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.

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.