Royal Caribbean announces the end of its controversial “Royal Champions” viral web marketing program. In March, I broke the story regarding the program where fans of the cruise line only posted positive reviews on Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor. I want to thank my readers for helping me break this story.
Are the Royal Champions about to be dethroned? Based on the fallout from last week’s column about Royal Caribbean’s secretive group of cybercheerleaders, you might be forgiven for thinking so. Anita Dunham-Potter has the details.
In early 2007, Royal Caribbean developed a marketing strategy that used online bulletin boards to spread the cruise line’s gospel, so to speak. The company created a program, dubbed “Royal Champions,” that enlisted rabid Royal Caribbean fans who happened to be frequent posters on Internet cruise bulletin boards like Cruise Critic. Did its program cross the line?
Don’t want to pay hundreds of dollars for a cruise line-sponsored shore excursion? You might want to consider going online and browsing Cruise Critic’s “Roll Call’ forums where guests booked on your cruise look to find other like-minded guests to share tours and save a lot of money.