Hurtigruten has launched a witty, new creative platform to cut through the competitive cruise market by fully embracing its ‘Norwegianess’.
Damian Perry, Hurtigruten managing director, Asia-Pacific, said when flicking through travel publications, it was often hard to differentiate between the cruise brands because of the similarity in messaging and layout. “Being Norwegian flagged, with local staff both on board our ships and leading our shore excursions, we wanted to capitalise on this point of difference and cement Hurtigruten’s position as the leading experts in Norwegian coastal cruising,” said Perry.
“Hurtigruten has voyaged along this beautiful coastline for more than 130 years and is proud of its heritage and authenticity. As a visitor immersed in Norwegian culture, you begin to understand and appreciate the wonderful people who bring our voyages to life. We wanted to translate that Norwegianess for our market – quite literally – and have subsequently created a series of tactics that we believe will turn heads”.
The creative concept sees joyful Norwegian idioms in their original language translated and then interpreted from literal to actual meaning, with a backdrop of striking scenic and experiential imagery. For example, ‘A ta det for god fisk’ translates to ‘Take it as good fish’, which actually means ‘to believe something without doubt’.
The campaign also recognises Norwegians’ love of the outdoors and exploring nature, with the apt saying, ‘Ut på tur, aldri sur’ – ‘Out on a trip, never grumpy’ – tying in with Hurtigruten’s focus on authentic, local experiences as part of its itineraries.
Forward-thinking agency Joint Effort Creative (JEf) crafted Hurtigruten’s highly anticipated new campaign platform. Josh Stephens, co-founder and creative Director of JEf, said tapping into Hurtigruten’s authentic Norwegian identity is central to the campaign.
“Hurtigruten is famous for being the original way Norwegians travel their majestic waterways, so it made sense to us that if the experience is wonderfully authentic, the advertising should be as well,” said Stephens.
For its national debut, the campaign will launch across a variety of channels, including outdoor, digital, press, and Spotify. It will spotlight Hurtigruten’s Original Coastal and Signature voyages and will extend its reach to key global markets such as the UK and North America.
Additionally, to ensure clients feel ‘en gladlaks’ – like ‘a happy salmon’ – Hurtigruten is offering savings of up to AU $1200 per cabin on selected Original voyages and up to $1400 per cabin on selected premium Signature voyages from now until the end of September.
