Carnival kicks off multi-brand campaign with crowdsourcing, contest

The public is invited to take Carnival Corp.'s 'World's Leading Cruise Lines Marketing Challenge,' with celebrity emcee Cedric the Entertainer asking consumers to 'join the company's marketing team' and pick their favorite television commercial from six creative concepts. Their input will help determine which concept is used, and one participant has the chance to win a cruise a year for life.

The campaign targets people who haven't cruised with insight on why cruising is an extraordinary vacation at an exceptional value. The goal is to drive increased awareness, consideration and demand for cruising.

'I think some of the concepts are really good and, well, some are awful, but what matters most is what our future guests think,' Carnival Corp. ceo Arnold Donald said.

The program is hosted on the 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 Carnival's nine brands.

Consumers are now able to vote on video storyboards for the six 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's nine brands are in a message in a bottle), 'Getaway' (cruising gives the chance to get away from all the stresses of life) and 'Mystery Spot' (this idea contains an undisclosed surprise that's as big as the ocean).

The contest, 'Tweet The World Why You Love Cruising,' via Carnival's new Twitter handle, @CarnivalPLC, asks participants to use #LoveCruising to become eligible for a series of free cruises as prizes. One individual will be selected at random to receive 100 days of cruising on a choice of Carnival 's US-based brands to use at their discretion.

'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, vp corporate marketing for Carnival Corp.

The initiative also hopes to communicate how contemporary cruising has evolved, with Carnival's nine brands 'offering the right cruise experience for everyone and how common myths about cruising are untrue.' Plus, consumers are encouraged to consult a travel agent as a valuable resource for planning a cruise.

Carnival and BBDO-Atlanta developed the marketing initiative.

In addition, WorldsLeadingCruiseLines.com allows vacationers to find their 'CRUISE-A-NALITY,' or cruise type, based on likes and dislikes from a total of 30 personas. The CRUISE-A-NALITY tool provides then provides cruise brand recommendations and links to find more information.

WorldsLeadingCruiseLines.com will serve as a continuous communication platform for consumers and travel agents.