Cruise Holidays Goes 3 for 3 in Travel Industry's

Cruise Holidays
Published: October 28th, 2011

Most Coveted "Magellan Awards"

October 28, 2011 // Franchising.com // Minneapolis, MN - Cruise Holidays has swept onto the scene of one of the travel industry’s most hotly anticipated awards contests, by winning three top marketing honors in the first year the travel agency network formally submitted an entry. Cruise Holidays, North America’s most established cruise-specialty retail franchise, won two Gold Magellan Awards and one Silver Magellan Award in the 2011 competition.

Cruise Holidays was honored in the following categories:

Gold – Travel Agency Website – www.cruiseholidays.com

Gold – Travel Agency Advertising/Marketing Campaign – Cruise Holidays Cruise Line of the Month

Silver – Direct Mail – Compass Magazine (see it online here: http://bit.ly/CompassMag)

By submitting entries for its industry-leading programs, Cruise Holidays went head-to-head with some of the biggest names in the travel business. Winning two Gold and one Silver was a feat that did not go unnoticed by Barry Liben, Chief Executive Officer of Travel Leaders Group: “A tremendous amount of hard work and considerable effort went into each and every entry submitted.”

Cruise Holidays is one of several travel agency brands within Travel Leaders Group. In fact, Travel Leaders Group as a whole was singled out for excellence through a total of 15 Magellan Awards. “Travel Leaders Group continues to be recognized for all the industry-leading programs and services we offer to the travel agency community,” added Liben.

“For our website and our premier advertising campaign to both win the highest possible honors bestowed by the Magellan Awards, it is an accomplishment we are extremely proud of. We listen closely to our franchise owners’ needs, and focus one hundred percent of our efforts on designing programs and tools that can help them win and retain business, along with the trust of their customers,” said Mark Schiffner, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Cruise Holidays.

A short description of each of the Cruise Holidays winning entries can be seen below:

Gold Award – Travel Agency Website – www.cruiseholidays.com

• Cruise Holidays’ operating system is completely integrated with its website: www.cruiseholidays.com.
• Clients only receive emails or direct mail that fits their customer profile.
• When email marketing is sent to targeted customers on the franchisee’s behalf and consumers click on the offer, they are taken directly to the franchisee’s landing page and can request more information or a quote.
• Similarly, all direct mail pieces include an offer code, which, when typed in on the website, directs the user to the franchisee’s landing page for that offer.
• There is a wealth of information on website created on the franchise owners’ behalf.
• Franchise owners can easily customize the site themselves.

Gold Award – Travel Agency Advertising/Marketing Campaign – Cruise Holidays Cruise Line of the Month

• All Cruise Holidays marketing follows a layered approach, meaning it is targeted to specific clients from a centralized database that have a history or preference with a certain cruise line(s).
• All emails or direct mail are sent by Headquarters on behalf of the franchisee, but only to clients that fit the campaign profile.
• All direct mail and emails link to a landing page for that offer on the franchisee’s site, created by Headquarters.
• All pieces also contain an offer code that can be entered on the website, linking to the landing page.
• From the landing page, clients receive more information and can request a quote.
• Franchisees can track all marketing done by Headquarters.

Silver Award – Direct Mail – Compass Magazine (see it online here: http://bit.ly/CompassMag)

• A 52-page, full-color travel magazine, is sent to Cruise Holidays’ VIP clients twice each year.
• Franchise owners can personalize Compass in several areas throughout the magazine.
• Even if no personalization is completed by the franchisee, each edition is completely turn-key and sent on the owner’s behalf to their preferred mail list.
• Supplier ads obtained by Cruise Holidays headquarters are brand-focused, generally not offer-driven, adding to the piece’s shelf life.

About Cruise Holidays

Cruise Holidays is the most established cruise-specialty retail franchise in North America, with stores and home-based franchise owners in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Cruise Holidays is also a distinguished provider of land tour vacation packages. Founded in 1984, Cruise Holidays is part of Travel Leaders Group. With approximately 30% of all travel agencies in the U.S. and Canada under its umbrella, Travel Leaders Group serves millions of individual leisure travelers, as well as select corporate clients and destinations.