Brand Analysis For disney cruiseline

The Disney Cruise line is one of the ventures of the Walt Disney company which focuses on providing family entertainment. An analysis of the Disney Cruise line brand indicates that its revenues and market share be taken into consideration. However, Disney does not report the revenues and expenditures of the Cruise line separately. Thus experts’ estimates have to depended upon in order to gauge the worth of the cruise line.According to some analysts:Based on what Disney Cruise Line has reported — about 390,000 passengers a year and an average of $200 in revenue a day per passenger — the business likely grosses more than $312 million a year, or $156 million per ship. (Jackson, 2005) The Disney Cruise line has 2 ships in its fleet with two more to be launched in 2010 and 2011. While each ship can accommodate around 3,508 passengers, the market share of the cruise line is at 1. 8%. (Kwortnik Jr. , 2006) Positioning and Competitive Differentiation PointDisney Cruise l ines position themselves in the market and differentiate on the basis of the value the Cruise line provides rather than service attributes or benefits. According to Anne Riley-Katz: In the nine years that it has operated its current two cruise ships, Disney has set itself apart from other lines by capitalizing on the family niche, a newer segment of a market that traditionally played to honeymooners and retirees. (Riley-Katz, 2007) Disney likes to refer to itself as ‘A leader in the family cruise segment’ (Disney Cruise News, 2009).And the values it highlights are the family experience with fun activities for all age groups. Disney Cruise line boasts of kids’ activities, teenage entertainment activities as well as something to do for adults on their own. It is because of the family focus that Disney cruises are priced higher than other cruise lines and focus on high quality recreational activities aboard the ships. According to the Disney Cruiseline Website: Disn ey Cruise Line offers cruise vacations to be enjoyed by the young and young at heart. (Disney Cruise News, 2009)Thus its point of differentiation lies in the fact that it has special activities and services designed for all age groups heightening family and individual experience. The cruise line’s competitive line of differentiation is its focus on the niche of the family market rather than an adult market exclusively as most cruises are advertised for. Other cruise lines generally are for adults and couples. Unlike most other Cruise lines, Disney does not have a casino on the deck and has areas restricted to adults for activities that are deemed not to be meant for kids.Promotional Messages In a TV commercial aired by the Cruise line available at http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=rHrSX0gHX_8, a child enters an elevator with his mother and his one year old brother and starts relating of his and his family’s experience in a typical child like manner. The high-point of t he commercial is that the child says that his baby brother is a little souvenir from the Disney cruise that they took a year ago. The advertising focuses on Disney creating a magical experience for the entire family which is unforgettable.As in the TV commercial, the child is seen to remember the experience and relate its events as if he had recently been on the trip. This depicts that the Disney Cruise line wants to position its vacations as an unforgettable experience for the parents as well as the children. Moreover, children are more prone to forgetting events but Disney has projected an image where it says that even children remember the experience. Strengths and Weaknesses The strengths of the brand include the huge brand equity that is associated with the parent company. Consumers view Disney as brand oriented towards families and children.Thus Disney comes across as a credible brand that will not malign the minds of children and a brand that parents can trust their children can learn from. The Cruise line with its strong endorsement from the parent company depicts the values that the consumers hold dear in their view of Disney. Thus its main strength lies in the strong brand name. Moreover, the cruise line is priced at premium rates implying high quality services. Further when most cruise lines are focusing on people on a honeymoon or people who have retired Disney has been able to capture the niche of family cruise.the potency of the cruise lines also lies in the fact that being family oriented, the occupancy in the ships is higher than on other cruise lines and that allows for lowering of costs while revenue increases. The weaknesses of the brand are basically its very short fleet of two ships which restricts the number of excursions that Disney can undertake. This is one reason for its market share of merely 1. 8 percent. Along with this is the fact that Disney recently ordered two more ships to be built and given the recent economic downturn and es calating prices, Disney could suffer losses in terms of high prices charged by ship builders.According to estimates the two new ships will cost more than $800 million per ship. (Riley-Katz, 2007). Provided with the fact that Disney’s cruises have been very popular and successful, such a large investment in face of a recession is risky. References Disney Cruise News. (2009). Adults Find Myriad Ways to Escape on Disney Cruise Line. Retrieved March 2009, from Disney Cruise News: http://www. disneycruisenews. com/AssetDetail. aspx? AssetId=8cfde0e4-66fc-4672-ad13-734a0186d8ae Disney Cruise News. (2009). Teenagers Rule on Disney Cruise Line.Retrieved March 2009, from Disney Cruise News Web Site: http://www. disneycruisenews. com/AssetDetail. aspx? AssetId=691d9d37-708c-4052-8a26-4d53b49b1d49 Disney Cruise Website. (2009). Enjoy a $25 Onboard Credit When You Book Online. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from Disney Cruise: http://disneycruise. disney. go. com/dcl/en_US/reserve/specialOffer s/detail? name=SpecialOffer25OnBoardCreditDetailPage Jackson, W. J. (2005, June 13). Disney Cruise Line's Magic luxury ship is spending the summer on the West Coast. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from Disney Wold Trivia: http://www.disneyworldtrivia. com/forums/disney-cruise-line/2619-disney-ship-line-cruise-control. html Kwortnik Jr. , R. J. (2006). Carnival Cruise Lines – Burnishisng the Brand. Retrieved March 1, 2009, from Cornell University Website: http://people. cornell. edu/pages/rjk34/Research/Carnival%20Cruise%20Lines%20Burnishing%20the%20Brand. pdf Riley-Katz, A. (2007, March 12). Yo-Ho, it's major dough: Disney makes, and spends, big money on pricey cruises. Retrieved February 2009, 2009, from The Free Library Website: http://www. thefreelibrary. com/_/print/PrintArticle. aspx? id=161284440