Cunard overhauls digital presence to drive sales
Carnival-owned cruise line Cunard has relaunched its online presence to give customers a personalised shopping experience as part of wider strategy to boost sales from digital channels.
The art-deco inspired LBi created brand platform aims to align the company’s online offering closer to the level of service holidaymakers get on a board one of its ships by giving them more choice.
Visitors can now see in real-time what is happening on a particular cruise before they make a purchase. Additionally, users can access specific details about Cunard ships, itineraries, excursions and additional service.
To complement the strategy, Cunard is also using Twitter and Facebook to point potential customers to third party reviews of its holiday packages in a bid to drive traffic back to its site.
Claire Hazle, head of digital marketing at Carnival UK Group, says the business has worked to create an online experience that “evokes the glamour and luxury of a Cunard cruise.”
The strategy is the first phase of a long-term digital push that will see the business invest increasingly in video to help customers make informed holiday choices.
Hazle adds: “The new website is only the beginning of Cunard’s enhanced digital journey, and will sit at the heart of future channel investment. I’m committed to delivering the best possible online experience for our passengers, which is why we are running usability testing and a continuous optimisation programme of MVT and improvement to ensure that we deliver the same high standard online as we do on board.
“Central to all of this will be developing a fuller understanding of how our customers interact with us through all the different online channels, so that we are making insight-driven decisions. We may be a ‘heritage’ brand but this certainly doesn’t mean doing things in an old-fashioned way.”
US parent company Carnival Corp, which also owns the P&O, Carnival Cruises, Princess, Holland America Line and Seabourn cruise brands, is hoping to exploit the growing interest in cruise breaks among UK consumers. Last month it launched the first UK TV advert for its Carnival Cruises brand.
