Royal Caribbean: DECK-ATHLON

Credits & Description:

Advertiser: ROYAL CARIBBEAN
Agency: MINDSHARE WW
Category: Travel, Entertainment & Leisure
Advertising campaign: DECK-ATHLON
Supervising Producer: Greg Manago (Mindshare Entertainment)
President/Executive Producer: David Lang (Mindshare Entertainment)
Senior Vice President/Global Sales/Marketing: Lisa Bauer (Royal Caribbean)
Director/Marketing And Advertising: Maggie Carbonell (Royal Caribbean)
Local Broadcast: Nina Paparatto (Mindshare)
Vice President/Digital Marketing: Jeff Dekorte (Royal Caribbean)
Senior Associate: Reshma Lakhiani (Mindshare)
AVP Integrated Communications: Paula Michaelides (Royal Caribbean)
Senior Associate/Digital: Stephanie Pimentel (Mindshare)
Associate Director: Alexandra Vinci (Mindshare)
Group Planning Director/Digital: Jessica Brown (Mindshare)
Manager/Digital: Lisa Feng (Mindshare)
Group Planning Director: Michael Wyllie (Mindshare)
Producer: Aris Piliguian (Mindshare)
Director/Global E-Commerce: Jill Weiss (Royal Caribbean)
Manager: Kimberly Cooney (Mindshare)

Effectiveness
Of those exposed to the campaign, 80% recognized it as Royal Caribbean, shattering the industry average of 35-45%. This lifted brand preference by 42%, nearly triple the initial goal (15%).The campaign generated:-90,000+ new Facebook fans (2x the KPI of 40,000).-150,000+ sweeps applications.-Nearly 500,000 video views in Facebook.-Facebook engagement (comments, shares) was 5.5x industry average.-Increase in unaided advertising awareness (outperformed television spot by 13%).-Unaided brand awareness outperformed the spot by 16%.-Significant lifts in ‘Most innovative’ and ‘Most likely to choose’ brand health metrics.

Execution
The creative idea provided a platform to debunk the myths around cruising held by prospects while tapping into their passion for adventure.We pitted Olympians Michelle Kwan and Greg Louganis against each other in a variety of onboard experiences, including ice skating, surfing (flo-rider) and zip lining. Many of these activities are proprietary to Royal Caribbean…creating the elusive differentiation the brand sought. We partnered with NBC local broadcast to establish credible association without being an IOC member. Digital served as the main traffic driver, while partnerships with online portals such as Yahoo! and AOL positioned the teaser video among sports blogs, photo galleries, and articles. Long form video of each event was released on Facebook before and during the Olympics…generating momentum and longevity. The campaign was scaled through video networks, including social overlays…allowing for immediate voting and sharing. In addition, teaser video was placed in games that mirrored the Olympics.

Strategy
As the owner of the world’s largest and most innovative ships, Royal Caribbean had the most urgent need to differentiate itself from the “sea of same” (messages, audiences, communication channels) that typifies the cruise industry. We identified three target prospect segments: adventurous families, affluent young singles and luxury boomers. Research revealed the best way to make Royal Caribbean relatable was to have prospects imagine themselves immersed in the experience. The Olympics offered the perfect space to link the Royal brand with our consumer. An event that reflected our equities like no other: premium, global, best of the best. It had universal appeal to all our prospect segments, making it the perfect place to reframe our messaging. The Royal Deck-athlon was born: a series of 10 Olympic-inspired events showcasing the breadth and variety of onboard activities through the lens of people prospects could relate to during the Olympics – Athletes.