The Situation
Despite the ocean cruise industry experiencing declines in 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, global cruise revenue is projected to reach US$18.62bn in 2022, a 17.15% annual growth rate, and 32.30m passengers by 2026.
Carnival Cruise Line, a brand that encompasses almost half of the cruise industry market share, and their agency, Initiative, were looking to boost awareness, maximize reach, and convert their past and “on-the-verge” target audiences to sign up for vacations.
The Solution
To reach Carnival’s target audience among tens of thousands of shows and millions of episodes, which include some of the most recognized in the podcast industry, AdsWizz proposed utilizing premium podcast inventory and advanced targeting capabilities.
Tech and Tactics
- AudioMatic Premium Podcast Inventory – Accessing a myriad of popular & relevant podcasts via AdsWizz technology, Carnival Cruise Line could find their target audience at scale.
- Advanced Targeting Capabilities – Robust planning and buying featuring behavioral segments and contextual targeting, powered by Publisher 1st Party data & 3rd Party DMP data.
- Brand Uplift Measurement – Measured the overall effect of the campaign on the brand association, awareness, and consideration.
The campaign was broken out by genre and by the three target groups. The selected genre was Business, Sports, & News, and the audiences consisted of New to Carnival, New to Cruise, and Cruise Interest & Intent. The AudioMatic platform also provided weekly reports on performance and audience insights for maximum visibility and awareness.
The Results
Through AudioMatic’s premium podcast offering, in-market tactics maximized the reach of the target Carnival Cruise Line audience at scale while driving a measured positive brand uplift.
The campaign hit exceptional benchmarks with Ad Completion reaching a +96.7 Listen Through Rate, +13.3K conversions to the Carnival booking site, and a +30M impression (100% target audience reach). Additionally, in-market targeted podcast media via AudioMatic drove a +24% uplift in brand awareness, correlating to on-site conversions & trip bookings.
The AudioMatic team provided granular guidance on the value of podcasts and how they can effectively drive efficiencies for Carnival with exceptional client service, empowering Carnival to gain essential understandings of campaign performance and weekly audience insights. Talk about a successful voyage!
This partnership between AdsWizz, Carnival, and Initiative received industry recognition as the winner in the 2022 AdExchanger Awards “Innovation in Audio Advertising” category.
“A huge thumbs up to the AdsWizz team on Carnival’s successful and first-ever podcast activation. Not only were we successful in targeting our key demographics, but we were also able to see how well our brand messaging resonated in our target audience.”
Judy Seo
Digital Partnerships, Initiative
Technology for a sound world.
