Here is an idea. Symbolically shed the vestiges of corporate life and ritually transition into the freestyle cruising culture.
Encourage owners to bring their Blackberry’s and iphones and upload a NCL widget. In a fun and lighthearted way users would transform their “electronic lease” into a “personal freestyle cruising digital assistant.”
Talk about fish swimming against the school!
The widget would become passenger’s freestyle 2.0 on their phone - leading them through the leisure metamorphosis - displaying shipboard services, event calendar, download pictures from phone to personal web page, delivering messages and even facilitating epayments.
Benefits:
- The ritual transition communicates and strengthens the brand positioning
- The widget tool increases and facilitates on-board spending
- Acts as a retention device as the widget facilitates sending future “reminders” of the “freestyling” times once the passenger has returned back into the corporate office - along with offers to book next years vacation
- First to market enhances image versus competition – particularly among a key market segment of business class professionals
- Function off shipboard wifi or cell service
For example, a mobile campaign for Smirnoff vodka loads an application onto a user’s phone that guides them through how to include Smirnoff into a fun evening. Users can enter the social situation they find themselves in – a business dinner, night out with the guys, or first date –and receive suggestions as to what cocktail order would be most appropriate for the situation.
The application even takes advantage of cross-promotional opportunities, suggesting bars and restaurants that are strategic partners, located in cities around the world, so that a business traveler can find an appropriate place to go while in a strange city. And at the end of the night, the application will even call you a cab and give you directions back to your hotel.
Holland America has taken the first step in this direction with its custom e-brochures.
Related articles
- Cruise News: Holland America Line Offers Passengers Free Access To Their Blog (cruisediva.blogspot.com)
