P&O Cruises - Winning Back Lost Guests

What was the brief? 

When the pandemic hit, P&O Cruises were forced to cancel many of their scheduled cruises. They offered guests either credit or a full refund. Our brief was to win back guests who had been fully refunded and encourage them to rebook a cruise while the world was still in flux.

What was the strategy?

Guests were missing travel desperately, but still had fears about safety and booking security. We wanted to take them on a journey of reassurance that allayed their fears and reignited their wanderlust at a speed that was right for them, not us. Then make it easy to book their dreams.

What was the campaign solution?

A four-part triggered email journey which used propensity modelling and personalisation to help guests dream with confidence. This progressive series knocked down barriers and built up individual reasons to book over time, as well as trust and desire, without rushing the guest. All underpinned by the reliability of P&O Cruises.

What were the results?

This journey led 4.2% of guests (against an average conversion of less than 1%) to rebook.

The campaign ROI was 30:1 and we saw outstanding campaign engagement with open rates of 40% (over double the industry standard).