MOK Calendar & Budget- Royal Caribbean
MOK Media Plan- Royal Caribbean
Proposed Marketing Plan Objectives
Ship Changes Driving Proposed Marketing Plan
Each subsequent ship within a class usually has about 95% of the same features as the previous ship in the class, with 5% changes. Our team is proposing the idea of making slight changes to the second ship in the “Icon Class”, the “Star of the Seas” which is due to launch in the Summer of 2025, with a marketing campaign that will focus on slight changes to that vessel (in comparison to the Icon of the Seas) that make the vessel/cruise more adult-friendly. These changes will focus on the millennial segment, specifically millennials who do not have children, even better; millennials who do not have children who are new to cruising (they’ve never cruised before). The “Icon of the Seas” is the first ship in this class and will be launched on January 27th, 2024. Currently, the only adults-only space on the “Icon of the Seas” is called The Hideaway. It’s located aft (back of ship) on a high deck and was designed to have a Vegas pool party vibe. There is an infinity pool, lots of lounge chairs, a few daybeds in the pool itself (with a significant upcharge), loud music by DJ, and a bar. This means that the only adults only space on the ship leans heavily into the party atmosphere, is loud, and has no food.
To make the “star of the Seas”, as compared to the “Icon of the Seas” more appealing to millennial adults without children, some renditions should be made. Royal Caribbean should maintain the Hideaway area described above as an adult-only space. The “Star of the Seas” should add a small prep kitchen to the Hideaway bar and implement a small bar menu. Given that this is a party-esque space, and these ships sail in the Caribbean, offerings, such as sliders, fries, fish tacos, fried plantains, chips, and guacamole, would be appropriate.
Furthermore, “Cloud17” should be transformed into an isolated neighborhood on deck 17 with another infinity pool, lounge chairs, and a bar called “Coconut and Lime”, an adults-only space. A small prep kitchen is to be added to the “Coconut and Lime” bar with a small bar menu being implemented. The vibe of “Cloud17” is chill and relaxed. No music. No kids. No games or gimmicks. Just sun lounge chairs and a pool, isolated from the chaos. This space can further be enhanced with an elevated but small tapas-style menu with island-inspired options. On deck 14, there is currently a forward-facing space called “The Overlook”. It is a beautiful, indoor space that is kept cool, with comfortable seating and private pod-like seating for small groups. There is a bar, and the space is kept relatively quiet space on the “Icon of the Seas”, which tends to attract adults. This space will become an adult-only space on the “Star of the Seas”.
In addition, the “Star of the Seas” should introduce adults-only nights in a few of its restaurants. Not the main dining room or the buffet, of course, but some of its standalone eateries (especially within the pricier dining options). Almost every night of the cruise, there should be a dining destination that is adults-only for dinner. Parents will have the option of dropping their kid(s) off at the provided childcare locations. They can then enjoy a date night among fellow adults. Likewise, those who would spend money on a nice dinner if they didn’t have to deal with the sounds and sights of children would be more likely to splurge during provided adult-only restaurant nights.
Specific Objectives to Achieve
Proposed marketing plan objectives must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based. Royal Caribbean will strive to shift brand perception, generate new leads, acquire more customers (particularly in the millennial without children target market), increase customer loyalty/retention, and thus increase revenue. These objectives will be promoted through making shifts to the proposed ship model for the “Icon” class, which is the next class in the Royal Caribbean cruise line, that are outlined above.
Royal Caribbean has worked to promote a prestigious brand image and perception from its inception. Although our marketing team is not working to directly improve brand perception, it will in turn be enhanced, as metrics will be put in place to achieve the proposed objective of shifting the company’s brand perception. Royal Caribbean will increase its the perception that their cruises are enjoyable and relaxing for adult parties (without children) by the release of the next class of ships (following the “Icon” class) by 5%. This objective can be measured by conducting a survey of current, past, lost, and potential future customers for the current quarter, regarding their perceptions of Royal Caribbean cruise line. The survey will be reconducted after the marketing shifts and product adjustments described for the “Star of the Seas” are made and experienced by guests. The results from each of the surveys will be analyzed and compared and quantifiable data will be derived from the answers drawn through a weighted scale for correlating responses. Furthermore, Royal Caribbean’s marketing team can monitor online brand mentions, using resources, such as Brand24 (Pecanek, 2023). This tool provides companies with “AI-powered access to mentions across social media, news, blogs, videos, forums, podcasts, reviews, and more” (Brand24.com, 2024).
In addition, Royal Caribbean will increase its generated number of marketing qualified leads (MQLS) by 10% from present till the end of 2025. These are considered any leads that indicate a consumer’s interest in the Royal Caribbean brand. A scoring system will be established, so that incoming leads can be automatically evaluated based on data points, such as Anything the lead said to your customer rep or sales team (e.g., that they’re looking for a new solution), User behavior and actions taken in your app or website, estimated purchasing power of the company, and trial tier and setup. A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) analytics expert can be consulted from the beginning to create a proper and effective lead scoring functionality for the company (Pecanek, 2023).
Royal Caribbean will also increase its current customer base by acquiring new customers (further taping into the new-to-cruising market) and increasing the number of bookings for their cruise offerings. This objective will be set with a goal increase of 10% from the return of the “Star of the Seas” until 2027 (the final ship in the “Icon” class will se3t sail in 2026). These metrics will be explored and obtained by our CRM analytics expert to measure this objective goal. In further homing in on customer relationship analytics, Royal Caribbean’s marketing initiatives will be implemented to also increase the customer lifetime value (CLV) among enterprise customers by 15% by 2027. CLV is calculated by multiplying the average order value by the average annual purchase frequency and the average customer lifespan. If any one of these metrics is improved the CLV will increase (Pecanek, 2023).
The CLV will also be assessed using the Customer Value Assessment Tool (CVAT). This is a four-factor, 42-item instrument that aids service providers in critiquing and improving value delivery to their customers. A case study on Royal Caribbean was conducted using this tool. The study evaluates Royal Caribbean’s market and competitive strategy, marketing strategy, and customer value practices. The customer value assessment portion was conducted using the Service-Quality-Image-Price (SQIP) framework. The number of items measured within each of these components is as follows: service quality (14), product quality (12), image (7) and price (9). In this case study, four items from each factor were selected and evaluated for Royal Caribbean and rated on a four-point scale determining how often a marketing activity occurs: all the time (1), most of the time (2), some of the time (3) and never (4). The following figure shows the SQIP outcomes for Royal Caribbean International (Weinstein et. al., 2022).
As seen in the figure, Royal Caribbean averaged very well on this assessment (all metrics averaged within the 1-2 range). Royal Caribbean also out beat competitors in its overall customer value ranking (Figure #).
The results of this study were published in 2022, as the findings were collected post-COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. This assessment may be conducted again by a CRM expert and Royal Caribbean can re-compare its results among competitors and compare its 2021 results to its more recent results for each section to measure improvement (Weinstein et. al., 2022).
The overarching marketing plan objective is for Royal Caribbean to gain revenue/sales. This can be measured from a financial dashboard or CRM platform (Pecanek, 2023). After analyzing the 2023 full-year results ($13.9 billion in total revenues were $13.9 billion, $1.7 billion in net income was, or $6.31 per share, $1.8 billion in adjusted net income, or $6.77 per share), the company expects to achieve two of its Trifecta goals in 2024. Those goals being triple digit earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) per all-player claims database (APCD) and return on invested capital (ROIC) in the teens (which is one year earlier than previously predicted). Furthermore, the Earnings per Share (EPS) is predicted to grow 40% through 2024 (making it in the range of $9.50-$9.70) (RCI, 2024). The proposed marketing plan is oriented around the goal of increasing the company EPS by an additional 30% through 2027.
Access all references for this content here!