We have all heard the horror stories of the stranded passengers on board the Princess Cruise liner as a mass outbreak of coronavirus impacted the entire ship. As the news continues to spiral regarding the fate of these passengers, cruise companies (and other travel companies) have fallen victim to horribly negative PR as a result. Its hard to imagine a worse travel scenario than being stuck on board a cruise ship while a massive outbreak of a new virus spreads like wildfire. Yikes!
The spread of this news has significantly damaged the reputation of cruise liners and the industry is struggling to respond. A recent New York Times article discusses how the cruise industry has significantly increased advertising spend amidst the negative news, with sometimes awkward results. During a recent episode of the CNN spot Erin Burnett Out Front, in which the Princess Cruise crisis was heavily covered, a comically upbeat advertisement for Norwegian Cruise appeared during a commercial break. According to the article, "Norwegian, which declined to comment, has paid nearly $10 million for digital ads so far this year on Facebook, Wayfair, Expedia and other sites, compared with $2.4 million at the same time last year. Competitors like Carnival Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Viking Cruises have also increased their spending on advertising, according to the advertising analytics platform Pathmatics." But placing these enthusiastic advertisements in the middle of newsreels about stranded, sick, customers just feels inappropriate and awkward.
While I respect the efforts of these firms to attempt to regain control of the narrative, I do wonder if the response is over-engineered. This is a classic example of a time when it might be best to sit tight, say nothing, and let the storm blow over. Sometimes, less is more.
No comments:
Post a Comment