Ahoy!!

So let’s pretend that I work for Carnival (how fun would that be?) and I have a brand new ship joining my fleet.  Like I said last week, I can talk it up on Twitter, in my blog or on Facebook to let my guests know.  Or, I could use more traditional media forms and create a media kit that includes a press release.  When your company is tweeting on twitter or writing a blog, you control the content.  However, when you release a press release in hopes that a newspaper or the like will cover it, you have to put your faith into the journalist hands.  Some companies will just run the release as is, where as others will edit it first. Unlike someone working for the company, they are nonbiased and not required speak as highly about your company.  

While Carnival Cruise Lines have definitely brought themselves into the digital age (making great use of social media where they can control their content, I might add), they are still using traditional media relations as well.  Except instead of sending out hard copy media kits, everything can be found online.  If you go to the Press/Media section on their website, you are able to find anything you would be looking for as a journalist.  They have Press Kits and Fact Sheets that are broken down into each specific ship and a general one on the company.  They also have a section where you can find proper press releases that Carnival has written about their upcoming events.   I would say that one of Carnival’s downfalls in this area is that they have not had one since October 24^th.  I find it hard to believe that nothing has happened in the last month that is newsworthy enough to write a press release.

On the other hand, almost daily, Carnival posts a story on their news blog.  This blog is very different then John Heald’s blog that I explored last week.  Unlike John’s blog, the news blog typically posts very short straight to the point stories of events or changes in the company.   For instance, their last blog post was a short 5 sentence about new ships based in New Orleans and the $25,000 donation they made to Reconcile New Orleans.  In these few short sentences we learn about the charitable act that carnival did, while also letting people know about new services.   This blog is defiantly less entertainment based but still very beneficial to Carnival.

One thing that Carnival does really well is not only on its home page, but every page on the media site, Carnival clearly directs journalists how to contact them for media inquiries and editorial photo requests.  As for improvements that Carnival could make, I would suggest that they have more formal press releases.  It is rare that Carnival will use a printed media and I get that we have moved into an age of digital media, but even bloggers could benefit from these press releases.  Let people know what makes you special, what new advancements you are adding to your fleet and what makes you stand out above the rest. After all, cruising has become one of the most common forms of traveling the world.  With so many cruise line competitors and ship varieties, Carnival should make every effort to remain in the top four cruise lines.  Isn’t that part of any PR plan?  If you are on the top rung, maintain your leadership.  What better way than to provide the materials to let others rave about you?