Categories: Brand IPs, Concept Development, Cruise Ships, Experience & Design, Lighting & Sound, Production Design, Production Operations
Challenge
Two powerhouse global brands—O, The Oprah Magazine and Holland America Line, a trusted RWS partner—teamed up for another one-of-a-kind event at sea. After the hugely successful Share the Adventure cruise in 2017, the follow-up Girl’s Getaway cruise would be a 3-day event featuring O-inspired activities, entertainment and presentations from Oprah herself. The cruise culminated in the dedication of Holland America Line’s newest ship, Nieuw Statendam, and naming Ms. Winfrey as the ship’s godmother. Facing an ambitious creative undertaking and a short timeline, the team needed support executing their vision—and ensuring the cruise lived up to both brands’ stellar reputations.
Strategy
Relying on our expertise in building sustainable brand partnership programs, managing celebrity talent and tackling ambitious creative challenges, we took over creative development, production management, staffing, brand management, video production and overall execution of the Girl’s Getaway cruise.
We worked directly with O, the Oprah Magazine to bring the pages of the magazine to life in many events including live fashion and beauty shows, Meet the Editors events, O’s Reading Room book club, a daily yoga program, and two shipwide themed parties. The highlight for all guests onboard were four special presentations of “A Conversation with Oprah,” with video content designed by our team. We even assisted in producing onboard studio recordings of a special SuperSoul Conversations episode and The OG Chronicles video series. We also made sure the brand touched every corner of the ship, all the way down to themed food and beverages, to make the cruise a truly immersive and unforgettable experience.
Results
Our Girl’s Getaway sailed successfully into the Caribbean waters, becoming one of Holland America Line’s most successful cruises. Over 2,000 women and 70 men joined Oprah and Gayle for an unforgettable trip to a private island in the Bahamas.
After the success of the Share the Adventure cruise in 2017, we rolled out O-themed programs to 15 ships and have been engaged in its ongoing evolution and management. We also produced four Adventure of Your Life cruises with content featuring the magazine’s editors. With over 500 sailings of the themed programming to date, RWS has dramatically increased the percentage of “first to brand” guests for Holland America Line. The cruise line showed 3.5 million social media impressions from the Girl’s Getaway cruise and the themed hashtag generated over 30 million impressions. Over 2 billion impressions were generated by media coverage, including Entertainment Tonight having exclusive interviews with Oprah and Gayle. Additionally, RWS has become a trusted production partner to Oprah and her team at O, The Oprah Magazine.
