Say you are a marketing manager for a cruise line. What do you do when the world wakes up one morning to see a picture like this?
So that ship is not owned by your company. And your company has never suffered such a catastrophe... people died here. I don't think it matters that your company's record is spotless and your brand is pristine. People are going to remember this picture. It will linger in the traveler's mind for a long time. It certainly has the potential to hurt your business.
So how do you respond? Do you think about things like this when they come up? I do. I often sit down and wonder how I would handle difficult marketing situations. Maybe that makes me odd. I don't know.
I have always believed that any negative situation can be used to create a positive. But this one.... wow.
I suppose you could just ignore it. It didn't happen to your company so you act as if it never happened at all. Stay your own course. I don't think so.
You don't have to come right out and say that you never run your ships aground and sink them next to obscure Italian islands. In fact you probably shouldn't mention it at all but I do think you should consider a course adjustment.
What about creating a new marketing campaign that focuses on customer service and satisfaction? Why not shift your strategy away from exotic destinations and on-board fun (if that's what you're doing) and take it to where you show how you delight hundreds of thousands of travelers every year. Use some glowing customer comments, creatively packaged testimonials, effusive praise for the courteous crew and the joy of the experience. Make the consuming public forget about the horror of this event by blinding them with overwhelmingly positive feedback from actual customers. This message would be tied to the tragic accident only by timing... but that's enough and it is important. That's the reason why this strategy would fit at this time.
That's what I'd do, I think. A better idea may come to me tomorrow.
What would you do?
So that ship is not owned by your company. And your company has never suffered such a catastrophe... people died here. I don't think it matters that your company's record is spotless and your brand is pristine. People are going to remember this picture. It will linger in the traveler's mind for a long time. It certainly has the potential to hurt your business.
So how do you respond? Do you think about things like this when they come up? I do. I often sit down and wonder how I would handle difficult marketing situations. Maybe that makes me odd. I don't know.
I have always believed that any negative situation can be used to create a positive. But this one.... wow.
I suppose you could just ignore it. It didn't happen to your company so you act as if it never happened at all. Stay your own course. I don't think so.
You don't have to come right out and say that you never run your ships aground and sink them next to obscure Italian islands. In fact you probably shouldn't mention it at all but I do think you should consider a course adjustment.
What about creating a new marketing campaign that focuses on customer service and satisfaction? Why not shift your strategy away from exotic destinations and on-board fun (if that's what you're doing) and take it to where you show how you delight hundreds of thousands of travelers every year. Use some glowing customer comments, creatively packaged testimonials, effusive praise for the courteous crew and the joy of the experience. Make the consuming public forget about the horror of this event by blinding them with overwhelmingly positive feedback from actual customers. This message would be tied to the tragic accident only by timing... but that's enough and it is important. That's the reason why this strategy would fit at this time.
That's what I'd do, I think. A better idea may come to me tomorrow.
What would you do?
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