The Costa Concordia shipwreck is dragging down the consumer perception of parent company Carnival in the US, as well as all its major rivals at the height of cruise season, especially Royal Caribbean.
As expected, perception of Costa Concordia and owner Carnival Cruise Lines have dropped very quickly in the past two weeks during the crisis.
The negative halo effect had the biggest impact on the industry’s number two player in terms of worldwide revenue, Royal Caribbean, while others such as Princess Cruises, Holland America, and Norwegian Cruise Lines have been drawn down only mildly.
Costa Concordia, Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Holland America and Norwegian Cruise Lines were measured with YouGov BrandIndex’s Buzz score, which asks survey respondents: “If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?”
YouGov BrandIndex measurement scores range from 100 to -100 and are compiled by subtracting negative feedback from positive. A zero score means equal positive and negative feedback.
Costa Concordia, tracked in BrandIndex Germany, was already treading on the zero score line in January until the 13th, when the score dove down to a -35 in 10 days. Over the same time period, owner Carnival Cruise Lines saw its sector lead of 14.7 crumble to -15.
Royal Caribbean, with its identical score of 14.7 to Carnival on January 12th, was pulled down to a zero score since that date.
The Cruise Lines Sector average, composed of Princess Cruises, Holland America and Norwegian Cruise Lines, inched slightly downward from 4.2 to 2.3 in that same time period.
