Cruise Shoppes is going ahead with an early June 100,000-piece mailing barely two months after it sent out a campaign originally scheduled for March.

Michael K. Pawlus, vice president, marketing of the Fort Lauderdale, FL-based firm, isn't concerned, though. He had the March mailing ready to go, and only postponed it when hostilities in Iraq were imminent — despite his initial plan to allow three months' breathing space between drops.

It appears to have been the right move. “As soon as the war was pretty much over and the POWs were released, phones started to ring in travel agencies,” Pawlus said.

This means Cruise Shoppes, which markets cruise lines and directs consumers to travel agents, can proceed with the bulk of its marketing program, which is budgeted for just under $750,000 during 2003.

Pawlus even feels that the closer mailings may provide some lift to the campaign. “It's a good time to hit prospects with combinations of direct mail,” he said. “Vacation planning is very high right now. The pricing for vacations is low, and I have a very good message.”

Cruise Shoppes is scheduled to do four mailings for each of its two 11-inch-by-17-inch trifold newsletters, Cruise Shopper and Seasavers. Initial quantities are 100,000 per drop, but these will increase toward the end of 2003. The company is also planning an additional 100,000-piece effort in September for a yet-unnamed publication which will tout luxury cruises.

Mailings are sent to names supplied by travel agencies to Cruise Shoppes. Top agencies also receive bonus names from a prospect database Cruise Shoppes maintains.

More than 40 travel agencies contributed parts of their mailing lists to this month's campaign. They send their files to Cruise Shoppes' mailing house, Towne AllPoints Communications of Hialeah, FL, which customizes each piece by printing each agent's contact information on the cover.

The war may have thrown a wrench into the 1 million-piece mailing schedule the cruise industry marketing consortium had for 2003, but the need for flexibility is nothing new. Strategies for marketing cruises have been changing significantly since the 9/11 attacks. For instance, the mailing scheduled for early this month will promote destinations that in years past would have already been booked.

“The rules have been thrown out the window because of the war,” Pawlus said. “If the war hadn't happened [cruise lines] would be promoting the fall season. There's a lot of inventory. They're still pitching Alaska and Bermuda cruises for the next two months.”

Selling the excess capacity is where the company's e-mail capabilities come in. Cruise Shoppes has an in-house e-mail system. The company originally had anticipated sending out 1.5 million e-mail messages on behalf of various cruise lines during 2003.

But the need to move inventory quickly, as war fears delayed bookings, has caused many marketers to step up their use of electronic marketing: Pawlus now foresees that his firm will broadcast upward of 3 million messages. Holland America Line alone sent out 250,000 e-mails May 14 in an attempt to generate “close-in” sales for its spring and summer sail dates.

In contrast, only a few years ago cruises were planned and booked six to nine months ahead of leaving port. But some lines are seeing 45% of their capacity filled within the four months before they weigh anchor.

“There has been a real shift in the way cruises are marketed,” Pawlus said. “It's an impact of the Iraq war — and 9/11. I think it will go back to the way it was, but it will take a few years.”

This is not the first time Pawlus has seen fallout from a war in the Middle East. He was active in the cruise marketing industry during the first Gulf War, and recalled “how gloomy it was in terms of getting people to call reservation centers.”

Despite the shortened lead times for booking cruises, and the rise of e-mail since then, Pawlus doesn't see leisure travel marketers abandoning traditional mail for its electronic cousin.

“I think during the last couple of years e-mail has been effective, but a lot of people have been turned off [because of all the spam],” Pawlus said. He made a point of adding that his own e-mail account receives around 50 pieces a day.

“There's no question it is cost-effective, but [traditional] mail has got a powerful hook. To be able to show pictures of beaches and palm trees goes a long way.”