Cruising for a Cause
March 28, 2011 at 11:30 AM by Jillian WilsonMartin
What my clients want, they get. So when one told me I deserved a vacation, I listened! My husband and I jumped ship and booked a two week cruise to the Caribbean. It was relaxing, romantic and fun – and we enjoyed every minute (cue double rainbow – seriously, a double rainbow!).
But even with my new shades, I couldn’t help noticing Royal Caribbean International’s cause program. Overall, I was impressed, but, of course, I have some ideas on areas for improvement too.
Royal Caribbean has a number of community partnerships and prioritizes employee volunteerism as part of its GIVE (Get Involved Volunteer Everywhere) platform. Of all its programs, the most guest-facing is its partnership with Make-A-Wish Foundation. Since 2000, Royal Caribbean has hosted more than 1,000 Wish kids on its cruises and contributed approximately $3 million of in-kind services. During the cruise’s opening show, guests are introduced to the partnership via video, and throughout the trip, Make-A-Wish is included in various communication channels (e.g., in-room TV advertisements, featured tidbits in the daily “Cruise Compass” and a special flag is flown when a Wish family is onboard). These efforts culminate in a Walk for Wishes, in which guests purchase $10 Wishes at Sea T-shirts and join employees for a mile walk around the ship. On our cruise, guests donated nearly $2,000!
Amazing results, right? Absolutely! It’s a great cause, but it made me want more. While communications about Make-A-Wish on our cruise were abundant, they didn’t fully explain Make-A-Wish’s mission or Royal Caribbean’s results. Being the nosy person I am, I asked other guests (many of whom were international travelers) what they thought about the program and most of them didn’t understand who Make-A-Wish was or what they do. And they aren’t alone – while the cruise activities staff was highly knowledgeable about Make-A-Wish, waiters, chefs, stateroom attendants and others had little understanding and displayed minimal passion for the program. Also, the first time I heard of the partnership was onboard – where was the information when we were planning our trip?
Bottom line, Royal Caribbean and Make-A-Wish have a great program, but it could benefit from some of the market innovations we’ve seen this past decade. Royal Caribbean describes itself as the “Nation of Why Not” and I wish they would channel this energy for their cause. Why not leverage new media? Why not empower consumers through choice, personalization and deeper engagement opportunities? Why not incentivize employee participation? Why not highlight the partnership’s fantastic results and emotionalize the power of a purchase via social math?
I wish for the why not!
- Jillian Wilson Martin, Account Supervisor
(Full disclosure: Make-A-Wish is a former Cone client and Royal Caribbean participated in Destination Joy, a campaign Cone helped create in 2007.)
Tags: employees events cone awareness fundraising engagement causebranding
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What my clients want, they get. So when one told me I deserved a vacation, I listened! My husband and I jumped ship and booked a two week cruise to the Caribbean. It was relaxing, romantic and fun – and we enjoyed every minute (cue double rainbow – seriously, a double rainbow!).
But even with my new shades, I couldn’t help noticing Royal Caribbean International’s cause program. Overall, I was impressed, but, of course, I have some ideas on areas for improvement too.
Royal Caribbean has a number of community partnerships and prioritizes employee volunteerism as part of its GIVE (Get Involved Volunteer Everywhere) platform. Of all its programs, the most guest-facing is its partnership with Make-A-Wish Foundation. Since 2000, Royal Caribbean has hosted more than 1,000 Wish kids on its cruises and contributed approximately $3 million of in-kind services. During the cruise’s opening show, guests are introduced to the partnership via video, and throughout the trip, Make-A-Wish is included in various communication channels (e.g., in-room TV advertisements, featured tidbits in the daily “Cruise Compass” and a special flag is flown when a Wish family is onboard). These efforts culminate in a Walk for Wishes, in which guests purchase $10 Wishes at Sea T-shirts and join employees for a mile walk around the ship. On our cruise, guests donated nearly $2,000!
Amazing results, right? Absolutely! It’s a great cause, but it made me want more. While communications about Make-A-Wish on our cruise were abundant, they didn’t fully explain Make-A-Wish’s mission or Royal Caribbean’s results. Being the nosy person I am, I asked other guests (many of whom were international travelers) what they thought about the program and most of them didn’t understand who Make-A-Wish was or what they do. And they aren’t alone – while the cruise activities staff was highly knowledgeable about Make-A-Wish, waiters, chefs, stateroom attendants and others had little understanding and displayed minimal passion for the program. Also, the first time I heard of the partnership was onboard – where was the information when we were planning our trip?
Bottom line, Royal Caribbean and Make-A-Wish have a great program, but it could benefit from some of the market innovations we’ve seen this past decade. Royal Caribbean describes itself as the “Nation of Why Not” and I wish they would channel this energy for their cause. Why not leverage new media? Why not empower consumers through choice, personalization and deeper engagement opportunities? Why not incentivize employee participation? Why not highlight the partnership’s fantastic results and emotionalize the power of a purchase via social math?
I wish for the why not!
- Jillian Wilson Martin, Account Supervisor
(Full disclosure: Make-A-Wish is a former Cone client and Royal Caribbean participated in Destination Joy, a campaign Cone helped create in 2007.)
Tags: employees events cone awareness fundraising engagement causebranding
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April 7, 2011 5:33 AM Jillian, your points are worth noting. Why don't you send an email to the top guys at Royal Carribean? They are the people who can bring about change. |
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