Spectra PRFor the issue:
Costa Concordia 2012
Members
Charmaine ChanAmanda SohAlicia Chua
Anand Daniel
Costa Cruises
Costa Cruises: Vacation Cruises
• Base: Genoa, Italy• Parent Company: Carnival PLC (NYSE &
LSE)• 14 Italian Registered Cruise ships• Operates cruises in the mediterranean,
Northern Europe, The Carribbean, The Indian Ocean, the Middle East and South America
The Incident• 13th January 2012• Costa Concordia, • Hit a reef off Giglio Island, now partially sunk.• Aboard: 3206 passengers and 1023 crew
members• Cause: The captain piloted the vessel within
200 yards of the coast, as part of a tradition known as “Saluting”
The Incident
Impact• 30 dead• 64 injured • Share prices fall 0.86%• Pollutants aboard the vessel a looming
threat to environmento Threat to marine life, fishing, tourism
Complications: Media Blitz
• Accident caused by questionable tradition of ‘saluting’
• Captain abandoned vessel before ensuring that all passengers evacuated
• Evacuation was not orchestrated properly, crew were not trained
• Passengers who made it to shore of Giglio were not attended to or cared for appropriately
• Class action lawsuit filed against Carnival by Codacons (USD 160, 000 for 70 passengers)
SWOT AnalysisSTRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
• Strong financial reserves - Carnival
• Good track record• Strong ties with Italian
government• Leader in industry
• No crisis management system• Lack of checks and balances
across operations• Lack of control mechanism for
sailing cruise ships
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS• PR advice: Burson Marsteller• Extensive traditional / social
media outlets available• Partnership with Italian
government for CSR efforts
• Environmental activists rallying against Costa
• Class action lawsuit (Codacons)
• Extensive press coverage of controversies (negative publicity)
SWOT PairingsO-T Engage Burston-Marstellar to manage matters pertaining
to compensation and lawsuit
S-T Work alongside Italian government to restore Giglio’s environment and address concerns from environmental activists
T-O Collaborate with the Italian government to safeguard livelihood of Giglio Citizens and curb further bad press
S-W Utilise funds to reform safety procedures in Costa
W-S Replace lack of checks and balances with improved accountability standards in Costa
W-O Broadcast new protocol implementations (safety and environment) on social media
Problem StatementOn January 13, 2012, Costa Concordia sank off
the coast of Giglio Island.
The chemicals (2300 gallons of fuel, 200 tons of diesel and other toxins) aboard the wreckage threaten to pollute the marine environment of Giglio Island, thereby affecting tourism
and fishing.
The incident has negatively influenced consumer opinion by 70.8% regarding the
safety standards of Costa Cruises.
Costa’s Values• Vision: Exceeding customers’ expectations during
whole vacation
• Mission: Make guests satisfied and repeat experience with them, serve with ownership, enthusiasm and pride
• Ethics: Full respect for safety and environmental protection
Organisational StandCosta promises:• The full restoration of the coastline and
the tourism industry of Giglio Island, • Complete compensation for all passengers
who were aboard Costa Concordia as well as the families who lost loved ones
• To ensure world-class safety standards for all passengers.
Future Custome
rs
People of Giglio Island
Publics Affected
Victims and their Families
Environment Activists
The Internation
al Media
Stock-holders
Future Customers
People of Giglio Island
Our Target Publics
Future Custome
rs
People of Giglio Island
Our Target Publics
Victims and their Families
Environment Activists
The Internation
al Media
Stock-holders
Our Target PublicsThe People of Giglio Island Future Customers of Costa
CruisesDefined as:
• Italians residing on Island of Giglio
• 3 villages, 27km of coastline• The Tuscan Province of
Grosseto• Livelihoods:
Fishing and tourism (diving)
Defined as:
• American cruise-goers• English-speaking• Median age of 40-59• With min annual household
income of USD 90 K
Main concern: The environment of Giglio Island and hence their livelihoods
Main concern: Poor safety standards and accountability of Costa
Target Public: People of Giglio Island
Goal To protect the environment of Giglio Island and the livelihood of its residents
Objectives
1. To raise American and Italian tourists’ awareness of clean-up and containment efforts at Giglioto 90% by 1st May 2012
2. To ensure continuity of the livelihoods of the people, restore Giglio Island’s summer tourism numbers from 100 per week to 250 per week within 12 to 18 months
Knowledge
To increase American and
Italian tourists’ awareness of the clean-up
and containment
efforts at Giglioto 90% by 1st
May 2012
Attitude
Behaviour
To ensure the livelihoods of the people by
restoring Giglio Island’s
summer tourism
numbers from 100 per week
to 250 per week within 12 to 18 months
People of Giglio Island
Restoring Giglio Island:Pairings Action Strategies
S-T Tap on strong financial reserves to fund measures to protect Giglio’s environment and address environmental activists’ concerns, in partnership with Giglio government.
Strategy 1:
Implement steps to restore the coast of Giglio and establish long term sustainability measures to preserve its coastal environment
T-O Consolidate the negative reporting in the international press regarding Giglio’s landscape and partner the Italian government to address it.
Strategy 2:
Partner the Giglio government in a tourism campaign
Restoring Giglio IslandStrategy 1:
Take steps to restore the coast of Giglio
Establish long term sustainability measures to preserve its coastal environment
Tactics:
1. Engage SMIT Salvage to protect the coast
2. Costa Concordia Memorial Foundation
Restoring Giglio IslandStrategy 2:
Partner the Giglio government in a tourism campaign
Tactics:1. Italian tourist campaign2. North American tourist campaignBoth to show Giglio as an ideal diving and fishing destination
Target Public:Future Customers
Goal To improve potential customers’ opinion of Costa Cruises’ safety and accountability protocol
Objectives
1. To increase American tourists’ knowledge and awareness of the new and improved safety and security protocol at Costa Cruises to 90% by 1st April 2013;
2. To raise American travellers’ positive opinion of Costa Cruises’ safety to 60% by 1st April 2013
Future Customers
Knowledge
To increase American tourists’ knowledge
and awareness of the new and improved safety and security protocol at Costa
Cruises to 90% by 1st April 2013;
Attitude
To raise potential American travellers’ positive opinion of
Costa Cruises’ safety to 60% by 1st April
2013
Ensuring Safety: Pairings Strategies
S-W Use available funds to reform all safety procedures in Costa Cruises’ ships
Strategy 1:
To overhaul the safety and security protocol of Costa Cruises
W-S Transform current lack of checks and balances into accountability as part of Costa Cruises’ reputation
Strategy 2:
Increase the accountability of all crew members
Future Customers
Strategy 1:Overhaul safety and security protocol of Costa Cruises
Tactic:Hire “The Nexus Consulting Group of Alexandria” to overhaul safety, security and accountability protocol
Future Customers
Strategy 2:Increase the accountability of all crew
Tactics:1. All course deviations to be ratified by First Mate and on-shore duty personnel
2. Two staff members (on land) on 24-hour duty, to maintain constant contact with all Costa vessels at sea
Communication Strategies• Knowledge Objectives
for :o The people of Giglioo Future customers of
Costa Cruises (American)
• Three media channels:o Traditional media: Presso Owned media: Weblogo Social media
W-O Constantly broadcast changes to safety and security protocol on traditional and social media platforms
Communication Strategies
PressoManaged by media specialist teamoSend out fortnightly press releases•Updates on new safety protocol / measures •Updates on coastal restoration
oReach: 20 most influential news agencies
Communication Strategies
Weblog• More personal• Purpose: Offer timely updates on new measures• Include interactive elements• In English & Italian• Target readership:
o Concordia passengerso Potential customerso Environmental watch groupso Giglio residentso Tourists
Communication Strategies
Social Media• Facebook:
o Costa Cruises – 18, 000 ‘fans’o Carnival Cruise Line – 1.6 million ‘fans’
• Twittero Costa Cruises – 1, 500 ‘followers’o Carnival Cruise Line – 52, 000 ‘followers’
• Link updates to Facebook and Twitter accounts• Fast, efficient dissemination
Evaluation of Environment/Tourism in GiglioKnowledge Objective: Awareness of pollution containment and clean-up of Giglio coastline
o Hit counter on weblog (165, 000 unique hits)
o Shares / Likes / Retweets on Social Media (40%)
Behavioural Objective:Change in behaviour of tourists
o Compare stats of summer 2011 with summer 2013o Number of tourists
visiting Giglioo Number of dive
trips organizedo Total revenue of
Giglio – owned businesses
Evaluation of Costa Cruises’ Safety and
Accountability• To evaluate the American tourists’
knowledge of new safety protocol:o Quantitative Method – Surveys
Platforms Tour agencies Target Timeline
• Cruisecritic.com
• Tripadvisor.com
• Cruisesonly.com
Under theAmerican Society for Travel Agents (ASTA)
• Americans booking cruises
• Age 40-59(mean demographic)
12 months after campaign is implemented
Evaluation of Costa Cruises’ Safety and
Accountability• To evaluate the American tourists’ knowledge of
new safety protocol:o Quantitative Method – Surveys
• To evaluate the attitude and impressions of potential customerso Qualitative Method – Focus Groups
• Monitoring sales figureso Compare cruise bookings of Costa Cruises in 2013 with
2011
Thank YouFor Your Attention!