Cunard Line Ltd

Cunard estimates that it has a 50 % market share in that segment which leads to 160 thousand boardings. The price per boarding ona luxury ship varies with high season and low season but on an average we can take that to be approx. $8000 per person. Therefore total revenue from luxury segment for Cunard can be estimated at $1. 28 billion. After years of service and earning a reputed brand name for Cunard it faces some major problems. Firstly by 1991 the industry capacity was exceeding demand.

As a result a price war started which was further aggravated by the worldwide recession of 1990 and aggressive promotional efforts by the competitors. Since increasing pressure was put on tactical marketing to generate short term sales it has to make sure that in the process it should maintain the effectiveness, integration and co-ordination of Cunard’s marketing communication efforts. Then another major issue was the budgeting. This situation arose as the company is coming up with a major reorganization.

Order custom essay Cunard Line Ltd with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

Earlier each ship was marketed by a single marketing planning executive. Now 4 groups are made with one executive assigned to each of the ships. Now the problem arose of how to market with Cunard name as umbrella as well as promoting each ship individually and how the budget should be allocated. First of all there is a clear need for tactical marketing as the pressure from competitors is increasing. Therefore to generate sales and continuous revenues Cunard has to enter in discounting and price promotion activities.

Yes it’s gonna dilute the brand’s image to some extent but promotion activities can be achieved in a much efficient manner. As Leslie rightly suggested whenever a cruise is being advertised it should be done under the umbrella of Cunard Ltd. Then the initiative of “page plus a column” can be pursued where more pricing details pertaining to that ship can be mentioned. Also magazine advertising is considered to be strategic and oriented more towards building brand image.

Thus a fixed amount of budget should be charted out for it which should not be reduced. Then for tactical marketing direct marketing and Newspaper advertising can be used. For direct marketing database plays an important role. Cunard already has a good database in place but efforts can be made to improve upon it. Now in direct marketing as well strategic promotion can be done as well by providing better graphics and richer advertisement experience. Efforts should be made to make it as elegant as possible.

As far as newspapers are concerned they form a major medium. Further the key travel agents needs to be kept in confidence about the latest promotions and offerings. They are the main source of revenue (in fact 95% of the Cunard’s sales happen through travel agents). Overall Cunard has a good branding behind his name and a well appreciated customer image. It needs to promote its brand along with tactical marketing. Though in the short run it may face some challenges but in the long run it shall definitely emerge out as a winner.