When a brand crisis occurs, what is the lasting impact on a company, brand, and industry? Crimson Hexagon turns to social data to analyze the consequences of the fire on board the Carnival Triumph on the cruise industry.

1. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
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2. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
© CRIMSON HEXAGON, INC. 2013. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CASE STUDY: THE CRUISE INDUSTRY
BUSINESS
QUESTION: Does a PR crisis, such as the fire on board the Carnival Triumph, have
negative consequences for other brands in the industry?
METHOD: Develop a framework for analyzing, and tracking over time, the impact
of a PR crisis on online consumer discussions about individual brands
and the industry as a whole:
1
CARNIVAL TRIUMPH
CONVERSATION
CARNIVAL BRAND
CONVERSATION
2
INDUSTRY-LEVEL
CONVERSATION
3

3. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
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ConsumerReactionstothe TriumphCrisis
(2/10/13–2/19/13) 92,038 Relevant Posts
CRUISES: CARNIVAL TRIUMPH CRISIS
FINDINGS:
A. Reactions were largely focused on the
conditions for passengers onboard
B. Praise for Carnival, and intent to purchase
future Carnival Cruises (24%),outweighed
desire to disengage (1%)
C. Criticism of Carnival’s management
represented 9% of conversation;
comments often reflect humor
A
A
C

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FINDINGS:
A. Reactions were largely focused on the
conditions for passengers onboard
B. Praise for Carnival, and intent to purchase
future Carnival Cruises (24%),outweighed
desire to disengage (1%)
C. Criticism of Carnival’s management
represented 9% of conversation;
comments often reflect humor
CRUISES: CARNIVAL TRIUMPH CRISIS
A
A
C
ConsumerReactionstothe TriumphCrisis
(2/10/13–2/19/13) 92,038 Relevant Posts

5. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
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CRUISES: CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES
CarnivalCruiseLines Discussion
(1/1/12–4/15/13) 170,641 Relevant Posts FINDINGS:
A. Overthe past 15 months, conversation
about Carnival Cruises skews negative
(56%)
B. Criticism of Carnival is driven by two
distinct sentiments:
• General unfavorable perception of
cruises as a vacation option with
low-quality experience (31%)
• Claimsof unsafe, unsanitary
conditions on cruise ships (25%)
A
B

6. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
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CRUISES: THE CRUISE INDUSTRY
CruiseIndustryDiscussion
(1/1/12–4/15/13) 666,441Relevant Posts FINDINGS:
A. Overthe same time period, conversation
about the overall cruise industry mirrors
dimensions of Carnival brand discussion
• Carnival exceeds industry baseline
on purchase intent
(10%vs. 12% for Carnival)
• In comparison, the industry receives
more negative commentary about
the safety and cleanliness of cruises
(32% vs. 31% for Carnival)
B
A
A

7. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
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CRUISES: INDUSTRY VS. BRAND IMPACT
FINDINGS:
A. At the height of Carnival’s Triumph crisis,
consumer complaints of unsafe and
unsanitary conditions on cruises made up
a significantly largerproportion of the
industry conversation (64%)than of the
Carnival brand conversation (33%)
ComparingCarnivaland the CruiseIndustry
A

8. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
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CRUISES: THE CRUISE INDUSTRY
CruiseIndustryDiscussion
(3/1/13–4/15/13) 70,122Relevant Posts FINDINGS:
A. In the weeks following the Triumph
crisis, negative commentary on the overall
cruise industry grows by nearly 10%
B. Association of cruise vacations with
dangerand uncleanliness represents
nearlyhalfof the entire conversation
about cruises
A

9. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
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CRUISES: KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Consumers respond to business crises in surprising ways that may have wide-reaching,
unexpected effects on related businesses
• Response tothe CarnivalTriumphhurt perceptionofthe cruiseindustrymorethan that ofthe Carnivalbrand
• Firms in the travel and hospitality industry can leverage Crimson Hexagon’s ForSight™
platform to uncover and track specific consumer motivations
• Onlineconversationaboutcruisesisstillburdened bythisPRcrisis;infact,66%ofopinionsare unfavorable
while49%directlyrelate tothe unsavoryaspects oftheTriumphincident
• In addition, firms can analyze reactions to subsequent brand messaging to determine
the net impact on brand perception and purchase intent

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Crimson Hexagon, founded in 2007, is the leading provider of analysis
software that delivers business intelligence from social media data for global
corporations. Powered by patented technology developed at Harvard
University’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science, the Crimson Hexagon
ForSight™ platform delivers the industry’s most comprehensive Big Data
analysis capabilities for a variety of large-scale data sources. Clients include
leading global organizations such as: Microsoft, Paramount Pictures,
Starbucks, Simon & Schuster, Twitter, and many more. For more information
go to: http://www.crimsonhexagon.com.
CRIMSON HEXAGON

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