Cunard moves away from price-led marketing
Cunard has refocused its marketing on promoting the strengths of the brand and onboard experience after admitting it became too embroiled in a price war to win business.
The cruise line has examined the marketing strategies of several upmarket products in a bid to better communicate the luxury nature of a Cunard voyage.
Speaking to media in Sydney yesterday, director of marketing Angus Struthers said Cunard is learning from three top-end brands – The Savoy Hotel, Burberry and Bentley – as it looks to enhance the desirability of its product.
Moving away from price-led marketing, and simplifying the message, will increase the “allure” of the brand, Struthers said.
The fresh approach emerged as Cunard reported another strong year of growth from Australia, with the local market closing in on Germany as the cruise line’s third largest source market.
“If you look at some of the ways that Cunard has described its proposition, there’s probably been too much focus on the fare and not enough on the brand,” Struthers said. “Do I want to be spending the majority of my media budget selling a two-night cruise for £499? No, I want us to be building brand desirability.”
Struthers said Cunard passengers are staying at five star hotels and buying luxury goods, so “taking our cues” from upmarket brands was critical.
“If we are not taking note of what defines a good luxury delivery of experience from outside the industry then we’re on a road to nowhere, particularly when you consider Cunard is, by and large, in a category of its own.”
He said the Savoy is not afraid to talk up its heritage, while Burberry and Bentley demonstrate a simplicity and confidence in their marketing. Such an approach will be replicated by Cunard, Struthers said.
“If you look at some of the brochure there’s an awful lot of copy to describe the Cunard experience. For any luxury product it should not take thousands and thousands of words to say this is what the product is,” he said. “The product should speak for itself and I think we can get to that. If you look at the luxury end, less is more. It’s about building desirability and allure.”
But Struthers acknowledged it would be impossible for Cunard to completely distance itself from price given cruising’s capacity growth.
“We have to fill the ships, there are business realities out there,” he said. “But I’d rather build the brand which hopefully will build demand and means we get higher yield and revenue.”
Struthers, who joined Cunard last September from TripAdvisor and lists chimp keeper at Tarongo Zoo as among his previous jobs, said Australia remains an “exceptionally important market”.
The number of Australians on round world sectors has increased 20% year on year, and accounts for 30% of passengers, while European cruise revenue from Australia jumped 50%.
Meanwhile, Struthers insisted Cunard would not "dumb down" the experience by removing any more formal nights on its voyagers.
The cruise line axed one its four formal nights last year with Struthers saying it now had the correct balance.
"It will continue to be a topic of debate but generally the feedback is that we have got it right," he said. "If I chat to our loyalists the formality is the thing that helps define Cunard and it would be entirely remiss if we dumbed down what is a core part of the Cunard experience.
"I would be very surprised if we changed it any more than we have. Even the younger demographic are not saying scrap the formal evenings as they recognise it as part of the experience."
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