ACE (Since acquired by and re-branded as CLIA)
From 480 subscribers to 23,000+ subscribers in just 4 years
STRATEGY:
Travel agents found cruise complicated to sell, and online training dull, so many didn't talk about cruise at all.
Yet cruise holidays paid significantly higher commissions than most agents realised, meaning the sector was an under-used profit opportunity.
We repositioned cruise as a fun, high-earning category for agents, and made learning about cruise engaging and professionally aspirational rather than just 'a chore'. (Travel agents do a LOT of training...)
We realised agents didn't know about higher commissions on cruise sales. Having got their interest, we made training fun and created a new brand. ACE - The Association of Cruise Experts. (Now CLIA)
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THE AGENT PROPOSITION:
The more people choose to cruise - the more you need to know.
We created a website where agents learned about cruise and how to make more sales.
Our integrated approach covered print on demand, direct mail, digital, web, training, video and animation, event management and sponsorship revenue generation.
OUTCOME:
Paid membership went from 480 members to 23,000+ members. UK Cruise bookings increased by 18%.​ We brought the average passenger age down from 75 to 56. All within 4 years.