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Cruise Ships Sell On-Deck Jumbotron Ads

Winter escapees seeking a game of shuffleboard and a dip in the pool may instead see giant ads on the decks of Carnival cruise ships - and your client may think that’s swell.

Brand Connections has teamed with Carnival to broadcast ads on the cruise line’s On-Deck Jumbotrons. Each advertiser’s pitch will air at least once per hour from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and ads are mixed in with content such as sporting events, movies and announcements regarding the day’s activities and scheduled port stops.

The 12’ x 22’ LED screen, limited to one per ship, are located poolside and sound is broadcast via a 69,000 watt stereo system.

Marketers may use current TV spots or develop new ads strictly for onboard broadcast.

There are four ships in Carnival’s fleet outfitted with the screens and four more ships will get screens by next year. Markets served are ports of Miami, New York, Galveston, Anchorage, Charleston, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Honolulu, New Orleans, Norfolk, San Diego and Tampa. To get your client on board you’ll need 45 days’ lead time and a three month committment.

According to Media Life magazine, Brand Connections reports that automobiles, electronics, apparel, consumer packaged goods, and luxury items are top categories. Travel and tourism that aren’t competitive with Carnival work, too.

Cruise Lines International Association’s data on people who cruise indicate that 50 is the average age, and the average household income of $104,000. 57 percent are college grads, 83 percent are married and 16 percent are retired.

Out-of-home video ad spending is on the rise, forecast to total $2.25 billion in the U.S. in 2011, up from $1.26 billion in 2007.