Digital Strategy Partner
The brand is known for its attentiveness, tradition and sophistication. Cunard’s illustrious, iconic liners have provided 175 years of luxury: from the very first greeting to final disembarkment, every moment is considered and impeccably managed.
Digital objectives
- Increase sales through e-commerce, reducing reliance on 3rd party retailers
- Design a digital experience that mirrors the on-board care and attention
- Communicate modernity alongside Cunard’s traditional heritage
A refined booking journey
To redesign the digital Cunard experience we first needed to understand it. In-depth interviews with customers, stakeholders, call centres and the ship’s crew enabled us to create the Cunard customer experience map.
The SYZYGY London team then refined each moment of the digital experience to support an optimum journey, from route planning to browsing the cabins and restaurants, to booking. Navigation and information architecture were fully tested and restructured throughout. The homepage and individual ship pages were redesigned and totally reconfigured around the customer.
New sections like ‘Life on-board’ were also created as a direct response to the research. Every change was A/B tested and measured to ensure we were improving the customer’s ability to find, price up options and book the perfect cruise.
Modern luxury
Cunard may have an unmatched heritage, but it’s not a stuffy brand. With the platform, we could harness storytelling and technology to emphasise this marriage of tradition and modernity.
The £30m dry-dock refit of the legendary Queen Mary 2 provided an opportunity to unearth some of the unique stories that make Cunard different; like the incredible detail that goes into the remastering, such as the placing of 300,000 new art deco tiles.
Customers could check on the refit’s progress through a set of live cameras, while VR films were used to tour the ship, showcase the cabins, and immerse you in its luxurious opulence.
This, along with a content refresh across the entire platform, including the pages for the high-end ‘Grills’ berths, gave the site a much richer, more luxurious presence.
Results
Despite a cruise being a high-end purchase, Cunard’s redesigned platform delivered circa 10% of global sales, contributing significantly to two consecutive record-breaking sales years and helping retain the brand’s position as the luxury cruise market leader.
Services we provided:
- Market & competitor benchmarking
- Customer journey intelligence & mapping
- Measurement & effectiveness frameworks
- Communication and channel strategy
- Content auditing
- Content strategy
- Commerce go-to-market strategy
- Digital product UX and design
- Rapid prototyping & testing
- Content production
