Weinstein: ‘Costa On The Rebound’

Weinstein: ‘Costa On The Rebound’

Costa Favolosa entering the port of Liverpool, photo credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr Account)

“Costa is one of those brands that’s really on the rebound,” said Josh Weinstein, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, speaking on the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

Weinstein credits Costa President Mario Zanetti with leading the turnaround of the Italian brand, which is launching a new marketing campaign.

“Their research based on their market and the segment that they’re trying to hit in their market was all about experiences and leaning into particular messaging in particular ways to convey it because the product for Costa is already fantastic,” Weinstein said.

He continued that Costa and AIDA posted solid numbers for August, with occupancy coming in at 119 per cent, above the 109 per cent average number Carnival reported for its nine brands.

“In fact, in Q3, AIDA and Costa delivered higher yields than 2019,” he said, noting they did this with the absence of Saint Petersburg in what would have been high-yielding Baltic itineraries.

Carnival Cruise Line Introduces New Funderstruck Marketing Campaign

Carnival Cruise Line will launch a new marketing campaign, “Funderstruck,” that invites people to choose fun again by booking and taking a vacation, according to a press statement. 

Built upon Carnival’s brand platform Choose Fun, the company introduces an entirely new word – Funderstruck – to "describe the unmistakable feeling uniquely experienced when choosing fun on Carnival."

Funderstruck will celebrate what travellers want right now and something that Carnival is precision-engineered to deliver – unapologetic fun together with those you enjoy spending time with the most, the company said. 

Carnival will introduce Funderstruck first through CRM and owned social followed by a series of back-to-back campaign activations during two pivotal Holiday cultural moments.

The first Funderstruck spots will air on ESPN and ABC during the NBA on Christmas Day games, in addition to the game and pre-game sponsorships.

Funderstruck will then be featured with Carnival sponsoring the iconic Times Square New Year’s Eve Celebration, through a collaboration with ABC and the New York Times Square Alliance.

In addition to the Christmas and NYE integrations, the Funderstruck message will be used across all Carnival owned channels, OOH placements in key port and feeder markets, :15 and :30 National TV commercials, and digitally led efforts highlighted by streaming video, streaming audio, podcasts, unique high impact display and video efforts, and social presence across TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook.

In several spots, guests enjoy the many Funderstruck experiences that Carnival has to offer, from riding BOLT, the first roller coaster at sea, to simply enjoying a delicious chocolate ice cream, most notably with other passengers who share an unabashed sense of euphoria and delight in being together again.

Click the image above to view Carnivals Funderstruck

“Funderstruck is the unmistakable feeling when you choose fun on Carnival, and the kind of joyful experience essential to people’s health and happiness,” said Pete Callaro, senior vice president of brand and product marketing for Carnival Cruise Line. “Carnival cruises are the perfect vacation to enjoy with those you’ve missed having fun with over the past year.”

The campaign, created by Anomaly, is an extension of the brand’s Choose Fun campaign that launched in 2018. All paid media and integration elements were created by the Initiative and supported by the public relations consultancy LDWW.

For additional information on Carnival Cruise Line and to book a cruise vacation, call 1-800-CARNIVAL, visit www.carnival.com, or contact your favourite travel advisor or online travel site.