Closing cruise line in £2m promotional push

Ocean Village is embarking on a £2 million new year sales push with TV advertising supported by Cruise Thomas Cook.

The marketing drive includes a £549 lead in price for seven night Mediterranean fly-cruises from Palma booked before January 31.

The national TV, radio and online campaign is designed to boost sales for the casual cruise company which is being phased out over the next two years as its two ships are transferred to Australia.

Ocean Village also issues a new brochure on Monday including a free cover-mounted  DVD featuring classical recording artist and ex-Ocean Village vocalist Will Martin, a James Martin cookery feature and an introduction to Ocean Village. 

Details of the 2009 Med fly-cruise programme along with new Caribbean itineraries for winter 2009-10 are featured. 

 More than 3,000 travel agents will be mailed their own copy of the brochure, the Will Martin DVD, a copy of a new 16-page leaflet supporting the key offers and a ‘dreaming of a pink Christmas’ festive fold-out tree.

Managing director Nick Lighton said: “Our commitment to and confidence in Ocean Village is demonstrated in this, our biggest ever marketing campaign. 

“We’ve got a fantastic range of great value, laid-back fly-cruise holidays  for 2009 and 2010 and this campaign shows it’s business as usual at Ocean Village for the next two years.   

“Whilst the economic climate is challenging, we are already seeing a pattern of people trading up from package holidays for the better value Ocean Village offers and trading down from more expensive options to our high-quality but easy-going cruise holidays.

“We ran a series of TV tests in 2008 and are confident that rolling out this campaign nationally will give us the cut through and momentum to drive home Ocean Village’s value for money and casual cruising messages, and to show that we will be going strong for the next two years.”

Jenny Ellis, head of Cruise Thomas Cook, said: “We are delighted to be working with Ocean Village on a joint national TV campaign which will be a key part of our ‘peaks’ cruise plan. 

“We will support the TV through our multi channel approach including point of sale in-store, and an on-line presence to ensure maximum conversion from the national TV advertising. 

“The product really does present the customer with something different and comes across so well on TV – Ocean Village really is cruising with a twist.”

by Phil Davies