In 2025, Princess Cruises set out to enhance brand storytelling by reimagining how we work with creators. Our goal wasn’t just influencer buzz, it was about building a scalable library of evergreen content to authentically represent destinations, drive engagement, and reduce production costs.
By shifting the focus from follower counts to high-quality, purpose-driven UGC, we developed a strategic creator model that delivered consistent content across key regions, from the Caribbean, Alaska, the California Coast, to Asia.
We prioritized creators who aligned with our voice, understood our storytelling goals, and were excited to deliver more than the brief, consistently exceeding our expectations.
The core objectives:
We designed a creator-first framework rooted in transparency, clear deliverables, and creative freedom. Rather than transactional campaigns focused on “tag-and-post,” our model emphasized asset development: creators were contracted not just for influence, but for content value.
Each creator was carefully vetted, not by follower count, but by engagement, visual style, and storytelling tone. We asked: Can this creator make content that feels native to Instagram Reels? Will this content live beyond social media, on our website, in emails, or in global campaigns?
We developed brand-owned contracts that allowed us to build evergreen libraries across destinations. These creators weren’t just on press trips; they were an extension of our creative team. Each one received a detailed content brief outlining deliverables (e.g., vertical video, photography, raw B-roll), platform usage expectations, and brand guidelines, while still encouraging their creative lens.
We launched this strategy across multiple destinations:
Key features:
By implementing a creator-led asset strategy, Princess Cruises sourced high-impact content across Japan, Alaska, the Caribbean, and the California Coast, resulting in:
Deployed across organic and boosted social, this content drove 37.3M impressions, 33.6M video views, and 1.1M engagements, proving that owned, creator-led storytelling can outperform traditional shoot models at scale.
This model empowered us to scale content production across key destination markets without relying solely on traditional shoots. The assets were uploaded into our centralized digital asset management system, supporting teams across brand, PR, digital, email, paid media, and trade.
With consistent visual storytelling across all content, we maintained a cohesive look and feel across platforms, campaigns, and regions. The in-perpetuity usage rights meant our assets remained evergreen, making them adaptable for seasonal, regional, and global marketing efforts.
