Queen Anne – The Next In A Fine Line
What was the brief?
Launch an extraordinary new ship directly in the hearts and minds of Cunard guests across multiple continents – two years before she’d be ready to set sail, as construction had just begun. Reinforce the brand as the benchmark for luxury travel without cannibalising bookings on other ships in the fleet.
What was the strategy?
Appreciate Loyals with an astonishingly luxurious invitation that makes sailing on the Queen Anne so irresistible that they can’t help but find room for her in their already committed cruising repertoire. Tempt Potentials over the booking line with a taste of the luxury that awaits them onboard.
What was the campaign solution?
A stunning, environmentally-friendly duo of packs designed to seductively unveil Queen Anne’s architectural grandeur and take recipients on a voyage of discovery before they set foot on deck. A multi-layered experience to really convince Loyals already faithful to other ships was balanced by a simpler version for Potentials.
What were the results?
Queen Anne’s 2024 maiden voyage sold out in less than a day, with over £17 million of bookings across the fleet generated from mailed guests alone. These luxurious packs came at a price – but with a 46:1 ROI, it was money well invested.
Campaign in Detail
Strategy
Launching a new ship is a momentous event.
As she hasn’t set sail yet, direct mail was the perfect choice to deliver something tantalisingly tangible into the homes of our guests.
But in reviewing insights into our global audience we uncovered a potential challenge.
The loyalty of our highest spending guests sees them committed to forward-booking onto their favourite ships, often having an itinerary planned well ahead. Could we convince them to book an additional cruise, on a new but different ship? Or had they already reached their spend threshold with Cunard?
Recognising that we were going to need to work hard to seduce this audience to add to their habitual cruising pattern, we created the following segments:
Loyals – these were high spenders and repeat bookers
Potentials – these were guests who have cruised, booked or enquired before
We would immerse both audiences in the beauty and splendour of Queen Anne with an ultra-luxurious invitation, using our segmentation to weight the budget against the different audience needs.
The Loyals would receive an iconic, collectable and beautiful piece that would reinforce their value to us as a high-spending customer and make adding Queen Anne to their existing repertoire irresistible.
Our Potentials would receive a taste of this same luxury in a cost-effective version designed to tempt them over the booking line.
Both audiences received something truly unforgettable, an exclusive glimpse before the social and trade partner campaigns went live, while balancing budget and segment objectives intelligently.
Solution
Life on board Queen Anne is a slow-paced sensual feast. Our luxurious pack showcased this experience without compromising on sustainability and environmental best practice.
Our Loyals received a crisp, white parcel, representing Cunard’s famous White Star Service (the first thing guests experience on board).
Out slips a richly-textured black presentation case embellished with gold foil in a distinctive Cunard pattern.
A soft black ribbon invites you to lift out equally stylish contents, evocative copy guiding you to the jewel at the centre – four dazzling teal and gold collectible cards. Each is adorned with an art deco masterpiece representing the ship’s unique architectural features, whilst the reverse carries 3D renders of the luxury to come.
Beneath these nestle a carefully-curated 16-page book, allowing guests to discover more about Queen Anne and showcasing her first destinations with every turn.
A simple QR code invites them to reserve their cabin.
Our Potentials received a seductive black and gold foiled envelope containing the same curated book. Crafting the content to deliver what each segment needed allowed us to intelligently maximise the production budget without compromising on results.
Every aspect of the pack was crafted to deliver pure luxury into the hands of our guests across the globe, and engineered to balance quality and environmental impact with international postal restrictions. The pack was made entirely recyclable thanks to carefully consideration of all elements:
- All gold foil was fully recyclable
- No metal or magnets were used for strengthening the pack or closing the case. This meant plenty of experimenting with the friction needed to hold it closed but allow it to be easily opened, and many amusing pop-open clamshells along the way!
- There was no laminate or plastic used
- We used paper recyclable tabs to seal the outer box instead of standard plastic ones
- The address label was paper not plastic
- All paper was sourced from suppliers who are FSC and PEFC accredited and use wood fibre from commercial forest operations that practice Sustainable Forestry Management
Our commitment to creating a luxurious and responsible piece saw us work through every challenge we face in ensuring all of the above. From its weight in your hands and the satisfying opening of the case to inserts that glide effortlessly from their pockets, this is a true example of the tactility only mail can achieve.