• Ad Age, Wednesday, September 20, 2006 1 PM

Norwegian Cruise Lines is rolling out a new brand identity that supports its "Freestyle Cruising" positioning and its focus on the relative lack of structure on its cruises. In contrast to its competitors, Norwegian has no dress codes or fixed dining times on its cruises. It has about an 11 percent market share, compared to Carnival's 49 percent and Royal Caribbean's 35 percent. This will be Norwegian's first national ad campaign in over a decade. Media spending "will go up significantly," says Scott Rogers, svp, marketing and sales, who revealed that the combined 2007 ad and promotions budget will be about $100 million. The new creative, from Omnicom Group's GSD&M, Austin, Texas, will run on national TV, magazines and newspapers as well as online. In New York, it will run out-of-home. The work depicts the rigid schedules at competitors as yielding automaton-like cruisers who all move in lock step. Norwegian is battling not only its competitors, but also a consumer base that's not eager to hear about cruises, often perceived as geriatric entertainment. To combat that image, the major players have been adding activities like rock-climbing or a surfing machine that caters to a younger lifestyle.

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