Cruise West needed to separate itself from the competition in a category where everyone’s advertising and marketing executions tended to look alike. And it needed to do so on a limited budget. remerinc jumped in with both feet.
Brand Makeover. We decided to position Cruise West against mega-ship competitors by speaking to the closer, deeper, and richer experience of small ship cruising. At the same time, across a wide range of media, we concocted a humorous, adventurous personality for Cruise West that set it apart from other small ship companies.
Romancing the Experience. Upon becoming agency of record, we first wanted to rally the company’s employees by reminding them how special their product was. So we wrote a rallying cry for small ship cruising, based on the poem, “If,” by Rudyard Kipling. The poem celebrated the special nature of the Cruise West experience and proved so popular that it was also featured in external advertising. Internal excitement and morale was boosted while customer bookings soared.
Direct Marketing. Cruise West’s communication strategy had become so predictable that customers were no longer paying attention. Using witty, humorous, headlines combined with interesting visuals, we overhauled their entire DM strategy, creating new bookings while lowering the marketing investment to secure each booking.
To replace the company’s more-of-the-same brochures, we created the “magalog” – an oversized tabloid execution that featured numerous pages filled with colorful images and text that not only informed, but entertained as well. This innovative piece was impossible to ignore when received in the mail, increasing the number of both new and previous customers… and giving Cruise West a completely unique look within the cruise industry. The magalog was printed on organic paper which leveraged on the brand promise of being kinder to the environment.