Ocean Potion sunscreen will set sail, literally, for the first time ever when it partners in early 2014 with Carnival Cruise Lines. Ocean Potion is made in the U.S. by Cocoa, Florida-based Sun & Skin Care Research, LLC (SSCR). The experiential marketing partnership represents the first time Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines joins forces with a sun care company to create an onboard promotional experience with a branded sunscreen.
"Carnival Cruise Lines and Ocean Potion have a lot of synergies in that we are both 'fun-n-sun' brands and offer a great quality product at excellent value to our respective guests. In short, we are made for each other," said Christine Arnholt, Carnival's VP of onboard marketing. "Bringing together two family-oriented brands creates a strong foundation for a synergistic relationship and mutually strengthens our experiential marketing program."
SSCR vice presidnet of marketing Valda Coryat agreed, saying, "Ocean Potion and Carnival Cruise Lines complement each other like few other product pairings." She noted that Carnival Cruise Lines' consumer lines up well with Ocean Potion's target. Beyond demographics, it’s also about delighting consumers and creating new memories as they sail to the islands of the Caribbean. In fact, at many of the islands on Carnival's itineraries, SSCR products are #1 or #2 in the market. In those markets, Ocean Potion and other SSCR labels have solid and longstanding distribution through hotels, resorts and retailers.
Onboard promotions and activities will include fun, playful, sun care-related messaging and will amp up the excitement around the already spirited Carnival guests through sponsored deck activities, all while boosting awareness of the Ocean Potion brand. The new partnership will include the following components:
- Sun-Lovers’ Trivia—Fun messages on the Seaside Theatre poolside LED screens on sea days, as well as Ocean Potion samples available at nearby towel huts.
- Carnival entertainment staff will engage with guests as they are enjoying “Your Fun Moments in the Sun,” with photos showcased on the Seaside Theater screen leading up to the Ocean Potion-sponsored deck activity, the "Don't Fry. Reapply!" sunscreen break.
- A fun and engaging entertainment activity at select ports that will build on Ocean Potion's legacy of sandcastle-building beach events which are designed as fun for the whole family.
- Guest giveaways include co-branded T-shirts, carryalls and can koozies.
- Samples of Ocean Potion's popular SPF 30 general protection sunscreen will be distributed to guests as they head into port, as well as at Carnival outdoor decks via towel huts at the main pool areas—the most relevant spaces, because the sun's rays are amplified by water, making superior sun protection all the more important.
Four Carnival ships will participate in the initial promotion: Carnival Breeze from Miami; Carnival Liberty from Miami and Port Canaveral; Carnival Sunshine from New Orleans and Port Canaveral; and Carnival Triumph from Galveston. The promotion will kick off aboard Carnival Breeze January 12, 2014. Guests will try Ocean Potion at onboard sampling stations via gallon pump containers, and more than 90,000 individual samples of Ocean Potion will be distributed on the four Carnival ships.
Ocean Potion's 2014 Carnival partnership will mark the 25th anniversary of the iconic sun care brand, which was created in 1989."Through this pilot program, we will create awareness among a very engaged, relevant demographic, capture new users via trial and drive loyalty with repeat purchasers," Coryat said. "We are evolving from a brand that was born on the beach to one that lives wherever the sun shines, including aboard Carnival’s Fun Ships."
