Cruise1st

Cruise1st is one of the UK’s leading cruise travel agents, specialising in selling value cruises at some of the market’s most competitive prices.

BANC enjoyed a 9-year relationship with Cruise1st. In that time, we delivered complete digital marketing which transformed the way the business connected with and sold to customers.

“We partnered with Cruise1st along their journey from a small setup all the way through to their international buyout. Throughout this relationship, we managed the entirety of their digital marketing efforts, providing 24/7 support on Paid efforts and contributing daily to their content output.”

CHRIS BALME, PRODUCTION LEAD

What the client thought they wanted

When they first got in touch with us, the deck looked pretty stacked against Cruise1st.

Traditional advertising was no longer cutting it, competitors were ramping up their digital activity, their PPC was costing them more, and changes in the industry meant they were facing diminishing returns and choppy waters all around.

Cruise1st approached BANC seeking out something that was going to rectify each of these pain points.

What we realised they needed

Risk of losing customers to competitors was obviously a major issue for the brand. What they were after was an approach that was going to reel customers in to their site – and keep them there.

But they needed something more than the customer acquisition plan they initially asked us to create. They needed something that was going to completely refresh the way they did things: a full digital marketing transformation strategy.

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What we did for them

By going from the ground up, we were able to create a strategy that was all-encompassing, one that aimed to revive and future-proof Cruise1st’s flagging marketing activities.

That meant a lot of research, discovery and testing on our part, but with this bank of information, we then had the insights and know-how to create a tailored, effective strategy that was the right fit for them.

How it helped

Putting our strategy into action saw Cruise1st’s site traffic grow and their sales rise, serious numbers that meant not only huge increases in revenue, but a reduction in the customer acquisition costs. Basically, we were able to get many more lucky people on cruise holidays while we were working together!

five employees having a business meeting in a glass office.
115%

increase in sales calls from site

35%

reduction in PPC acquisition cost

96%

improvement in overall conversion rate

“We have been delighted with the return on investment generated by BANC. They really knew their stuff and we got real value for money – we’ve seen a huge increase in traffic and sales! Thanks to the BANC team for their hard work and an exceptional ROI.”

DAVID ROWLINSON, SENIOR MANAGER, CRUISE1ST
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