Crystal Brand Campaign Showcases the Personal Side of Luxury

Luxury travel brand, Crystal, invites travellers to connect to the world, each other and themselves with an evocative new marketing campaign titled ‘Where Luxury is Personal.’ In the campaign, company speaks directly to travellers on levels that go beyond the lavish accoutrements of the good life. The messaging eschews the common notion that luxury entails only the finer things in life in favour of the fact that it is defined by each traveller, making the experience wholly individual.

Working with MRM//McCann, Crystal has developed a poignant message that focuses on people – from its guests to crew – and how world travel touches their lives. The new branding campaign spans all Crystal Experiences – Crystal Cruises, Crystal River Cruises, Crystal Yacht & Expedition Cruises, Crystal Luxury Air and Crystal AirCruises – and will be seen across multiple print and digital media platforms beginning this month. 

“Travel is extremely personal to those who crave exploration and meaningful moments, and global luxury travel has always been personal to Crystal,” said Carmen Roig, Crystal’s senior vice president of marketing and sales. “Our philosophy of luxury is rooted in the individuality of each of our guests – the stories they’ve lived, what has brought them aboard, the memories they hope to create – and our passion for meeting and exceeding their hopes and expectations.

“We understand that time is precious, and aboard Crystal our guests relish spending their time exactly as they wish. To travel exactly as one chooses, connecting with friends who share their interests, and deeply exploring the world is a true luxury. And we are honoured that travellers choose to spend their time with us,” Carmen continued.

The advertisements designed with the campaign are intuitively created to get to the heart of why people travel. Inviting readers to peer into the global experiences of people just like them, one spread features a father and son making new discoveries in China together as they simultaneously discover each other. Another hones in on friends separated by distance but reconnected by a shared journey afar.

“It was important that we helped create a campaign for Crystal that didn’t shout luxury like the other cruise lines, but rather explained what true luxury is,” said Nicky Bullard, chairwoman and chief creative officer, MRM//McCann London. “’Where Luxury is Personal’ shines a light on those little touches that make a huge difference, including focusing on the important relationship and connection between guests and crew.”

Crystal asserts that true luxury is not only personal but also effortless, relaxed and welcoming, without parameters on guest preferences. The company has long been known for its exacting service delivered by a crew who greet every guest by name and genuinely enjoy making travellers’ experiences as perfect as possible. The celebrated Crystal crew will also take centre stage in future advertisements that are designed to put names to the faces travellers will find aboard Crystal voyages.

“The heart of Crystal is our people – the Crystal Family, both our guests and crew – and this new campaign will shine a spotlight on this family. We are honoured to celebrate them with a campaign that is as unique and as individual as they are,” Carmen said.

The other cornerstones of the 28-year-strong Crystal credo will also be highlighted in photographic spreads that call out the numerous choices at guests’ disposal to create the precise vacation they wish.

Crystal has also launched a new website offering travellers more tools than ever to create, plan and book the precise Crystal vacation they wish. Encompassing the global voyages and details of onboard highlights across all of its brand extensions – Crystal Cruises, Crystal River Cruises, Crystal Yacht & Expedition Cruises, Crystal AirCruises and Crystal Luxury Air – the responsive and dynamic new design promises to deliver an optimal digital experience across all devices whether desktop, tablet or phone.

 

The company worked with MRM//McCann on an overarching design and functionality that focuses on ease of use, intuitive features, illustrative aesthetic and more navigation choices for travellers. Crystal also collaborated with American Eagle to develop a “mobile first” eCommerce platform and to architect a modern guest digital experience with extensive integrations through the guest travel experience.

 

“Crystal is known for offering our guests a luxurious experience aboard all of our ships, with numerous choices that allow them to make their experience exactly what they want with impeccable service at every turn. We are thrilled to bring this philosophy to our website, which is often the first point of contact for travellers, making the Crystal Experience pleasant and enticing from the first click,” said Carmen Roig. “Every facet of the Crystal Experience is showcased beautifully throughout this new format, creating an immersive, illustrative adventure for travellers before they’ve even booked their voyage.”

 

Upon visiting the new CrystalCruises.com travellers will find a sleek, sophisticated aesthetic highlighted by beautiful, high-resolution imagery and videos to fully illustrate the travel experiences and potential adventures that await them. An intelligent, intuitive search function enables users to explore the World of Crystal in broad strokes or specifically narrow selections with precision based on destination, embarkation date, duration, specific ship, theme programming and even special offers. Additionally, day-by-day itineraries may be viewed in different ways (by map or list) depending on preference including voyage details with straightforward fares. Interactive maps give users the ability to view complete itinerary details and zoom to explore individual ports.

 

Users can now create a personalised profile with the ability to save their favourite experiences, future voyages and excursions to easily access again as well as find their Crystal Society information. For queries and expert consultation, the site also provides an easily navigable interactive map that assists travellers in locating a travel advisor based on their geographic location.

 

The luxuries of Crystal’s acclaimed vessels are also prominently highlighted on the new site, with photography and detailed descriptions “guiding” users through the ships. Users can find specs and features of each ship, deck plans, suite floor plans and design imagery, details of the numerous dining venues and enrichment spaces and programs.

Nicky Bullard – Chairwoman and Chief Creative Officer, London

Marcy Q. Samet - Chief Marketing Officer

Ariana Stolarz - Chief Strategy Officer

Joyce Karel - EVP, President 

Nadia Kamran – SVP, Group Creative Director

Rachel Max – Director of Art Production

Victoria Else – VP Director of Strategy

Nick Hall – Photographer and DP

Liza Harding – Executive Producer

Sean Frith – Producer

Eric Thompson – Digital Technician

Pedro Castellano – Photography Assistant

Gregg Hubbard – Hair and Makeup Artist

David Burnett – Wardrobe Stylist

Chelsea Sules – Account Supervisor

Michael Poole – Associate Creative Director

Andrew Pogson – Associate Creative Director

Matt Llewellyn – Senior Account Manager

Ross Dean – Project Manager

Mark Jeffery – Web Developer

Ben Moore – Web Developer

Madeleine Duffy – QA Analyst

Soner Ali – QA Analyst

Peter West – Senior Copywriter

Danny Elliot – Senior Designer

Jameson Thomas – Senior Designer

Lucian Adamoli – Senior Designer

Martyn Stivala – Senior Interaction Designer

David Hunt – Senior Artworker

Gavin Hardman – Chief Technology Officer

Louise Miller – Creative Operations Manager

Nicky Bullard – Chairwoman and Chief Creative Officer, London

Nadia Kamran – SVP, Group Creative Director

Rachel Max – Director of Art Production

Nick Hall – Photographer and DP

Liza Harding – Exec Producer

Sean Frith – Producer

Eric Thompson – Digital Technician

Pedro Castellano – Photography Assistant

Gregg Hubbard – Hair and Makeup Artist

David Burnett – Wardrobe Stylist

Michael Poole – Associate Creative Director

Andrew Pogson – Associate Creative Director

Danny Elliot – Senior Designer

Marcy Q. Samet - Chief Marketing Officer

David Peterson - Chief Operating Officer

Ariana Stolarz - Chief Strategy Officer

Joyce Karel - EVP, President 

Nadia Kamran - SVP Group Creative Director 

Jeff Gilliard – SVP, Director of User Experience

David Maietta - Technology Lead

Joe Blechman - VP Performance

Rachel Brownlee - VP Global Operations

Rachel Max – Director of Art Production

David Zamdmer - Design Director

Chelsea Sules - Account Supervisor 

Alan Gagnon - Senior Project Manager

Nexus Cook - Senior Copywriter

Patrick Cannata – Associate Creative Director

Robert Rudderow - Senior developer 

Serena Lee - Associate Designer

Richard Kummer – User Experience Architect