How Crimson Tide Cruise sold out its first sailing with Digital Star

Built for Alabama fans

The University of Alabama Athletics Department hosts over 1.4 million spectators each academic year, including over 800,000 at Bryant-Denny Stadium — the top tourist attraction in the state. With one of the largest national fan bases in sports, Alabama is dedicated to competing at the highest levels, while enriching the lives of its nearly 22 million fans. From selling out the inaugural four-day charter aboard Carnival Fantasy in 2019 to expanding its 2nd sailing to five nights at full capacity, Crimson Tide Cruise is recognized as the ultimate Crimson Tide vacation experience, bringing together legends of the game and thousands of fans for an unparalleled Roll Tide experience.

• 691guests from 24 states on the first sailing
• 1,700+leads in the first six weeks
• 56%lower cost per sale in year two

The fan experience

From the moment fans come aboard until they walk off the ship, Crimson Tide Cruise is designed to empower cruisers to vacation harder, while connecting with the biggest names in Alabama sports history. As the face of this new initiative, it was critical for Crimson Tide Cruise’s digital touchpoints to not only showcase the excellence of UA Athletics, but also how it is impacting the lives of those who choose to wear Alabama Crimson today.

Our approach

Create a brand and experience that allows prospective cruisers to see themselves, side-by-side with fellow fans, as part of the ultimate Alabama fan experience. From positioning and messaging to design and development, we worked closely with the event producers to create a launching point for how the vision and values of the immersive program are brought to life.

Building the brand

Crimson Tide Cruise represents a collective effort to marry the fun of football season with a cruise vacation to enhance the UA fan experience. In creating the brand, it was critical that Crimson Tide Cruise felt inclusive of all the athletes that take the field for it, and help shape it – past, present and future. From design to messaging, every aspect had to build toward a shared vision for pride and commitment. What started out as a new event flourished into a distinctive brand with a cult following.

Designed for mobile

To attract prospects, Crimson Tide Cruise needed an experience that maximized impact and cut through the noise on devices where prospects spend their time. This meant not only designing with a mobile-first mindset, but also creating native content across all relevant platforms specific to multiple unique customer personas. From content development to management and distribution, every aspect of the experience was designed to ensure the event made a big impression with personalized engagements.

The outcomes

Crimson Tide Cruise serves as a new benchmark for how universities extend their affinity to undeniably passionate fans—helping cruisers and former athletes unite for the ultimate team celebration. From strategy through execution, every aspect of the event has been designed to bring the vision for this immersive fan experience to life and create a one-of-a-kind experience that clearly differentiates Crimson Tide Cruise in the highly competitive world of theme cruises.