Thrillist empowers people to do the things they love and do them well, and to experience the world like an insider no matter where they find themselves. When that's "at sea," Royal Caribbean is the premier vessel for living the life we want for our audience.
To drive (or sail) that point home while breaking readers out of their holiday doldrums, Thrillist + Royal Caribbean created groundbreaking live streaming video generating awareness of and participation for the stateside arrival of the Harmony of the Seas -- and Royal Caribbean's Friendsgiving getaway.
Our joint objective: leverage the trusted voice of Thrillist to create fun, first-to-market, socially charged content around the arrival of Royal Caribbean's newest and most over-the-top addition to its fleet.
Together, we produced the first-ever branded Facebook live video on the high seas. We didn't stop there though: in order to fully expose viewers to the ship's possibilities, we spent four days on-board shooting and integrated that footage into the live broadcast.
The 30-minute live segment brought the ship's amenities to life in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The stream covered every aspect of the city-sized vessel, from spa treatments, to adrenaline-inducing activities, to world-class culinary experiences. And Thrillist got exclusive inside scoop from the crewmembers who truly make the Harmony the most unreal nautical vacation.
To get people to experience this firsthand, we drove participation in the Ultimate Friendsgiving Adventure by creating a custom sweeps, choosing four lucky readers and their guests to receive an all-expenses paid trip aboard the ship.
This VIP experience offered winners insider access to a live performance by the multi-platinum band DNCE, specialty cocktails courtesy of robot bartenders (no, really, robots), a plummet down the tallest slide at sea and enough foodie adventures to fill an Instagram feed for a year.
Utilizing branded media along with two custom content pieces, How to Take Your Friendsgiving to the Next Level and The Craziest Adventures You Can Actually Have on a Royal Caribbean Cruise, Thrillist amplified top-of-mind awareness and stoked participation in the Ultimate Friendsgiving getaway.
The combination of a never-been-done branded Facebook Live broadcast melded with branded media, content, and targeted social distribution to successfully engage audiences – performing above and beyond Royal Caribbean's objectives.
