” he said. “They are merely comparing one big white ship with another and they find it difficult to tell the difference between the likes of us, Princess Cruises and most surprising, P&O."
Royal Caribbean took the research as a "wake up call" to how they were marketing in the Australia market and as a result will be ramping up its brand marketing to increase awareness.
Part of that initiative is increasing its advertising reach beyond print and search and to start local television ads. The new campaign is called, "It's Royal Caribbean Time".
Royal Caribbean will also increase its social media presence and will run a competition on Facebook offering 50 places on a one-night cruise in December.
