Client: Celebrity Cruises
Role: Strategist
The Client: Founded in 1988, Celebrity Cruises is a premium cruise company headquartered in Miami, Florida and a subsidiary of the Royal Caribbean Group. They offer a variety of cruises traveling to over 79 countries and 300 destinations. With 3,000 employees, Celebrity Cruises generates 3 billion dollars in revenue a year.
The Challenge: Celebrity Cruises acknowledges the crucial role of valued travel partners in driving overall business success. However, numerous smaller travel agencies lack the bandwidth to maintain in-house advertising agencies. To become a leading leisure producer for Celebrity Cruises, Balboa Travel needs to be propelled through enhanced brand visibility and strategic positioning.
The Truth: After many years of repetitive work and taking care of both kids and parents, Empty-Nesters are just discovering what it’s like to relax.
The Goal: Increase brand awareness of Balboa Travel among the target audience by focusing on pushing audience engagement by 20% through promotional Facebook content for Balboa Travel, highlighting Celebrity Cruises branding and opportunities within the content. Thereby this effort will drive customer conversation by 25% by September 2024.
The Opportunity: Empty-Nest Cruisers crave a customizable experience on board that allows them to relax and adventure-seek. They want to reclaim decades dedicated to parenting.
The Final Deliverable: A series of promotional emails and Facebook posts as well as a 1-page print ad will steer Empty-Nest Cruisers toward Celebrity Cruises as they book through a travel agency, for the overdue dream vacation they deserve.
Secondary Research
Competitive Analysis
Insights
Empty-nest cruisers book with travel agents because the face-to-face interactions make them feel more secure and confident when booking.
1.
100% of survey respondents who book through travel agencies do so because of the face-to-face interaction.
60% of these survey respondents rank face-to-face interactions as a main factor for why they book through travel agencies.
Empty-nest cruisers like knowing that there is someone available to address any potential problems.
“I trust my travel agents more than booking directly because I know they understand the industry well.” - Antonio, 51, Davie, FL
Empty-nest cruisers resonate with cruise-related content that highlights cruise locations and activities offered on and off the ship.
2.
Although most empty-nest cruisers book through travel agencies, the ones that book directly through cruise lines do so because they have pre-established loyalty with specific cruise lines.
3.
27% of survey respondents that book directly do so because of loyalty with cruise lines and more control over cruise options.
“Since I always book with Celebrity, it’s a matter of which ship, room, dining, and amenities I want, so I like to talking to an internal representative that knows best.” - Cecilia, 57, Philadelphia, PA
Empty-nest cruisers want to fully understand the best offers they can receive and feel that travel agencies do that by broadening their horizons in terms of cruise options.
4.
40% of survey respondents that use travel agencies use them because more cruise line options are accessible.
“I don't know why someone wouldn't book with an an agency, they tell you everything you need to know so you can get the most out of your money and the experience.” - Andrea, 51, New Haven, CT
