Don’t miss out! Special rates available in 2016 on all Cruise Ship Placement

Cruise ship placement is becoming a hugely popular area for magazine placement and for good reasons. In the UK, Southampton is the epicentre of the cruise industry with 1.6 million people travelling through their four terminals in 2015. This is forecasted to increase by 15% in 2016. With this level of foot traffic it is no surprise that a number of publishers have started to realise the benefits of this demographic.

The current age profile of passengers shows that the majority of people who travel on cruise ships (43%) are 65 and over. However, one of the fastest growing sectors within cruising is family cruising. In September, Family Traveller did a range of articles on family cruising holidays including why they make great holidays for families and some of the best cruise holidays in the UK. The younger family demographic of under 34 years of age currently accounts for just under 150,000 passengers a year.

Another significant sector that is seeing a large increase in popularity is the luxury cruising sector. In fact, the luxury travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller conducts an annual reader survey of the world’s best cruise lines. Cruising is becoming the holiday of choice for affluent holiday makers. The majority of cruisers fall into the ABC1 demographic with an average income over £50,000.

Another facet that makes this placement crucial to publishers and advertisers is the amount of time that passengers spend with the magazines that are on display. Copies are displayed in the departure lounges, as people are waiting to board. The waiting time in these areas is 45 mins to 1.5 hours giving passengers a long time to interact with the complimentary magazines. With no retail concession this really is a captive market with passengers taking a selection of titles on-board with them, further increasing interactivity with the magazines. We also have stands in the arrivals areas to target returning passengers.

Cruise ship placement is a very effective advertising option for publishers. In a recent survey, cruise ship passengers were asked about advertising. A massive 60% of respondents said they respond to advertising messages. To further take advantage of this captive audience, the magazine stands in Southampton are accompanied by media screens that can be utilised for brand awareness, to push subscriptions and to highlight specific advertisers.

To arrange placement of your title with cruise ships get in touch with our commercial director Matt Pryce on matt@globalmediahub.co.uk