Celebrity Cruises introduced “The Celebrity Commitment,” a multi-faceted program of sales tools and incentives for travel agents.
The initiative rolls out on Feb. 14 with informational webinars, sales support services and a trade advertising campaign aimed at showcasing and strengthening the line’s relationship with travel agents.
“This program is designed to underscore our commitment to our travel partners,” said Dondra Ritzenthaler, senior vice president of sales.
Some of the tools and support services already were offered and some are new, such as additional co-op ad dollars and webinars hosted by the line’s executives.
“We sat back and looked at all the things we do as a brand to make sure that our travel partners know how important they are to us. We decided we needed to be more formal — to sort of wrap a bow around it and give it a name,” said Ritzenthaler.
The program is geared to help retailers grow their businesses, she added.
Examples of new tools include commissionable gift cards that retailers can sell to corporate clients for incentive cruises; enhancements to CruisingPower.com, Celebrity’s online marketing center for retailers; more seminar-at-sea opportunities; and Trade Show in a Box, which contains sales tools to help agents organize cruise-night events.
A new slate of webinars will feature Celebrity President Dan Hanrahan hosting open Q&A sessions with agents, and Celebrity sales executives accessible to retailers by email through [email protected].
Ritzenthaler said the line invests $10 million in trade initiatives each year, including co-op funds, agent guides and brochures, and trade advertising.
“We want to stay top of mind with our travel partners,” she said.
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