Carnival Corporation Launches Multi-Brand National Marketing Initiative Featuring TV, Digital, Social and Contest Elements

MIAMI, Nov. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest cruise company, today officially launched its first-ever multi-brand marketing initiative incorporating all nine of its global brands with television, digital, social and contest elements.

As part of the program, Carnival Corporation invites consumers to review and vote for their favorite ideas for six possible TV commercials – with a chance to win a cruise a year for life.  The campaign targets consumers who are new to cruising with insight on why cruising is an extraordinary vacation at an exceptional value with a goal to drive increased awareness, consideration and demand for cruising.

"We are excited about inviting people to help our marketing team choose from six ideas by providing input and voting on their favorite concept," said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc. "I think some of the concepts are really good and, well, some are awful, but what matters most is what our future guests think."

Two Major, Multi-Platform Contests Kick Off Today As New Marketing Effort Ramps Up
Contest #1: "Join Carnival Corporation's Marketing Team"
The public is invited to take the "World's Leading Cruise Lines Marketing Challenge" – an interactive crowdsourcing program in which celebrity emcee Cedric the Entertainer asks consumers to "join the company's marketing team" and pick their favorite from six creative concepts. Their input will help determine which concept will be used. 

To thank people for their input, one lucky participant will win a yearly cruise for life.  The program is hosted on Carnival Corporation's newly redesigned World's Leading Cruise Lines website – WorldsLeadingCruiseLines.com – which serves as the campaign hub featuring new tools, functionality and content from each of the company's nine brands. 

Starting today, consumers are able to vote on video storyboards for the following six ad concepts:

• "Unicorn": Unicorns missed Noah's boat; false preconceived notions about cruising held them back
• "Cruise Virgin": These people tell consumers about their first time – which they will never forget
• "No Robots": Carnival's cruise ships are free of hassles and obstacles like evil robots
• "Message in a Bottle": Fairytale moments of cruising from each of Carnival Corporation's nine brands are in a message in a bottle
• "Getaway": Cruising give guests the chance to get away from all the stresses of life
• "Mystery Spot": This idea contains an undisclosed surprise that's as big as the ocean

Contest #2: "Tweet The World Why You Love Cruising"
The company is launching its new Twitter handle, @CarnivalPLC, with a contest encouraging consumers to share what they love about cruising.  Users tweeting @CarnivalPLC with the hashtag #LoveCruising will be eligible for a series of free cruises as prizes, with one individual selected at random to receive 100 days of cruising on a choice of Carnival Corporation's U.S.-based brands to be used at their discretion.

New Marketing Initiative Incorporates Nine Brands, Multiple Elements to Reach New Cruisers
The goal of the marketing program is to help inspire consumers to consider cruising as one of their top options when planning vacations – and, ultimately, to grow demand for cruising. Program elements are designed to educate consumers and especially non-cruisers on why cruising is a great vacation experience at an exceptional value.  The initiative also helps consumers understand how contemporary cruising has evolved with the nine brands of Carnival Corporation offering the right cruise experience for everyone and how common myths about cruising are untrue.

The campaign also encourages consumers to consult a travel agent as a valuable resource for planning a cruise vacation.

"This is the first time we've brought all nine of our brands together in a marketing effort of this magnitude, and our goal is to show people why there is no better vacation than a cruise vacation, and at a value that land-based vacations can't match," said Ken Jones, vice president of corporate marketing for Carnival Corporation. "We also want to show people that many of the myths about cruising are simply not true. We are looking forward to hearing what people think and to giving one lucky person a great prize – a cruise a year for life."

Carnival Corporation and BBDO-Atlanta developed the marketing initiative. In addition to the marketing challenge and Twitter contest, the program includes two additional elements aimed at growing awareness, consideration and demand for cruising among consumers:

• CRUISE-A-NALITY: One aspect of WorldsLeadingCruiseLines.com allows vacationers to find their "CRUISE-A-NALITY," which is an interactive tool to help consumers find their individual cruise persona – type of cruiser based on likes and dislikes – from a total of 30 personas. After answering six simple questions, the CRUISE-A-NALITY tool provides consumers with their persona, cruise brand recommendations and links to find more information to begin planning their vacation.
  
  Once visitors know their CRUISE-A-NALITY, they are encouraged to call their travel agent as well as share their results through their Facebook and Twitter social media channels.
  
• WorldsLeadingCruiseLines.com: This site – which promotes the company's nine brands – serves as the hub for both the campaign and an information source on cruising options and experiences on Carnival Cruise Lines, Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn in the U.S.; AIDA Cruises in Germany; Costa Cruises in Italy; and P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (United Kingdom). The site will help serve as a continuous communication platform for consumers and travel agents.

All sweepstakes rules and eligibility information are available at WorldsLeadingCruiseLines.com.

About Carnival Corporation
Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise company in the world, with a portfolio of cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK).

Together, these brands operate 101 ships totaling 214,000 lower berths with seven new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2015 and 2017. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour companies in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.  Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com, www.seabourn.com, www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com, www.pocruises.com.au, and www.pocruises.com.

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SOURCE Carnival Corporation