Explora Journeys is launching a new global marketing campaign developed alongside McCann Paris.
It is rolling out now across television and digital channels in multiple languages as the luxury ocean brand is staking its claim to a unique category.
“We’re not a luxury legacy cruise brand, and we’re not a luxury hotel brand on land,” said Anna Nash, president of Explora Journeys, in an interview with Cruise Industry News.
“We’re something new, standing in a category of one. And this is the first time we’re really expressing that in a way that feels natural and opportune.”
The campaign centers on various visuals including a woman in a white outfit gazing out to sea, accompanied by the line “Maybe the best hotel isn’t a hotel.”
Nash added: “Has a hotel always had to have a fixed address? Maybe it shouldn’t.”
Explora spent the past year in what Nash described as a “housekeeping year,” a period without a ship launch, examining end-to-end journey quality and listening carefully to trade partners and guests.
The result led to the new campaign, which was filmed recently and is launching ahead of the Explora III’s debut this summer as the brand builds to a six-ship fleet.
For those who have never seriously considered ocean travel, the campaign is an invitation to reconsider it.
“Maybe those perceptions they thought existed don’t exist at all,” Nash said.
Alongside the consumer-facing campaign, Explora has developed a dedicated B2B toolkit that includes quirky trade-targeted ads, among them a line noting that “maybe the best commission comes from ocean travel,” as well as brand guidelines, conversion tools and a new template platform allowing agents to create co-branded materials.
A new-to-cruise client guide rounds out the package, giving travel advisors language and tools specifically aimed at converting first-time ocean travelers.
“We want to really give them tools to go out with confidence, to increase their own distribution and their own network,” Nash said. “This campaign is about helping our trade partners in our overall awareness mission.”
