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Strategic Communications Plan

Yacht Week

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Strategic Communication Plan

Executive Summary

The Yacht Week aims to be a luxurious and exciting vacation for people in the 20 to 30 year

old age range looking for a more affordable option. Groups of friends can rent a yacht for a week that

will take them to majestic locations where every day is spent relaxing at sea and in cities, and every

night is spent enjoying nightlife with friends and other Yacht Week participants. While The Yacht

Week is currently targeted mainly towards wealthy Europeans looking for an adventure, The Yacht

Week is looking to expand its opportunities to America, by catering to American college students.

This new target market is similar enough to the current market to work well, but different enough to

bring in a whole new sect of consumers. The Yacht Week does face competition for this market from

beach resorts and cruise lines, but The Yacht Week is a totally new experience unlike any of the

competition, which is what will set it apart and make it successful. One of the main things The Yacht

Week intends to do in the near future is expand its marketing and public relations reach into America

so as to secure that market. This will be done in a few different ways. The first is to redesign the

company’s website to better draw potential customers in, currently the website is difficult to navigate

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and a redesign is important. The second is to advertise in magazines that the target markets read.

Using full-page color advertisements shows the excitement of Yacht Week, and will help to draw in

new customers. The third is to send teams to major college campuses in America to provide more

specific information and to be available for questions. The last is to advertise on facebook, where most

of the target market is often present. Using these tactics and more The Yacht Week hopes to achieve

its main goal of expanding into the American college students market.

Overview:

Do you want to get away?

Affordable luxury combined with fun people from all over the world & unforgettable events

makes us unique. Every day exceptional. Every night something magical. Cristal clear water, fresh

winds, regattas, yacht parties are all elements of your journey.

Mission Statement:

Yacht Week prides itself on being able to offer an exhilarating voyage to experience: sailing,

regattas, and entertainment at an affordable level to people above 20-years-old.

Yacht Week directly provides an accommodating boating vacation to people above 20 years

of age around the world.

Program Goals:

Yacht Week aims to broaden their new market to a high to middle class demographic of

collegiate students at appropriate times during the year. As well as expand the knowledge of our

program in a more organized manner to highlight the low expensive trip.

Yacht Week, unlike any other company, is here to provide you and all of your best friends

with a nautical journey across Caribbean, Turkish, Croatian, or Greek waters on your very own

chartered yacht. Upon this voyage one will experience a surreal nightlife with docks at some of the

most amazing party cities, anchoring in for a night of fun. This thrilling experience not only provides

sailing but regattas, entertainment, crystal clear water, fresh winds and much more.

Start your Yacht Week journey by simply choose a sailing week and a yacht to accommodate

you and your friends. We welcome sailors of all abilities and can provide you with an option to sail

with a professional skipper. Or one can join the crew and learn how to be a skipper by him or herself.

With this affordable, elegant trip combined with fun people from all over the world &

unforgettable events makes us one of a kind. Every day equipped with life changing elements to instill

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no regrets about your yacht week decision. Starting from only €300/ person you can charter your own

yacht! Minimum age is 20 years old. Check us out on the web or visit our Facebook page. Once

you’ve viewed our pictures and videos, I guarantee you’ll be trying to plan your next spring break

with us.

Industry:

The industry that yacht week is a part of is the Cruise industry. According to Cruise Lines

International Association there was approximately 14.3 million people that took a cruise last year. The

industry has achieved a 2100% growth since 1970 when the industry was still young. The industry is

still growing, with only 20% of adults having ever been on a cruise this leaves much room to expand.

The average consumer for the industry is a wealthy 46 year old, and most cruises are booked through

travel agents. The industry is only expected to grow more due to the fact that the economy is regaining

some stability. The years 2008-2010 were challenging for the industry due to the faltering economy,

but the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association calls for cautious optimism for 2011 after seeing some

signs of an improved sales climate.

Audience Lifestyle Needs Desired Behavior Channel(s)

Wealthy

College

Students

Laid back, fun

seeking, nautical

Luxurious

vacation option,

entertainment

without

supervision

Be able to have an all

in one unforgettable,

destination vacation

with friends

Facebook,

Twitter, online

ads, travel

magazines, word

of mouth

Middle Class

College

Students

Laid back, fun

seeking, realistic,

nautical

Affordable

vacation option,

entertainment

without

supervision

Be able to have the

time of his or her life

on vacation, yet being

able to afford it all.

Facebook,

Twitter, online

ads, travel

magazines, word

of mouth

Young (20-25)

wealthy

Europeans

Adventurous, laid

back, nautical

Proximity to

vacation locations,

Luxurious

vacation option

Be able to enjoy an

interactive, fun

vocational journey

Facebook,

Twitter, online

ads, travel

magazines, word

of mouth

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Yacht Week has made a plan to target 20 to 30 year olds as their audience. The subcategory

of this audience base is American college students that are upper middle class and young Europeans;

both seeking to engage in an exotic, nautical adventure. The average person the company is trying to

cater too is: someone that takes interest in exploring nature, enjoys luxurious vacations, sociable,

adventurous, looking to explore foreign cultures, and other interactive adventures. The target audience

can be reached through twitter, blogs, online articles, websites, facebook, lectures and social

networking. A major part of connecting with the target audience is word of mouth as well as

connections.

Product:

Yacht week is an all inclusive yacht rental vacation service that has various destinations for

various prices. According to the companies website, the basics included when you book a trip with the

yacht week are the rental of a yacht, all yacht equipment, all taxes paid, dinghy, outboard engine,

gasoline, GPS, nautical charts, sheets, blankets, towels, stereo and cockpit speakers. Extra fees are

anywhere from $20 to $150 for things such as extra fuel and port fees. Destinations include the British

Virgin Islands, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, and Sicily. Prices for a week on a yacht range from $730 to

$1480. Sailing knowledge is helpful but not necessary because the company can provide a skipper.

Demographics and Psychographics:

The target demographic for the Yacht Week is young people ages 20-25 who are middle class

and above. The service is mainly targeted towards European college students at this point in time.

Yacht week targets outgoing, adventurous people who want to do something different for vacation.

Generally people who would take a vacation with the Yacht Week would be people that like the

outdoors, and new experiences.

Competition:

The Yacht Week’s competition ranges from different vacation options such as affordable

cruise ships. Cruise ships also offer affordable rates like The Yacht Week and also more amenities.

This is an immediate threat to their customer base. The cruise ship industry is one of the biggest

threats to The Yacht Week’s success. Companies such as Carnival, offer an extensive range of

destinations that The Yacht Week does not offer. The price of going on a Carnival cruise in the

Caribbean ranges from $378.00 to $1,158.00 for five days. These ships also have different restaurant

options on the boat, which is extremely convenient for the customers. The legitimacy and credibility

of major cruise ship companies like Carnival give them an edge in terms of customer service over

Yacht Week.

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Environmental: Weather is a leading factor in changes that may affect yacht week as a company.

Their market is based on having good weather for sailing and factoring other weather patterns that

may interrupt this is a leading concern. The company has its clients book the trip more than 3 months

in advance with a direct nonrefundable deposit to assure a spot. The company cannot predict the

weather for the days booked, so they must factor in bad weather. If a storm does happen during the

week of travel the clients will be refunded depending on how many days they participated in during

the week.

Economic: The economy is a high factor of yacht week. Usually when the economy is down clients

that may otherwise be interested in partaking in yacht week may not be in the best financial situation.

Yacht Week is based on clients with money, although Yacht Week does price their rates fair and along

the lines with other competitors, the economy needs to be up. Middle class and above are the targeted

audience for this company.

Technological: Yacht Week is based on social networking and web marketing. With new forms of

technology always being released it serves as a constructive way to market the product. Facebook and

their website are ways for the company to connect and market to their clients. Social networking and

media is how the company reaches its clients. The company recently just set up a blog as well so that

their clients can receive part of the experience of yacht week online through photos, videos, interviews,

personal blurbs, and insight of what the trip includes.

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Strengths

Age range 20-30

Wide range of destinations

Different price packaging

Paid transportation from the airport

Caters towards college spring, winter, and

summer breaks

Social Media

Weakness

Directed towards Europeans and British

Not marketed in the US

Flights not included

Only sails in the Mediterranean and

Caribbean

Young company, young employees

Not enough media exposure

Competing with established vacation spots

Opportunity

College discount

Price packages

Expansion to more countries

Cross promotions with bars/restaurants

Obtain more yachts as business grows

Expand into a market that doesn’t really

exist (affordable yacht renting)

Promoting on College campuses

Expand press, marketing to more countries

Threats

Cruise lines

Economy Less likely to rent a yacht

Not enough boats to accommodate

Weather, natural disasters

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Yacht Week was created five years ago in 2006. The company is relatively new to the

business world and is just getting on its feet. Their company targets young adults in there twenties

who are looking to immerse themselves in a breath-taking trip. With over five amazing locations

Yacht Week holds many opportunities. The different strengths of the company is based on the fact that

this company is not like any other travel experience. The price is targeted to middle class and higher,

however compared with other travel packages and experiences it is priced affordably. The yachts can

include up to 15 people: co-ed, all girls, or all boys. The price of the yacht depends on how big the

yacht is and the location. The company provides their clients with the option of working on the boat as

well if one cannot afford the whole trip. The clients can choose to have their own skipper or have the

company supply one.

Yacht Weeks’ greater strengths focus on how there is no other organization or company that

targets specifically towards 20-30 year olds and presents them with the ability to sail in an exotic

country for a full week while experiencing: the countries culture, atmosphere, how to sail, opportunity

to interact with people from different countries, night clubs, water activities and so much more. Yacht

week provides professional photographers and videographers to capture every moment of the amazing

experience. The album and video are given to the customers at the end of their trip, as well as all of

the playlists that are created on aboard. For $25 extra the clients have access to nightclubs and bars

where the yachts dock for the night. In addition, the final payment includes: rental of yacht, yacht

equipment, all taxes, end cleaning, dinghy, outboard engine and gasoline, GPs and nautical charts,

sheets, blankets, towels, stereo, and cockpit speakers.

The leading weakness of the company is that the audience is mostly focused on Europeans. If

the company planned a campaign in the states around college campuses, their client base could

potentially double in size. In addition, the company’s only form of advertisement is from social

networking (twitter, facebook and website); they could produce ads in travel magazines and create

brochures for travel agencies.

Core Problem:

The main kink in this new company is that it does not have an advertising campaign. The

company has targeted Europeans and Brits and has left out U.S. college students (who could

potentially be a big target market). If Yacht Week would put in the time to start a nationwide

campaign in the states they could potentially bring in a lot of income and clients. In addition, the

website could be reconstructed so that it would be easier for potential clients to navigate. The section

with the pricing needs an update so it customizes to the clients and is user friendly.

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Tactics:

The Yacht Week’s main weakness is their inefficiency to reach the public. There are

countless ways the company can reach its target audience. By exposing themselves to College

campuses, continuing to progress with social media exposure, advertising in magazines that pertain to

College students, and offering various promotions, The Yacht Week’s business will improve

drastically directly from exposure.

By visiting college campuses, The Yacht Week will be able expose themselves to their main

target audience in person. This will ensure that their key demographic will gain information about the

company by the teams sent to College campus. By continuing to keep up with the company’s social

media outlets, the company will be able to reach their target audience in an efficient way. The last key

tactic that Yacht Week needs to utilize is advertising through magazines that their target audience read.

By executing these tactics, The Yacht Week will legitimize themselves by having an adequate amount

of advertising that informs the public about the company.

Goals:

Our goal as a company is to expand in the United States and create promotions nationwide.

Through campaigns and advertisements we are in hope to expand our company and client base. Our

plan is to target college campuses and promote promotions to college students. A few plans that we

would like to use in our plan are: if a school has 5 sororities and fraternities sign up each yacht

receives a 25% discount off of their whole trip. In addition have college representatives playing music

and promoting Yacht Week at booths during school fairs. Brochures in travel agencies may need to be

created and distributed. Posters may be placed around college campuses promoting to join and sign up

for Yacht Week. There should be representatives for each geographic area that certain colleges reside

in; they should be equipped with business cards and personal contact information.

We would like to stay in our budget and timeline as close as possible giving a little breathing

room in case of unpredictable problems.

Summary:

Yacht week experiences an advantage in the business because there are no other companies

renting yachts to take groups across the ocean. They have the upper hand since they dock at certain

party cities to let customers reach the dry land and explore the culture. Yacht week would flourish if

they directed most of their business to American college students who thrive off of winter and spring

break. If promotions were related to certain types of people they would gain a great wealth of business.

The opportunities that arise if Yacht Week were to change would be an expanding market and

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competition with relating businesses. There are many opportunities that could become if Yacht Week

were to advertise to the correct audiences. Although there are few threats, Yacht Week can never

predict weather related issue or the seasickness of their customers. With a shift in direction this

company could make an enormous growth.

Budget

Strategy Detail Cost Total

Projected

Tactic Redesign

Website to

optimize

usefulness

Website is

currently not

very effective

or

informative,

redesign to

fix that.

$10,000 to

hire website

designer

$10,000

Tactic Advertise in

teen

magazines

Advertise in

popular

magazines to

increase

awareness of

service

$250,000

for full page

ad, $5,000

for ad

designer

$255,000

Tactic Speak at

major

college

campuses

Have media

teams speak

at colleges to

increase

awareness

$10,000 for

travel costs

$10,000

Tactic Flyers Distribute

and hang

flyers on

college

campuses to

explain

$50,000 for

production

of all flyers,

$1,000 for

flyer design

$51,000

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service. 4

color flyers

with basic

title, picture,

and brief

explanation

Tactic Facebook

sidebar ad

Advertise on

facebook

because

target market

is active there

Totals: $326,000 $326,000

Calendar

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Key Public Prospective

customers

Website

Redesign

Hire

designer and

have them

work on

website

X X

Review

design with

designer

X

Publish final

website

X

Key Public College age

girls

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Magazine

Advertisement

Hire ad

designer and

have them

work on ad

X X X

Review ad

design

X

Submit ad to

magazine

X

Run ad X

Key Public College

Students

College Visits

Pick

campuses to

visit

X

Put together

teams and

pitches

X

Deploy

teams to

campuses

X X

Key Public College

students

Flyers

Hire

designer for

flyer

X

Approve

flyer design

X

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Print flyers X

Distribute

flyers

X X

Key Public Facebook

Users

Facebook Ad

Hire ad

designer

X

Work on and

edit ad

X

Approve

Final Ad

X

Run ad on

Facebook

X X X

Evaluation:

There are a few ways that we as a company will evaluate if the marketing tactics that we will

institute are working efficiently or not. Increased facebook and twitter likes and followers will be one

factor in telling that our social media proficiency and institution of advertising are working. The

increase of customers that are U.S. college students will allow us to identify if the advertising and

promotion teams that will be promoting The Yacht Week at college campuses are benefiting the

company as well. If we see that our customer base is still predominantly from European countries,

this will tell us that there needs to be increased budgeting in the advertising side of the business in

order to appeal to the large amount of college students in the United States.

Conclusion:

With this new strategic plan in action for the company, we hope to see many new positive

changes. Our main goals for this plan were as followed: target, promote and cater to a new audience

(United States college students). Our tactics include: initiating college ambassadors, guest speakers at

universities, cross promotions with fraternities and sororities, competitions between schools, free

merchandise, brochures and ads in magazines. These are only a few concepts that we talked about in

the overall plan. With these tactics, as well as others, we conclude that our company will grow and

expand to new areas of the world after we conquer the U.S. By starting this campaign in the United

States it will bring in a bigger customer base, income, and publicity to our company. Our budget

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targets and focuses on paying for different advertisement and marketing campaigns, our main

budgeting expense is social media advertising. We have concluded that social media is the most

proficient way of targeting our new audience. Our budget is manageable and efficient, and will

ultimately lead to the expansion to new markets, which will allow The Yacht Week to grow and

flourish as a company.

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Work Cited

1. “Carnival Cruise Lines.” N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct 2011. <http://www.carnival.com/>.

2. "Cruise Industry Overview: 2011." Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association. Web. <http://www.f-

cca.com/downloads/2011-overview-

book_Cruise%20Industry%20Overview%20and%20Statistics.pdf>.

3. "Profile of the U.S. Cruise Industry." Cruise Lines International Association.

Web. <http://www.cruising.org/pressroom-research/cruise-industry-source- book/profile-us-

cruise-industry>.

4. The Yacht Week. Web. <http://www.theyachtweek.com/>.