Hawaii superferry woes have become a positive

Negatives work in Hawaii Superferry’s favor
When I first heard about the Hawaii Superferry coming to the islands I really wasn’t all that excited about it.  As a travel agent  the Superferry was not offering commissions or any incentive to sell the service.  Additionally, I thought that the price point was too high for most people and that  tourists wouldn’t really want to spend three hours on a ship no matter  how beautiful the scenery is when they could fly in just a few minutes to any of the other islands.  I thought the Superferry would live or die on its own merits and the marketplace would dictate its success or failure.

As time went on, and all of the negatives surfaced about Hawaii Superferry with regard to environmental factors, it put the Superferry front and center in  the media. I think it turns out that  this media attention has actually been very good for the Hawaii Superferry cause. Suddenly they became the "underdog " and everybody loves the underdog right?  It put their CEO on all of the newscasts and gave them an opportunity to rally support for the Hawaii superferry.  This has all been very good for their publicity and has really made people feel like they should now be able start the service.  

While the jury is still out as to whether or not the SupeFerry will be a success, it sure has created a lot of controversy and in the long run all has helped the Hawaii Superferry cause and their business model.

9 comments December 5th, 2007