MCR CRUISE - IMC PLAN REPORT

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION

Linxu Li
Table of Contents
Executive Summary..............................................................................................................................................2
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................................4
2. Situation Analysis........................................................................................................................................4
2.1. Pestle analysis......................................................................................................................................4
2.2. SWOT analysis....................................................................................................................................6
3. Identification of Target Market....................................................................................................................9
4. Determination of the IMC objectives.........................................................................................................10
4.1. Budget................................................................................................................................................11
4.2. Communication Effects Pyramid.......................................................................................................11
5. Creative approach / Message strategy........................................................................................................12
5.1. Brand Image.......................................................................................................................................12
5.2. Executional technically......................................................................................................................13
6. Integrated Marketing Communication Options Considered.......................................................................14
6.1. Advertising.........................................................................................................................................14
6.2. Radio..................................................................................................................................................15
6.3. TV commercial..................................................................................................................................15
6.4. Magazine............................................................................................................................................15
6.5. Outdoor, transportation......................................................................................................................16
6.6. Direct marketing................................................................................................................................16
6.7. Personal selling..................................................................................................................................16
6.8. PR/public............................................................................................................................................17
7. Recommendations for IMC plan................................................................................................................17
7.1. Television Commercial......................................................................................................................17
7.2. Newspaper & magazine.....................................................................................................................18
7.3. Billboards...........................................................................................................................................18
7.4. Sales promotion.................................................................................................................................19
7.5. Personal Selling.................................................................................................................................19
7.6. Beach volleyball competition sponsorship.........................................................................................19
7.7. Web-based & social media ads..........................................................................................................20
7.8. Budget and schedule..........................................................................................................................20
8. Monitoring and Evaluation of IMC plan....................................................................................................21
9. Conclusion..................................................................................................................................................22
Reference............................................................................................................................................................23

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Executive Summary

Mermaid cruises line (MCL), an Australia cruises company is planning to lunch its first vessel
from Singapore to Sydney. As the marketing communication manager group, the group has set
up a series of strategies of IMC to help the promotion of the vessel with budget of
SGD1.8million for an 18-month period.

Situational analysis noted many strengths for MCL. A 12 months redecoration for first vessel’s
interior and exterior has made the Mermaid 1 a symbol of luxurious and elegant, fitting the
standard of MHR’s hotel properties. The threats still exist, during the COIVD-19, potential
customers have dramatically declined due to the pandemic and panic of infection. However, with
the COVID-19 is gradually under control and the resuscitate of travelling industry, a new trip to
Lombok, Indonesia would become an opportunity for MCL.

The segmentation has divided the target market into 3 parts. Frist target market would be
customers at age 25 to 40 who has a sweet family and time to travel for 20 days. Also, these
people hold 19% of cruises in the survey. The second target market would be independent
travelers from 35 to 45, who are workaholics and adventurers. These people have a stable
income and willing to spend money on luxury cruises to enhance their quality of life. The last
target market would be those millionaires.

To determine the IMC objectives, the communication effects pyramid has been used to illustrate
the objectives. The first-year objectives would be 12,000 bookings and 120,000 passenger nights
(Singapore) with the share revenue for Singapore is S$30.1 million. According to the
communication effects pyramid, the campaign would first achieve the 90% of awareness of the
brand for the target market and gradually catch 5% of potential customers to get on board.

To ensure the accomplish of the IMC objectives, creative approach / message strategy would
make sure to enhance the awareness of the brand name with a short but impressed slogan “Let
your dreams set sail”. There are also decisions to be taken in ads concerning the message that can
be communicated. The integrated marketing mix has been divided into 3 channels to promote the

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campaign which are Advertising through radio, TV commercial, etc; and the direct marketing,
personal selling and internet.

Due to the total budget of SGD1.8million. The recommended promotional elements would be
TV commercials as the target markets are mid-aged parents and their families, which will spend
S$400,000. Another S$180,000 of budgets will be allocated for news and magazines. Billboards
would cost S$360,000. Moreover, S$240,000 for sales promotion, S$240,000 for personal
selling, S$208,000 for web-based ads for social media. Still the company would sponsor beach
volleyball competition to increase the brand awareness for S$100,000.

In the monitoring and evaluation programme, an accounting manager has been hired for balance
sheet and profit and loss statement. The booking manager will inform the accounting manager of
the revenue once a month.

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 1. Introduction

This report outlined the integrated marketing communications (IMC) strategy for international
marketing and promotions of a newly formed cruise shipping company, known as Mermaid
Cruise Line (MCL). The owner of this new business venture is a 25-year-old US-based hotel &
resort chain, Mermaid Hotels & Resorts group (MHR). In the future, based on the reputation and
positive image from the first vessel, MCL intend to extend their operation in the medium and
longer-term with the voyage from Sydney to the Pacific Islands and from Singapore to locations
within South East Asia.
We focus on year 1 of operation for the new MCL vessel, especially on the launch of the first
vessel in six months and the vessel's itinerary during the first twelve months in the route between
Singapore and Sydney. The information and statistic from competitor website, online survey
results and the calculated cost is collected to choose appropriate marketing communication
channels for Mermaid I. Total budget for this marketing plan is 1.8 million for the eighteen-
month period, and the estimated revenue will be around S$150 million
This report will investigate the issues that Mermaid will face when entering into this industry and
identify the target market for our Mermaid Cruise brand, thus developing specific strategy and
marketing campaign to enhance new customers and membership.

2. Situation Analysis

2.1. Pestle analysis

According to ProfessionalAcademy (n.d.) states that PESTEL analysis is a tool or framework
used by marketers to monitor and analyze the external marketing environment factors that could
have any impact on the Organization. Normally, the result from PESTEL could be used to
identify weaknesses and threats in a SWOT analysis. PESTEL stands for Political, Economic,
Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal.

Down here is the PESTEL analysis on Mermaids Cruise Ship.

- Political:

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According to PESTLEANALYSIS (2015) wrote that Singapore is a democratic country, the
representative is elected by the people in order to lead the nation. Moreover, the Singapore
political situation is quite a Low risk since its independence. Today, stability has converted the
nation into peace and a better standard of living. Furthermore, the stability of the political
situation also improved business opportunities for Singapore.
- Economic:
According to Ministry of Trade and Industry Singapore (2020) stated that Singapore's economy
has been tremendously affected by COVID 19. Moreover, international travel sectors have been
affected the most. International travel includes air transport, accommodation and other tourism-
related sectors.
- Social
According to Guidemesingapore (n.d.) stated People in Singapore feel the lack of acceptable
recreational options and spend the weekend exploring a surrounding site like in Indonesia
(Bintan, Batam, Bali etc) and Malaysia ( Langkawi, Tioman, Genting etc). Moreover, the two
most popular activities in Singapore are Dining and Shopping. Moreover, Guidemesingapore
(n.d.) also stated that Singapore does have lively nightlife like bars, night clubs, festivals, music
concerts etc.
- Technological
According to TodayOnline (2017) stated that Singapore is the world’s most “ digitally
competitive” city, based on an inaugural report measuring the capacity of an economy to
embrace and develop digital innovations that change government processes, business models and
society in general.
- Legal
According to Greenport (2018) stated that The Port of Singapore Authority plans to install a
solar photovoltaic system to reduce the terminals' carbon footprint. By following the 2016
decision to impose a carbon tax, the Singapore Government implementing carbon pricing with a
carbon tax of 5 Singapore dollars per ton of greenhouse gas emission to reduce carbon emissions.
- Environmental
According to MPA Singapore (n.d.) stated that the presentation of pollution of the sea act is a
Singapore act of parliament. This act aims to prevent sea pollution, whether originating from
land or the ship. Denying entry or detaining ships could happen if one does not obey this act.

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 2.2. SWOT analysis

Strengths Weaknesses
- Luxury accommodation, properties of MHR - New enter to the cruise industry
chains in seaside locations. - Limited voyage and vessel
- Strong brand, loyal customer base of MHR - High price
- Connecting flights into ports of embarkation - Rely on the parent brand, MHR.
and disembarkation available
- Alternative option (stay on hotel/ onboard)
applied
- Unique voyage

Opportunities Threats
- Expand the number of channels to various - Sea pollution
geographic area. - Shortage of labor supply
- The investment from the government to - Change in consumer spending pattern
recover the cruise line. - The downturn of cruise industry due
- Renewed form of the industry. to COVID 19
- Data mining of existing customer database.

- Strength

MCL did a few things extremely well on cruises ship business. The first strength is luxurious.
MCL takes 12 months to refit and remodels the first Vessel’s exterior and interior to fit the style
of MHR’s hotel properties, which are well known as specializes in providing luxury
accommodation. The second strength is the loyal customer base of MHR. According to the
briefing MCR cruise wrote that MHR established its loyalty program in 2007. Moreover, there
are 23 000 active members of the loyalty program right now. since 2007 until now, MHR has 23

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000 VIP members who are so loyal to MHR that they travel and stay in MHR accommodation all
around the world. The third strength is the connecting flight into ports. Briefing MCR Cruise
stated that fly/cruise combination is available in MCL. Moreover, the connection flights into
ports of embarkation and disembarkation is a strong point of Mermaid I’s itinerary which
connectivity provided between Singapore and various Australian Cities. The fourth strength is
the alternative option of staying in a hotel or onboard. In some locations, for example like Bali,
the customers have a choice to choose between staying in the MHR Bali which will be an
additional cost or staying onboard. The fifth strength is a unique voyage. The shipping route is
between Singapore and Sydney with the resultant cruise focusing on the water of the Indonesian
archipelago and the coastal waters of northern and eastern Australia incorporating the world-
famous Great Barrier Reef. This voyage differentiates MCL from its competitors.

- Weaknesses

MCL has a few weaknesses. The first weakness is there are limited voyages and vessels. Since
MCL has only one vessel, which is a 15-year-old vessel, it is impossible for MCL to have
multiple voyages at this time. The second weakness is new to the cruise ship business. Most of
MCL’s competitors had already been established their name throughout Singapore earlier on, as
for now, MCL is the last to enter the competition. The third weakness is the high-cost cruise
ship. According to the briefing MCL Cruise has shown that the price of the most expensive room
on Mermaid I is 695 dollars per person/night while the price of the cheapest room is 335 dollars
per person/night. However, according to PricessCruise (n.d.), the most expensive room on the
voyage between Singapore and Australian is around 350 dollars per person/night, while the
cheapest room is around 110 dollars per person/night. This comparison has shown that MCL is
double the price of its great competitor which is Princess. The fourth weakness is to rely on the
parent brand, MHR. Since MCL is very new to the market so MCL is depended one hundred
percent on MHR even the first Vessel’s decoration. According to the Briefing MCR Cruise
stated that the first vessel will be redecorated in order to make the style the same as other MHR’s
hotel property.

- Threats

There are few threats to MCL. The first threat is sea pollution. According to James, E (2019)
wrote that Cruises ships are like a floating city, on top of the pollution caused by their exhaust

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fumes, Cruises ship have been caught discarding trash, fuel and sewage directly into the ocean.
Moreover, the environmental factor in PESTLE analysts stated that the Singapore government
has an act to prevent sea pollution if one does not obey the law, their vessel shall be banned from
entering or detained. If MCL cause any sea pollution in the Singapore sea area, MCL could face
a serious problem. The second threat is COVID 19. According to economic factor In PESTLE
analyst shown that COVID 19 is causing serious damage to Singapore’s economy, especially in
the international travel and tourism sector. By this means, MCL is also facing an economic crisis
because customers could not travel due to COVID 19. The third threat is the shortage of labor
force. According to Cindy, C (2020) stated that due to the COVID 19 lot of work-pass handlers
are in quarantine, moreover, this situation causes the Singapore economy to slow down. Since
the COVID breakout in Singapore foreign worker dormitories, all of the foreign workers are
placed in quarantine. As a result, a lot of labor force is missing. The fourth threat is consumer
spending changed. The fourth threat is the change in consumer spending due to COVID.
McKinsey (2020) wrote that in some countries with a partially reopened, consumer spending
remains muted and still below the pre-crisis levels. Moreover, consumer spending is shifting to
essential good more. By this means, consumers more likely to stay at home more than spending
money on travel or something that is not important during the COVID crisis. As a result, MCL
will have Low rate of the customer during the COVID crisis.
- Opportunities

There are few opportunities for MCL. The first opportunity is to renew the form of the industry
to prevent COVID 19. According to WHO (2020) stated that measuring temperature, washing
hands with soap or hand sensitizer, social distance 1.5 mater and wearing a mask is the safest
way to reduce COVID 19. COVID 19 could spread by airborne also. As a result, to maintain
customer during a pandemic, MCL should check customers’ temperatures before entering the
vessel, test for COVID 19 before sail if possible, no more 70% capacity of customers will be
allowed, air purifier shall be put in every corner on the ship, free mask and hand sanitizer to
every customer, 1.5 mater safe distance must be put on the ship and encourage for cashless
payment. The second opportunity is to expand the number of channels to various geographic
areas. According to the social factor in PESTEL analysis shown that the people in Singapore like
to spend their weekend exploring nearby places place in Malaysia and Indonesia. By this means,
it is an opportunity for MCL to extend the trip to Lombok or other islands which is located

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nearby Indonesia and Malaysia. Moreover, MHR established property in Lombok also. The third
opportunity is to get the investment from the government to recover the cruise. According to
Xinghui, K (2020), the Singapore government unveiled a staggering 33 billion Singapore dollars’
worth of another stimulus in order to help save as many jobs as possible as the COVID 19
battered economy heads into a tailspin. Singapore government has been spending around 100
billion Singapore dollars for helping Singaporean business to keep going. As this, MCL could
also apply for a loan from the Singapore government in order to keep the business floating. The
fourth opportunity is to do the data mining of existing customer databases. Data mining of
existing customers is such a great opportunity for MCL to grow. In order to get more data from
existing customers, MCL should ask the costumers to do a survey on customer feedback before
they leave the vessel. Moreover, feedback information could help a lot for the future of MCL for
improvement.

3. Identification of Target Market

According to the Cruise Lines International Association Global Report, the average age of cruise
passenger who was 46.7 years old holding 15% from the previous two years in the cruise
industry (crusie1st,nd).Moreover, the average age of passengers who was 40 to 49 years olds
make up only 15% and the young adult to middle-aged adults who are families between 25 to 40
years old’s holding the most 19% of cruises in the survey. Therefore, the first target market of
our Mermaid Cruise Lines will be people with families between ages of 25 to 40 people with
families who are practical, and they don’t concern regarding keeping up with what’s fashionable.
Besides that, they only care what they know and are comfortable with. Moreover, these
customers don’t want to take risks and their pleasures are the simple things in life. In addition,
they are conservative, and they want to watch budgets as well as they don’t want to spend freely.
Therefore, we determine budgets for them by providing best service with affordable price which
is a health and fitness club featuring a range of the latest gym equipment, aerobics Pilates and
yoga classes and a short 20m lap style swimming pool which is also used for aqua aerobic
classes. Since this target people are families, some might have children, so we also have to
determine the best service for them. For instance, we will offer unique services like the little
Mermaid’s Children’s’ Club which opens from 7am to 7pm by providing a child-minding service

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for children aged up to 12 years old as well as we have capacity in order to cater for up to 250
children. Moreover, we have a qualified child-minding staff who have developed a fun-filled
program to keep children entertained by providing Décor and many of the activities themed
around Disney’s Little Mermaid movie series.

The second target market will be independent travelers between ages of 35 to 45 who are
workaholics and adventurers and they don’t concern much about budgets because they believe in
living for today and they often do things spur of the moment.

Moreover, they want to love experiment and they are always ready to try new and different
experiences because they are not only confident but also independent-minded. Furthermore, they
expect a lot from our cruise line such as the food, the nightlife, and the accommodations.
Therefore, we will provide alternative restaurants, snack style eateries such as various bars,
Pizzeria and two Cafes, Disco or nightclub and Duty-Free shop, unique swimming pool with the
best suitable 24-hour services guest desk where friendly, knowledgeable staff who can help them
with almost anything.

According to MMGY’s 2014 report, 40% of rich people have a desire which is they wanted to
cruise (Sorrells, 2019). Therefore, our third target market that we will target are millennials who
can afford to spend money and they do not need to be concerned regarding budgets or to settle
for just the basics. Moreover, they have a desire which is they are constantly looking more
opportunities in order to diversify their lives and experience new culture. Therefore, we will
provide not only creative food options but also unique onboard activities in order to authentic
experiences and more exotic destinations as well. Moreover, we will also give our unique service
which is we will give an experience like nothing else at sea with Royal Suite Class with
comforting and enjoying the dedicated service for a truly unforgettable experience.

4. Determination of the IMC objectives

Once the target market has been identified, the next critical step in a successful marketing
campaign is to determine what the campaign will accomplish through IMC's efforts. IMC
objectives are derived from and help to accomplish the marketing objectives. The making
objectives are the goals to be accomplished by an organization’s overall marketing program

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within a given period (Belch et al., 2012). The marketing campaign aims to achieve 12,000
bookings and 120,000 passenger nights (Singapore) in the first year of operation for MCL on the
cruise lane between Singapore and Sydney with S$1.8 million of budget for marketing. The year
one mentioned here, refers to 18 months, including the cruise ship’s maiden voyage and the
following 12 months operation. Further down the line, MCL will consider an expansion on
longer terms with cruises from Sydney to Pacific island regions and additional cruises from
Singapore to location within South East Asia being contemplated. All these mid and long-term
objectives are highly depended on the increasing brand awareness through successful marketing
campaign in the first year.

4.1. Budget

One of the important considerations regarding objectives is the cost associated with
implementing each task. Setting objectives and budgeting must be completed together, stating,
“it is difficult to establish a budget without specific objectives in mind and setting objectives
without regard to how much money is available makes no sense (Belch et al., 2012). The overall
budget for the first-year advertising and promotion is SGD 2.2 million. Apart from SGD 250,000
staff salaries and SGD 150,000 rental of office and office equipment, the total budget for the
marketing campaign would be SGD 1.8 million. These budgets would be fully used on marketing
strategies and IMC communication.

4.2. Communication Effects Pyramid

In order to represent the IMC objectives in an efficient

way, the Communication Effects Pyramid would be
used to illustrate the IMC objectives. a communication
effects pyramid displays different goals in a sequential
order ranging from the most attainable to least
attainable, and includes awareness, knowledge, liking,
preference, trial and use (Belch et al., 2012).

According to the pyramid, the first step for MCL would be increasing awareness, to get potential
customers know about MCL’s Singapore to Sydney trip. To accomplish this, several platforms

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would be used such as social media like Instagram, web advertisements, radio et al. all these
platforms are aiming to generate 90% of target markets awareness. Of course, during the
expansion of the MCL routes, the awareness would expand to a larger market as the whole Asia
Pacific range. The next step is to acknowledge 70% of the target market to receive the further
information of Singapore-Sydney tour, such as the extended itinerary of Mermaid 1. This stage
of promotion would mainly focus on the detailed information of the extended itinerary, including
the length, the facilities on board et al... Once first two steps are accomplished, it comes the 40%
of target market of to get customers interested and create positive feelings of the trip and then
25% of target market to prefer the trip. These two stages would be accomplished by using a
consistent message across a variety of communications. At this stage, the consumers begin to
understand the identity and personality of the brand, so as to form their own brand image. Unlike
other activities such as road trip, cruise trip is much more expensive, it is difficult to achieve a
20% of target market to trial the cruise trip. Most customers would just have 1 trip during a year,
so this stage would be skip. Here comes the final stage, a 5% to 10% of potential customers
would buy the ticket and get on the trip in the following 18 months, which is the most important
and difficult goal to achieve.

5. Creative approach / Message strategy

The creative approach or message strategy represents the messages and information transmitted
with the help of advertising and promotions and the management of message strategy integrated
into the IMC campaign. The selected target market is families, millennials, and independent
travellers as well.

5.1. Brand Image

Mermaid Cruise Liners has made sure to enhance its brand image and awareness, which could be
possible with advertising and promotions and make people influenced to avail of the services and
enjoy their stay. The slogan or theme of "Let your dreams set sail" could quickly grab customers'
mindsets by offering brand messages representing the services delivered, the prices, and how
those could cater to their needs and preferences (Cortez, Gilliland & Johnston,2019). It could not
only help in positioning itself in front of other brands and, at the same time, use the most suitable

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Integrated Marketing Communication mix components to enhance the efficiency of marketing as
well as engage the targeted audiences quite comprehensively. This clearly reflects the brand slich
ensures how the customers could be influenced to avail the Mermaid cruise liners' services and
achieve the dreams with excellence.

5.2. Executional technically

There are also decisions to be taken in ads concerning the message that can be communicated.
How to express the statement has to be logical and well planned. One of the most critical first
steps is to decide the campaign's intent and the target audience. We aim to put the image to the
consumer's mind with joy and excitement for the Mermaid cruise. Our target audience will focus
on Young adults to independent travellers who are seeking a long vocation. After a long
pandemic of COVID-19, people are mostly spending time at their place. To bough their
attention, how we advertise will focus on transformational emotionally.

Emotional appeals are the most famous appeals made to advertisers. This form of
communication is directed at the customer's feelings and impacts the customer's loyalty.
Whenever a marketer can get the buyer to associate with the situation, mainly through emotion,
the conversion (purchase) increases drastically.

The short virtual tour video with enjoyable music while the cruise sail in the sea and put some
spokesman guide voice sounds like a fun guy, exciting and entertaining to shows them the cruise.
Explaining a product is also a way for the customer to build confidence in a company. However,
faith must be authentically established, not just a paying voice behind the brand. Consumers
today are wiser than ever, and loyalty and trust cannot be paid, but won. The execution styles
that need to be include are 'Slice-of-Life,' another successful form, typically associated with
social appeal, shows individuals who love living in a typical setting regardless of a single good
or service. This style aims to build an attachment to the offer by demonstrating how "they" could
enjoy a slice of a good life if they were to participate in the bid. Finally, the humorous aligns,
specifically with comedy, appeals to involving the customer with something amusing and
unforgettable. More than 30% of commercials use humour to make them more effective
(Sabrina, 2017). However, It takes more than being fun to be imaginative. Targeting the needs of
customers with the right promotional messages is essential to marketing.

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 6. Integrated Marketing Communication Options Considered

The Integrated marketing communication mix options represent the various tools and techniques
that could be used or applied to make the IMC campaign successful and exploit the scopes and
opportunities required to sustain in the competitive business environment. The brand's main aim
or objective is to create a positive brand and awareness among the customers. Simultaneously,
they make them enjoy their vacation quite comprehensively, thus leading to customer
satisfaction and strengthening if brand image and identity.

According to Laurie and Mortimer (2019), the Integrated marketing communication mix
represents the management of various promotional mix components such as advertising, sales
promotions. Personal selling options, direct and online marketing to communicate clear
messages and information and reflect the company and brand message. By Mermaid cruise, this
campaign could combine all these components to make customers persuade, remind, and keep
their attitudes and behaviours reinforced to interact with the brand and make purchases
consistently. As the Marketing Communications Manager of the Mermaid Cruise Lines or MCL,
it is essential to use the right communication mix components to facilitate international
marketing and promotions, thereby ensuring keeping people aware and influencing them to avail
of the services. For future cruise ship operations at the nationality level, Pasticcio and Toledo
(2020) opine that it is recommended to keep people aware of the services available and possible
with these promotional technique advertisements.

6.1. Advertising

The advertising of the services available at MCL has helped in the promotion of ideas and
information by an identified sponsor while at the same time, could help in reaching the masses.
Many people stay far away, and due to the geographical dispersion, it might be a daunting task to
reach out to every audience one at a time. Thus, the advertisements here could help reach the
buyers dispersed all over at a lower cost per exposure and increase the legitimacy, furthermore,
facilitate the brand awareness, and establish a brand's positive image and popularity to encourage
the customers. According to Schultz (2020), the advantage is lower costs involved while

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reaching the masses. The disadvantages could be the higher costs involved in implementing the
advertisements across different channels such as televisions, newspapers, online websites, etc.
and might not be persuasive as the salespersons.

6.2. Radio

Radio is one of the communication modes, which has seemed to be useful for disseminating the
advertisements to the customers, who are not active on social media. Keeping different time slots
for the promotions of MCL's latest trends in the cruise services would be advantageous for
attracting the target audience. A typical example can be jingles with traveling music (Michelon
et al., 2020). The budget needs to adequate for making effective advertisements accessible even
in remote areas. The disadvantage can be inadequate financial resources, which would
compromise with advertising the latest services. Along with this, the lack of proper planning can
result in inaccessibility for some of the customers living far away.

6.3. TV commercial

Like the Radio, television advertisements for the Mermaid Cruise Line would also be beneficial
for increasing the customers' brand loyalty. Here again, the time slots are needed for convincing
the audience glued to the screen for the advertisements of the latest cruise packages. Therefore,
attractive plots are needed for influencing the purchasing decision and intentions of the
customers. Here, the disadvantage is that of clash with the other advertisements, which are
already in the top most position in brand loyalty (Sama, 2019). Therefore, creative contents are
needed in terms of advertising the cruise packages to the customers. Moreover, non-compliance
with the terms and conditions of the topmost and patents would be detrimental for protecting the
customers' individua-content ns.

6.4. Magazine

Magazine advancements would be advantageous for the customers intending to enhance the
cruise services' awareness, which can be accessed while on travel. Reading on the latest services
would compel the other passengers to look into the services, which would result in word of
mouth advertising (Cortez, Gilliland & Johnston, 2019). The disadvantage is that of misleading
information about the cruise services, which would result in customer complaints. This would

15
degrade the brand image of Mermaid Cruise Lines, adding vulnerability in the market position in
the competitive ambiance.

6.5. Outdoor, transportation

Advertising about the latest cruise packages on the bus benches would help attract the
millennials. Even transit advertisements can help disseminate the information on the newly
launched innovative cruise packages (Ngan & Yang, 2019). The disadvantage is the lack of
financial resources, which would strain the marketing communication budget.

6.6. Direct marketing

The direct marketing technique could be applied to the business to establishing relationships
directly with the customers and, at the same time, contribute to the publicity and spread positive
image about the corporate brand and handle media relations too. It could also allow for acquiring
the customers' responses and feedback and making the business interact via emails, telecalls, and
online platforms. It is accurate, immediate, and less public. However, it could help interact with
the targeted customers comprehensively and ensure targeting the right messages and information
to the right clients and building long-term relationships. According to Butkouskaya et al (2020),
it is more focused on one to one relationship, and often targeting the masses might not be
possible due to higher time consumption and more increased efforts needed.

6.7. Personal selling

Finding the prospective clients through contacts would be advantageous for Mermaid Cruise
Line to enhance the public relations. References, though the means of emails, are useful for
maintaining proper communication. The sales call is to be prospective for the investments;
otherwise, the clients would not want to invest. The disadvantage is improper skills in objecting
handling before the closure of the sales (Kurata, 2019).

The advent of the internet has resulted in online platform usages such as websites and social
media platforms. The company could easily represent the bran and its services via ads.
Considering the case scenario, this particular IMC option could be applied to managing
promotional information on the business's website, thereby reflecting the messages, design, and
offers presented in the ads. This could be applicable for the company to reach the masses and

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easily make them look out for the products and services that have been made available and also
the prices set for the services provided by the 'Mermaid cruise Liners.

According to Samiee (2020), the disadvantages could be the negative word of mouth promotions
that circulate quickly through the digital and online platforms, which could be a major business
concern. It could create a negative corporate image and reduce sales of services for the new
cruise operations that would begin in the days to come for MCL, thereby making a failed attempt
to integrate the IMC mix components

6.8. PR/public

The public relationships could be applied by the business while working with other companies
and even sponsor to make the services available, to generate publicity, and enhance the positive
corporate brand image. This could be possible with the help of managing sponsorships and
managing events to prevent salespeople, furthermore, create perceptions among the customers,
and build effective relationships with them (Gesualdi, 2019).

The disadvantage or drawback of this kind of IMC mix is that it could backfire and lead to
negative brand image, thus preventing people from availing of the MCL's services.

7. Recommendations for IMC plan

7.1. Television Commercial

Part of our target audience is families with high-wage parents so that they can afford to go on a
luxury cruise with their whole family. We decide to advertise by television advertising channel,
which we believe is one of the most effective ways to approach this kind of age objectives. We
choose two specific channels that have the most view from this kind of audience in Singapore so
that we can maximize the number of people who can have access to our massage. Our
advertising will show up during a TV series or TV show that have a high rate of viewers. The
suitable time for this kind of advertisement will be at midday time (from 12-1 pm) and evening
(around 7-9 pm), which is the break time off work during weekdays. These ads also help us to
enhance our brand awareness. The cost of ads is much higher for weekends, so we do not have
our advertising on these days. In other words, we focus on the time from Monday to Friday to

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save our budget, as it is more economic, but it still ensures the gradual frequency of our
advertisements.
The content of our advertisement will be changed during the whole period of the first year. The
first four months will be used to create our brand cognition. As such, we also focus on marketing
this kind of travel - a cruise on the sea, create the first impression of a voyage along with our
brand on the customer mind. Our slogan will be repeated again and again, to create word of
mouth for our target segment of customers. Then, the four last month ads will be used to create
motivation for customers, give them a dream of sea life and guarantee our service to bring them
the best experience.
The total cost estimate for TV commercials will be around S$400,000.

7.2. Newspaper & magazine

Newspaper and magazine have decreased their market share when the internet became more
popular, but it still gives us benefits when applying our marketing strategy here. Likewise, we
will choose the most famous newspapers and magazines which are suitable for our advertisement
content as well as have the right kind of readers who may desire a cruise trip to deliver the
message. These high-quality papers will be read mostly by working people rather than young
people since they grow up in the period that delivered the news by papers. They are one of our
main targets, though, so it works when having our advertisement here. The first week of the
month, from Monday to Friday, these newspapers and magazines will post our ads, so for total, it
is an 18 week period. The size of the ad will be half of a page, so we can easily catch readers'
attention.
The total cost estimation will be S$180,000, for S$10,000 each month.

7.3. Billboards

Due to the high population density and transportation of Singapore, we suppose billboard
advertisement will be one of the best choice for our marketing strategy. Several places around
tourism attractive spots and lots of shopping malls such as Sentosa Island, Marina Bay,
Orchard… will be chosen to place the marketing billboards of our product as it is easy to notice
with a mass of our target customers. The designed content, colors and image will be attractive
and specific to show our brand personality. Slogan is also a highlight part in the billboard, as to

18
create word-of-mouth within the audience. Moreover, to save time and not interrupt shopping
and tourism activities, we attach an QR code that will direct to our website after scanning. Since
we still need to consider the spending for other marketing channels, we try to minimize the cost
for billboards by using only one design for all places. We will display the billboards for half of
the year 1 period, which means 9 months total. The total cost estimated will be $360,000.

7.4. Sales promotion

The free trial campaign will be promoted during the first month of each quarter. During this
promotion, we will guide the customers to visit our cruise, experience some of our services, and
sign up for the membership if they are willing to. For membership, we will frequently send them
an email and calls about sales and promotions, when they get enough point in their account they
can get gifts from stop-places on our trip on a special day or their birthday. This tool supports us
to go into the market and enhance sales faster. The cost for a total of 6 months of sales
promotions will be S$240000.

7.5. Personal Selling

To reach the full potential of sales promotions, personal selling team should be hired to target
individual rather than inform large audience like other channels. For the part of a personal selling
in our strategy, we try to boost the operation within Singapore the biggest shopping centers. A
supervisor can be hired to look out as well as support these two areas, so they can get higher
productivity. We train them to promote our cruise directly to potential customers, educate them
to enhance our brand awareness, thus engage them into loyal customers with preference for
MCR. The maximum for this team will be 8 people, their working day will be 5 days a week
during 4 months. The budget allocated will be around S$240000.

7.6. Beach volleyball competition sponsorship

MCR will be sponsor for a beach volleyball league competition, which bring us a good chance to
expose our brand, increase emotion and sport engagement to our main audience. Since our brand
is involved in the image of sea life, sports near the sea will create a brand-related positive image
for customers. Our competition will be held during the long weekend in April and October. We
choose Sentosa island to become the holding place, as it gains a lot of reputation for holding the

19
Olympic Games before. The prize for the winning teams of each category will be a free trip on
our cruise from Singapore to Australia. To increase our brand awareness, we will sponsor for
cost of branded promotional goods, such as fly cams, water bottles, and towels for all players and
spectators, cost for hiring the shore and the wage for workers during the contest. We estimate the
total cost for sponsorship is $100,000.

7.7. Web-based & social media ads

Online marketing becomes more and more popular these years, as it can reach a number of
people without costing too high for the fee. With the help from high technology, businesses can
pay the post to reach more potential customers, from a list of viewers’ database such as age, sex
gender, preference… Also, the searching engines of these sites are worth for paying money, as
they help our brand name and relevant hashtag say on the top popular there. Thus, it is
reasonable for MCR to spend money on developing and remaining official website and all fan
pages on the largest usage platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitters…

The total cost reach S$280,000, which include the initial development fee of S$136,000, and a
maintained fee and running ads of S$8000 each month. These sites will be run during total 18
months of this project.

7.8. Budget and schedule

To sum up the whole marketing period schedule, as well as come up with total allocating budget,
we draw tables and figures to illustrate the data. Total budget was used for marketing during
Year 1 period of eighteen months is …., that means there is an amount of …. still left. We will
use this amount of money into the next process of monitoring and evaluation of IMC plan.

Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

TV
Commercial

20
 Newspaper

Billboard

Sales
promotion
Personal
Selling
Volleyball
sponsorship
Website &
SNS ads

Channel Cost Period Total

TV commercial 40,000 8 months 400,000
Newspaper 10,000 18 weeks 180,000
Billboards 40,000 9 months 360,000
Sales promotion 40,000 6 months 240,000
Personal Sellling 60,000 4 months 240,000
Volleyball 50,000 2 months 100,000
sponsorship
Websites & SNS ads 136,000 (base) +8000 18 months 280,000
each month
Total 1,800,000

8. Monitoring and Evaluation of IMC plan

Monitoring and evaluation are the systematic process by collecting, analyzing and using
information in order to track a business’s progress toward reaching its objectives as well as to
guide management decisions (sopact, nd). Regard our IMC campaigns, we will measure and
monitor the booking of generating 12,000 bookings and total revenue $150.6 million within 18
months of operations.

21
Therefore, we will hire a manager who can handle effectively regarding bookings without facing
any difficulties. We will hire an accounting manager who can handle the balance sheet and the
profit and loss statement in order to monitor revenue because they are only vital indicators of the
performance of the business as well as they are also required statutorily. Moreover, we will tell
the manager who handle the booking to measure effectively once a month as well as we will also
tell the accounting manager who handle the revenue to measure effectively once a month.
Besides that, they will summit the measurement list of bookings and revenue while we conduct a
meeting end of month.

Furthermore, we will offer program “Mermaid Rewards” which is Mermaid members will
acquire bonus points that accrue when they stay one of MHR’s hotel properties. These bonus
points will entitle customers as special offers and when their sufficient points are accrued, they
will get free nights’ accommodations as part of future bookings can be claimed.

9. Conclusion

In conclusion, there are a number of recommendations that we would encourage the owners to
implement in the promotion of their new business. We feel as though these Integrated Marketing
Communication options will contribute to a successful launch of the MCR in Singapore. After
thorough analysis, we selected TV, newspaper, billboards, sales promotion, personal selling,
sponsorship, web advertising and social media as the most effective and suitable IMC options for
the business. The combination of these IMC options offer both a rational and emotional appeal
that will specifically target the young mother and business people market segments whilst
keeping within the assigned budget.

22
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