Featured Work

Royal Caribbean: Our gamified sales campaign that unleashed a wave of new bookings

Royal Caribbean relies on travel agents to sell its cruises but, by 2022, the sales channel was flagging. Competitors had introduced competing loyalty programmes, and travel agents were out of touch with Royal Caribbean’s brand and products. How could they sell a Royal Caribbean cruise if they didn’t know anything about the facilities or ships?

Royal Caribbean asked if we could help Revamp sales, train agents, and build brand loyalty.

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Our insights revealed that loyalty programmes had become transactional: travel agents received commission, and loyalty could be bought by raising the cash reward. But this didn’t solve the problem of product knowledge, and wouldn’t create a lasting connection between the agent and our client. We started to explore ideas around gamification as a means of building traction and interest.

We wanted our campaign to create a genuine feel-good splash in a sector which had been hit hard by the pandemic. We devised the ‘Big Royal Thank You’: an eight-week, game-based marketing programme.

Game platform integrated with global rewards API

Travel agents were invited to register on our bespoke-built microsite. When they activated their account, they received a digital key. Each key opened a virtual box, which might or might not contain a prize, and agents could receive extra keys by answering questions about Royal Caribbean cruises, or by selling more holidays.

Built using WordPress CMS with a React front end, the microsite used an API to interact with Royal Caribbean’s central sales database. Agents who sold more holidays were entered into a series of grand prize draws, which escalated in value over the eight-week period of the game.

We maximised the feel-good holiday vibe by fronting the site with pirate-themed animations and bold graphics. Digitronix undertook the complete project, from the design of the solution, to the creation of the game, purchase of prizes and their distribution to a national network of travel agents. Nearly 4,000 travel agents participated in ‘The Big Royal Thank You’, completing over 10,000 product quizzes. As a result of the programme, an additional 1,000 holidays were sold. More importantly, Royal Caribbean built a lasting brand connection with their agents which continues to boost sales.

The client was so delighted they gave us our own ‘Big Royal Thank You’, and the game has become a fixture in their sales channel marketing calendar.

Digitronix have offered an exceptional digital, creative & project management solution from brief to execution … Nothing is ever too much trouble.

Nicki Lewis, — Senior Sales Enablement Manager, EMEA Royal Caribbean International