NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE TO LAUNCH NEW BRAND IDENTITY
-Comprehensive campaign is the company's first in 10 years-
London, September 19 2006: For the first time in 10 years, NCL has today unveiled a new, all-encompassing brand identity in New York, created to capture and articulate the company’s unique Freestyle Cruising—an approach to cruising unlike any other offered in the industry.
NCL’s Freestyle Cruising turns traditional cruising on its head and is characterised, in particular, by having no fixed dining times, no formal dress codes, relaxed disembarkation, up to 10 different restaurants and even more lounges, bars and other entertainment and activity options
The marketing plan features consumer and trade print advertising, as well as on-line advertising, along with a completely new website which will launch in phases. NCL’s guests and travel agents will also see new materials encompassing all the cruise line correspondence, onboard and in-cabin elements as well as port signage and terminal décor.
Following the US launch, consumers and travel agents in the UK will get their first look at the new brand identity when it debuts on December 1, 2006 as part of the Norwegian Pearl inaugural events. Following the launch it will be seen in a variety of media and online at the company’s website, ncl.co.uk.
The new brand identity breaks the mould of traditional cruise industry marketing with its light-hearted, experiential tone. One way the brand is characterised is with a graphic treatment featuring a white fish swimming against the direction of a school of blue fish, depicting NCL’s innovative spirit in the cruise industry, as well as the type of guest that NCL is looking to attract, a “non-conformist".
NCL’s research shows that the types of people who are attracted to Freestyle Cruising see themselves as individualists in a world in which increasingly everyone else is doing what they are told and accepting what is offered. NCL guests want to enjoy their cruise on their terms without the structure and regimentation that is still the central feature of traditional cruises.
Francis Riley, General Manager NCL UK, comments, “The new branding will represent a huge change from our current look and feel. Although our exemplary service and product will not change, the way we communicate with our travel partners and guests will be different. The new branding has been designed to fully encompass the ethos of Freestyle Cruising, and will ensure that NCL stands head and shoulders above the competition. Following the launch in the US we are very much looking forward to rolling out the initiative to our UK audience.”
“With NCL set to have by far the youngest fleet in the industry by 2010, with all of our new ships purpose-built for Freestyle Cruising and deployed in all major cruise destinations and our NCL America fleet now fully in place, the time is right to build consumer awareness through a major brand identity initiative,” said Andy Stuart, NCL Corporation’s executive vice president of sales, marketing and passenger services.
“We believe bringing the brand to life in one unified voice across everything we do will help NCL and our travel partners expand the cruising population,” said Scott Rogers, NCL Corporation’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. “Our travel partners have done a great job helping educate their customers on the benefits of Freestyle Cruising and selling NCL cruises, and now we are ready to bring the story to everyone, driving more guests into their shops.
“Our research shows that non-cruisers and even those who have cruised but were not ‘in-love’ with cruising, readily identified with the traditional, staid norms of cruising such as dining and dress code as key barriers to try cruising or repeat,” Rogers continued. “This all-encompassing brand identity truly illustrates how we are different from other cruise lines and seeks to create demand not only among those who have cruised before, but also with non-cruisers who are accustomed to more conventional, land-based vacations.”
Branding agency GSD&M of Austin, Texas, created the new brand identity. “Our challenge was to bring to life the feeling of complete freedom a guest feels on an NCL cruise in every aspect of the brand experience. We created one unified look and feel that extends beyond advertising and surrounds consumers before, during and after their cruise,” said Roy Spence, president and founder of GSD&M.
The brand identity campaign includes:
- ENDS -
Editors Notes:
For high resolution, downloadable images, please log on to NCL's website at www.ncl.co.uk/image_library
NCL Corporation Ltd. is the holding company for various subsidiary companies involved in owning and operating the ships of Norwegian Cruise Line, NCL America and Orient Lines.
NCL plans to build two new third generation Freestyle Cruising ships for delivery in 2010. NCL today has the youngest fleet in the industry, providing guests the opportunity to enjoy the flexibility of Freestyle Cruising on the newest, most contemporary ships at sea, and has recently added its latest new ship, the 2,400 passenger Norwegian Gem.
Issued by Flagship Consulting
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