Carnival Corporation

Introduction

Carnival Corporation is the world’s largest cruise line company in North America1. They operate a fleet of 88 cruise ships with more than 160,000 berths, and have 11 cruise brands. Carnival has continued to expand further into every market segment of the cruising industry. Their successful growth is attributed to their ability to manage brand autonomy, with each major cruise line maintaining separate sales, marketing, and reservation offices, as well as through the industry’s most aggressive ship building program. They cater to all types of individuals, cultures, offer multiple languages, meeting and exceeding vacation and entertainment expectations. They target many different markets including contemporary, premium, and ultra luxury while keeping the lowest price in the industry.

Market Segments

Increased marketing strategies come from growth because organizations must be able to reach consumers, and all their different needs. As the times change so will consumer needs. The marketing team must consider a variety of factors like age, gender, location, price, family, demographics, the economy, geography, and relaxation. The organization must group their buyers into groups based on common needs, so the marketing action can be focused on the different groups. To be successful the market segments should be broken down and analyzed to determine the profitable market segments.

To increase sales and profits an organization will segment its market so it has the ability to respond more effectively to the needs of the different consumer groups. To gain a competitive advantage it’s important to focus on the little differences that are important to the consumer. By segmenting a market and selecting specific segments to target the link between the buyer’s needs and the organizations marketing programs could prove to be more profitable.

An association called Cruise Lines International developed a cruising profile that breaks down the different...