Oct 21.2009 - At Sea

DKP : So today, we float... my favorite thing. Well, actually, we work when we float, but it's the BEST office in the world. When we work on the Lido Deck (the morning and mid-day feeding paddocks ;-), our Dining Room friends fly by for a quick hello. When we work in the Pasta Bar on Deck 11, the view is impeccable as the ocean slides by. When we work in the Cabin, it's nice and quiet providing us all that we need for comfort in a 200 sq ft space. For me, it's the utmost in creative environments.

A cruise ship is basically a floating city where Disco's, Restaurants, Pools, Gyms are within walking distance. Where you meet folks along the way as you move within the community. As you talk, you find people cruising for a myriad of reasons. On these longer, more specialized cruises, such as Europe or the Transatlantic Crossing, you find many "repeaters". Travelers who choose Carnival time and again, mainly because of the connection they feel to the brand.

When I speak to these folks, almost everytime, the connection they feel has been formed by a human bond, usually with the crew and staff who work onboard. Since many of the A-Team crew tend to be pulled to open the new ships, the loyalty factor is quite high among the guests to these types of cruises.

They come and request their favorite Dining Room waiters or they come to see their favorite Maitre d'. They come to check out Joe Farkus' newest ideas and creations and to see how the company is evolving.

There is a new program onboard that I think is an excellent marketing concept. It's called "Behind the Fun." Guests can now pay a fee of $95 pp and receive an All Access badge for 4 main tours around the inner workings of the ship; a concept that works really well on these longer cruises.

Tours include The Bridge, The Laundry, The Galley and Engineering. Sandy and I did these tours with my Dad and Pietro (the original CCL Engineer) back on the Splendor around South America. We found it fascinating and wrote about it in our Travel Blog (http://smoothlounge.com/travel/southamerica.tpl) . I also think these tours serve a dual purpose, especially considering the negative PR regarding environmental impact that the cruising industry has been faced with in the last few decades. Since trust in the Media has waned in the last few years, in my opinion, transparency becomes key in dealing with the public. Companies can't rely on marketing alone to build their brands, people are just not that gullible anymore.

We have found, in the case of our business of Internet Radio Marketing, that our success is based on the cornerstone of human connection. If it were not for the extra time we all take to talk to our listeners, clients, affiliates and partners, we would not have been able to build a sustainable business model. We would just be another souless marketing machine competing to shake the money loose from peoples hands.

As the business environment shifts in the coming years, I hope that marketing mentalities will evolve as well. That businesses will not just speak AT their potential customers, but to make a true connection with them... to create a sense of family... something that is sorely lacking in many capitalistic cultures today. CCL has always valued this quality, but as all companies continue to expand, it seems all to easy to take for granted the need for that human connection; to focus on shaving costs and automating systems.