An increasing number of late winter and early spring travelers, including families on spring break, are heading to warmer climates via cruise lines. A new program airs branding messages on jumbotron-size screens in view of passengers sitting in lounge chairs on deck or by the pool or hot tub.

To find out how to get your client’s message up big in front of cruising consumers, read on.

This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.

Fast Facts

What
Ads broadcast on giant screens placed on the decks of cruise ships.

Who
Brand Connections headquartered in New York.

How it works
Ads are broadcast on screens on the decks of Carnival cruise ships. The program is called On-Deck Jumbotron.

Each ad airs at least once an hour between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., says CEO Brian Martin.

Ads are interspersed with content, including sporting events, movies and concerts, as well as regular television programming and a morning show on which cruise directors announce the day’s activities and scheduled port stops.

“On deck programming is going to vary depending on the time of day,” Martin says.

The LED screens measure 12 feet high by 22 feet wide and are located poolside. Sound is broadcast via a 69,000 watt stereo system.

Creative is provided by the advertiser. They can use spots developed for television or create a new ad for ship broadcast. Ads can be 30 or 60 seconds long.

There is one screen per ship.

The program is used primarily for branding.

Advertisers are limited to no more than 10 at a time.

The ads can run as stand-alones or part of a shipboard package that can also include ads on television screens in passengers’ cabins and on digital panels on the promenade deck. Programming on deck is unique to the jumbotron screens.

Markets
Cruises depart from Miami, New York, Galveston, Anchorage, Charleston, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Honolulu, New Orleans, Norfolk, San Diego and Tampa.

Numbers
Four ships in Carnival’s fleet are now outfitted with the jumbotron screens, and additional ships are being retrofitted. Wit new ships being added to the fleet, there will be eight ships with the screens by next year.

How it is measured
Impressions are based on the number of passengers.

Pre- and post-cruise surveys are conducted to measure product awareness.

What product categories do well
Automobiles, electronics, apparel, consumer packaged goods, travel and luxury items are top categories.

Travel and tourism that aren’t competitive with Carnival are a good fit as well, Martin says.

Demographics
According to Miami-based Cruise Lines International Association, people who take cruises are:

- 50 in average age
- have average household income of $104,000
- are more likely than not to be college graduates, at 57 percent, and most are married, at 83 percent. Some 16 percent are retired.

Age breakdown of Carnival passengers are as follows: 30 percent under 35, 40 percent between 45 and 55, and 30 percent over 55.

Making the buy
Lead time is 45 days, and flights are a minimum of three months.

Who’s already on cruise ship jumbotron screens
This is a new program.

What they’re saying
“The oversized screens are very popular with our guests. There will be a number of people on deck watching even during the day, as well as evening hours because the picture is good even when it’s sunny.” – Vance Gulliksen of Carnival

Web site info
Brand Connections at http://www.brandconnections.com