HAL's new partnerships, upgrades, branding initiative

[sppunk]

Don't get me wrong, I would prefer to see the logo and funnels remain as is.

I'm glad the change is subtle.

 

But from a marketing perspective, what really is the point of a design change so minimal that many people will not even notice it?

 

If you are going to invest in a new funnel livery, shouldn't it really get attention as being boldly new? Like P&O (prefer the old buff to the new blue, but at least it makes a statement).

 

Brand refresh. It's done often without anyone noticing really, it's marketing. It works often.

[KerriL]

How about "Hell's Kitchen"? Except instead of Gordon Ramsey, the culinary hostess (or whatever they're called these days) gets to yell and swear at the participating passengers! ;)

 

 

Haha! My daughter's a CAC Host...I'll have to run this by her:D

[Fouremco]

Humor me then. How are Henry Hudson and a company that came along 260+ years after his birth connected other than nationality and ships?

A quick search reveals the following:

 

In 1909 a replica of Halve Maen was given to the United States by the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Hudson's voyage. The ship was constructed at the Rijksmarinewerf in Amsterdam. The keel was laid on 29 October 1908 and on 15 April 1909 the ship was launched and then transported to the US on the Holland America Lines freight liner Soestdijk in order to attend the Hudson-Fulton Celebration in New York. This replica was eventually towed to Cohoes, New York and perished in a fire on 22 July 1934.

 

What other connection(s) might exist would need to be researched, but this should answer your question, at least in part.

Edited October 30, 2015 by Fouremco

[Stakeout]

I don't want to say I told you so ..but..as I stated in a couple of prior posts that some didn't agree with.. Ashford has no bizness being the head of HAL..never been on a cruise ship..no prior cruiseline experience...so why is he there..hmmmmm....whoever did his interview..Kruse ..ought to get hung out to dry also..it has been one fiasco after another starting back with the Veendam and the SOE..or was that non-excellence and the plumbing problems that still continue today ..then the chaos caused by changing what was once an excellent web site into a mess as it is today.. then they formed the HAL group--a comedy of errors..they had better 'clean house'

 

speaking of today as we sit in our hotel room in Florida heading down to PE to catch the Maasdam..it is truly laughable as well as a disgrace to put on a demo and press release that occurred at HAL today.. heads should role starting at the very top.. pure unadulterated garbage is my take as a CCL stockholder-like most everyone else is on here- that is my two cents.. if it continues like this HAL will be no more in 5 years or is that what they are looking to do long term and consolidate the brands of CCL..pretty slick..I would put nothing past them..what a disappointment...talk about a 'sinking ship'...

 

a disgrace

[3rdGenCunarder]

I'm certain you don't mean it that way but that's actually very insulting considering you don't know who was or wasn't in that focus group.

 

Additionally, it clearly shows that your opinion of those of "us" that like the new logo isn't too far from that...

 

We get it... you, personally, do not like the removal of the Half Moon from the logo. To insult a large group of people directly (the focus group) and through inference (those that like the new logo or don't mind it) really is a bit much for a 2 dimensional graphic of a ship that was scrapped 4 or 5 decades ago

 

No, I don't know who was at those focus groups, but I've had to endure enough of them in my time to know that people in focus groups can sometimes be a poor representation of the actual clientele. Focus groups are probably why cruise ships have ice rinks and bumper cars.

 

I heard him say "30 focus groups" in the introduction of the logo. Perhaps he didn't mean that, and the 30 focus groups looked at other issues. But if they needed 30 groups to make such a small change, they must not have any ideas of their own.

[cruisemom42]

The logo was first suggested in 1937 by famous French poster artist Mouron Cassandre. He did a large poster for HAL showing the bow of the Nieuw Amsterdam II. It showed a small yacht sail in the foreground.

 

The Cassandre poster was then into the Nw AMSTERDAM II bow and in front the Halve Maen. The resperesented the Nw AMSTERDAM and Hendrik Hudson.... the joining of Holland and America. It first appeared in 1938. Never intended as logo on a funnel. It was used as HAL paperwork, brochures, deck plans etc. Used in many different colours... depending what the purpose of the paperwork. Some times used in green and black.

 

Also show the logo in full colour made into a set of majolica tiles. ( by self... displayed on NOORDAM - I think!)

 

Fast forward.... HAL's funnel.... buff with the green/white/green was changed in 1972 to a new logo.... three 'snails' green/blue, white and green'blue on an orange background. In 1983... two new ships were on line... Nw AMSTERDAM and NOORDAM. All white funnels with the three snails in dark blue. It was not popular so the Nw A/Halve Maen logo came out of the drawer and was put on the funnels in the fleet from that time.

 

The new logo does not really suggest anything... other than just the bow of ship... not Nw AMSTERDAM, nothing to do with Halve Mean, nothing to do with Holland or America or Manhattan (New York). In 1997 Premier Cruises tried to copy the logo.... white on dark blue funnel.. different style. Dreadful!

 

Does the new logo make any difference? No. Just lost a bit of history. Is that bit of history matter to anyone? Well, how about changing that old flag used for the USA. What... a blue patch with too many stars? Red and white stripes? That is just old nonsense from a colonial era. A new flag could designed better. It is too fussy and can't really be read... all that stars.... how many are there? Do I need to go?

 

Thank you for this history. I enjoyed learning something and seeing the images as well -- I have never read this before even with 5-6 years of history reading these boards. (Possibly reading the wrong threads. :D)

 

While I am very keen on the history, I do think businesses have to "refresh" their images every so often. Look at the regularity with which Coca-Cola tweaks their iconic look. It is similar, yet subtly different....

 

When I see the new logo, I see a visual representation of something I read here on the boards all the time -- the "blue hulled beauties" that make up the HAL fleet. I rather like it.

 

And I will humbly submit that the American flag has indeed changed from time to time to reflect the modern reality of the country. Otherwise it would still be sporting the original 13 stars.

[IllinoisGirl1978]

Orlando is not a public speaker!

That is fine, but he definitely needs coaching.

I wish he had more enthusiasm!

I felt sorry for him in a way.

Denise:)

Still is a smoking ship :(

 

 

He needs lessons from Howard Schultz. (I have seen his announcements over the last eight and half years.):rolleyes::p

[3rdGenCunarder]

I don't want to say I told you so ..but..as I stated in a couple of prior posts that some didn't agree with.. Ashford has no bizness being the head of HAL..never been on a cruise ship..no prior cruiseline experience...so why is he there..hmmmmm....whoever did his interview..Kruse ..ought to get hung out to dry also..it has been one fiasco after another starting back with the Veendam and the SOE..or was that non-excellence and the plumbing problems that still continue today ..then the chaos caused by changing what was once an excellent web site into a mess as it is today.. then they formed the HAL group--a comedy of errors..they had better 'clean house'

 

speaking of today as we sit in our hotel room in Florida heading down to PE to catch the Maasdam..it is truly laughable as well as a disgrace to put on a demo and press release that occurred at HAL today.. heads should role starting at the very top.. pure unadulterated garbage is my take as a CCL stockholder-like most everyone else is on here- that is my two cents.. if it continues like this HAL will be no more in 5 years or is that what they are looking to do long term and consolidate the brands of CCL..pretty slick..I would put nothing past them..what a disappointment...talk about a 'sinking ship'...

 

a disgrace

 

The "Retreat" fiasco was more than 11 months ago, can't blame that on the new guy. But we'll find new things to blame him for.

 

Here's a look at his viewpoint. he wrote a book called "Talentism." I hate it when people make up words.

http://talent.imercer.com/talentismthebook

[jtl513]

Another thing they are copying from the Prinsendam. TV's have been mounted on the walls in the rooms I have been in ;)

Not ours ... but at least not on a desk

 

Edited October 30, 2015 by jtl513

[CruiserBruce]

I think you've gone well beyond civilized discourse here. Don't dig yourself in any deeper.

 

Amen...

[LMaxwell]

I'm just trying to figure out how anything said today BROADENS the appeal of the brand. At best these are minor enhancements to something that already exists. Even the enthusiasts of the brand are non-plussed. Is this supposed to draw new guests? I don't think it will.

[sail7seas]

Chairs to watch TV.

P.S.- We don't watch a lot of TV while cruising anyway.:):)

 

 

 

 

 

I looked at the photo of the Neptune Suite as it will look on Koningsdam again and again and just now after looking at the photo again, realized they added drawers under the counter at the window which is empty space on Vista and Signature ships. Every time we stay in those suites, I cannot imagine why they eliminated those drawers which are present on "S" and "R" Class ships. I hope the photo is accurate and they have provided those additional drawers. :)

 

Edited October 30, 2015 by sail7seas

[Boytjie]

My mother was a "souvenir collector." :eek: When I cleaned out my parents' house, I found a large white towel with HAL's old "three wave" (three squiggle?) logo woven into it. Would any ebayers even know what that logo is?

 

This one?

 

 

And then there was that time they changed it from orange to blue!

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

I'm just trying to figure out how anything said today BROADENS the appeal of the brand. At best these are minor enhancements to something that already exists. Even the enthusiasts of the brand are non-plussed. Is this supposed to draw new guests? I don't think it will.

 

I don't see much broadening of appeal, either. But possibly all the tech bells and whistles will "grab" the younger generation that buys houses through Zillow, shoes through Zappos, etc. A research-and-buy all in one place would probably appeal to them, as will the fiction that their trip is "personalized" just for them by a super-clever computer program.

[3rdGenCunarder]

This one?

 

 

And then there was that time they changed it from orange to blue!

 

 

Yes, the first one. I never thought it was all that memorable, but when I showed the towel to DH, he said, "Umm, a cruise ship... Holland America!" And he doesn't usually pay much attention to logos.

[sail7seas]

This one?

 

And then there was that time they changed it from orange to blue!

 

 

 

 

I loved the orange flag. :) I have a brand new tender flag in the 'House of Orange' and it is one of my favorite pieces of HAL memorabilia.

 

[Boytjie]

Thank you. I'll cherish it forever.

 

Much better than drinking it. :D

[Lizzie68]

Yes, the first one. I never thought it was all that memorable, but when I showed the towel to DH, he said, "Umm, a cruise ship... Holland America!" And he doesn't usually pay much attention to logos.

 

I find both of those particularly unattractive.

[Boytjie]

Focus groups are probably why cruise ships have ice rinks and bumper cars.

 

And they seem to be quite popular with a big section of the cruising population. ;)

[cruisequeen4ever]

As a 30 something whose first cruise was aboard HAL and was fantastic, I am not at all impressed or interested. If they're truly trying to entice younger cruisers, using an old world slogan and emphasizing the studying of destinations is not how to do it. And Utrip?? Great for a first timer, but DH and I already have a lengthy list of cruises we want to take. I was hoping HAL was actually going to do something truly exciting and maybe just maybe get us to switch from Princess for a cruise, but no, nothing earth shattering at all.

[iancal]

I think most consumers are much smarter than HAL management seems to think.

 

A little tinkering will not go very far with their target market. People are more savvy than that. It reminds me of the old commercial line....' where's the beef'. I cannot see very much of it in this 'major' announcement.

 

HAL needs wholesale change. It needs to start in the executive office.

Edited October 30, 2015 by iancal

[Alphen]

It was not very clear to see, but in the presentation was an artist impression of the second Pinnacle class and it looked different from the Koningsdam, I think I saw two funnels instead of one? Anyone else seen this?

[Topsham]

A quick search reveals the following:

 

 

 

What other connection(s) might exist would need to be researched, but this should answer your question, at least in part.

 

 

Thanks.

 

In 1905 HAL introduced a new name in the fleet... NIEUW AMSTERDAM. The name is for the original settlement on the Hudson new I what we known as New York.

 

The company was named for the Holland-America Line and links between Rotterdam and New York. With the Hendrik Hudson and the Halve Maen and Holland America have used 'connection' going back to the last century. It went further from the 1938 logo that was introduced. It shows the links with the Dutch and Americas and that little Dutch vessel 'Half Moon' and the great superliner NIEUW AMSTERDAM from 1938.

 

Half Moon... Halve Maen.... gave the name for the HAL's own out island. Does it mean anything? Of course it does.

[Topsham]

It was not very clear to see, but in the presentation was an artist impression of the second Pinnacle class and it looked different from the Koningsdam, I think I saw two funnels instead of one? Anyone else seen this?

 

No, I don't think so, but on the TV on the show yesterday showed the Nieuw Amsterdam... with her two funnels. Perhaps yesterday it should have shown an image of KONINGSDAM.

[InTheWASide]

It was not very clear to see, but in the presentation was an artist impression of the second Pinnacle class and it looked different from the Koningsdam, I think I saw two funnels instead of one? Anyone else seen this?

 

 

I did notice that and kind of wondered