A Grand Slam - CMO

Architecting a Visual Legacy for the World’s Leader in Alaska

Black and white logo with the silhouette of a woman’s profile and flowing hair, accompanied by the word 'PRINCESS' in capital letters.
Alaska Cruise. A woman in sunglasses and a black winter jacket, smiling, in a snowy mountain landscape. A man in a blue jacket is smiling behind her. A red small airplane is on the snow near the mountains.

The Opportunity

Alaska tourism marketing is a sea of sameness — white ships, bears, and postcard perfection. But with a $500M+ market position to protect and grow, Princess Cruises needed to differentiate the brand experience.

The challenge wasn’t to show Alaska. It was to humanize it.

Build your system

The Insight

After 20 years filming in Alaska, we understood a critical behavior pattern: Guests choose land excursions before they choose the cruise.

Instead of leading with ships and scenery, we built a story around cultural immersion and human connection.

Laughter. Tears. The real stuff.

Get real with the locals.

Denali opened my eyes to a different kind of passion.
It blew me away and captured my heart.

Kris Phister • Denali National Park, Alaska

The Architecture

Alaska isn’t a product you buy once — it’s a dream you choose. We positioned the Princess Alaska experience as transformational, not transactional. This required a story engine, not a photo shoot.

The Strategy

The storytelling operating system — ensuring that every asset worked together across paid media, broadcast, digital, social, CRM, and in-destination channels.
We weren’t just creating beautiful content…We were creating demand.

Alaska Cruise. A person wearing a large, fluffy brown and white fur hood, with pink and purple flowers surrounding their face. The person is smiling softly and has their hands near their chin.

Results

  • → Over 16 Terabytes of new video content
    → 200+ hero photography assets
    → Seven figure investment
    → Eight broadcast ads

  • The work didn't just sit in a folder; it became the visual backbone of the entire Alaska Microsite, paid media (LTOs), broadcast TV, and the "Alaska Pursuits" web series. WABU also provided the "Confidence Builder" content that simplified the complex Cruisetour product for the front-of-house teams.

    → #1 in Persuasion — leading all cruise & travel benchmarks
    → #1 in Attention — broke through at category-leading levels
    → #1 in Desire — viewers consistently said “I want that”

  • By capturing the "ownable" Princess assets with an elevated, timeless aesthetic, we built a multi-year visual moat that competitors—who only "skim the surface"—cannot replicate.

    Integrated Assets
    → Broadcast & Connected TV commercials
    → Social-first formats (short + long-form)
    → Pursuits Original branded web series
    → Paid and organic social deployments
    → Website experience enhancements
    → Print brochures and POS materials
    → B-roll for long-term content needs
    → Digital display & direct mail
    → CRM & email storytelling

Start your engine

Brand Lift Off!

→ Storytelling drove emotional resonance
→ Viewers didn’t just watch — they felt the journey
→ Efficiency and effectiveness aligned to produce measurable business lift

What the Data Shows

Story Operating Systems Drive Qualified Demand

The repositioning of Princess’ Alaska product produced the largest visual asset library in the 60-year history of the brand. In a highly competitive Alaska market, WABU built a human-centered story operating system and the data confirms it worked. Princess’ Real Magic ad didn’t just look different. It outperformed the category across every meaningful brand metric — while doing it more efficiently. Across Ace Score, Persuasion, Attention, Desire, and Purchase Intent, Real Magic ranked #1 versus cruise norms, hotel norms, travel norms, and direct competitors. And it did so with stronger purchase intent lift and disciplined media efficiency.

What this indicates:
✅ Brand lift translated directly into purchase motivation
✅ The creative attracted qualified intent, not passive interest
✅ Emotional storytelling outperformed category norms across all 7 brand drivers

6 Point Purchase Lift

→ 62% purchase intent vs. 56% nearest cruise competitor

#1 Attention & Desire

→ 749 Attention Score (highest in category) & 715 Desire Score

13.68 CPM

→ Premium storytelling delivered at competitive efficiency

56% VCR

→ Demonstrating sustained engagement, not scroll-by traffic

👉 Lead efficiency at lower scale wins every time

The Video Engine

Broadcast & Connected TV commercials

Original Branded Web Series

CRM & Email Storytelling

B-roll for long-term content needs

Paid and organic social

Digital Display

Testimonials

A woman with long dark hair, glasses, and earrings, smiling against a dark background.

WABU has the ability to create the essence of a brand…something invisible, emotional, and deeply human…and bring it to life in a way that’s undeniably real.

If you’re a brand looking to partner with someone who will honor your story, elevate your message, and create something that truly connects…WABU is the team you want leading the initiative.

— Alaska Planning & Marketing Director M. Jacquel

The Alaska production is far and away the best content I’ve seen come from a land based shoot in all my years.

A Grand Slam!

— J. Berra
Chief Marketing Officer

Portrait of a man with glasses smiling in a suit and tie against a white background.

The reaction was many hearts, some tears, and “Wow.” We created a record volume of work, at an extremely high level, and have provided previews at record speed.

Wow!

— L. Syme
VP Revenue & Market Performance

Smiling woman with wavy blonde hair, wearing a sleeveless navy dress with a white collar, against a blue background.

These videos have so many uses and really reflect the spirit of our brand and our amazing Alaska product.

I love these videos!

— M. Parker
Sr. Product Manager

The Innovation

Documenting the “Impossible”

Go behind the scenes of this disruptive workflow in the Frame.io Global Case Study and Adobe Business,
proving that "World-Class Collaboration" isn't a goal—it’s a requirement.

Market Dominance

Princess Cruises today…

➡️ Differentiates the brand experience
➡️ Connects emotionally with prospects
➡️ Drives conversion at every funnel stage
➡️ Increases qualified intent, not just awareness

Alaska Cruise. Snow-capped mountains over a green forest and a calm lake reflecting the landscape.
Alaska Cruise. Close-up of a Alaskan Husky's face with blue eyes, partially obscured by green foliage.
Alaska Cruise. Map of Alaska cruise routes showing northbound and southbound voyages, with landmarks and glaciers, and a photograph of hikers walking in a green field with snow-capped mountains in the background.
An advertisement for Princess Cruises' Sanctuary Collection shows a luxury cruise ship sailing in a scenic, icy landscape with snow-covered mountains and glaciers in the background. The ad emphasizes luxury and exclusive sea escape experiences.
Alaska Cruise. Aerial view of a green forested landscape with a small neighborhood of buildings and roads in the foreground, a river winding through the hills, and mountains in the distance at sunset with pink and orange sky.
Alaska Cruise. Alaska landscape featuring snow-capped mountains, a lake, and a forest with four people standing near the water. Promotional poster for Princess Cruises highlighting Alaska as the #1 cruise line.
Smiling woman wearing sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, and a denim jacket, holding an ice cream cone with sprinkles outside a rustic red building with a sign that reads "Nagle's."
Newsletter header with Princess Partners logo, photo of Carmen Roig, Vice President of Sales, and a cruise ship in the background; promotional content for Princess Cruises dated May 8, 2025.
Alaska Cruise. Snow-covered mountains under a clear blue sky with some clouds
A cruise ship sailing on a calm river surrounded by lush green forests and mountainous terrain, with a logo and text promoting Alaska cruises by Princess.
Alaska Cruise. A man stands in a river, fly fishing with a rod, surrounded by green trees and forested hills in the background.
Flyer advertising Princess Cruises travel to Alaska, featuring a snowy landscape with a red seaplane and people enjoying the scenery with mountains in the background.
Alaska Cruise. A large brown bear resting in a grassy field with green blurred background, featured in a tourism brochure about Alaska's wildlife and wonders.
Woman with sunglasses and plaid shirt relaxing on a train with a cloudy sky and scenic view outside.
A promotional poster for Princess Cruises highlighting their status as the number one cruise line in Alaska. The poster features the princess logo at the top, a large gold laurel wreath, and the text "#1 cruise line in Alaska". It also encourages vie
A promotional image for Princess Cruises showcasing Alaska, featuring an older man and a woman in winter clothing standing in the snow, holding hands, smiling, with a red helicopter and snow-covered mountains in the background.
A cruise ship sailing near a glacier with mountains in the background, advertising the Star Princess cruise line in Alaska.
Alaska Cruise. A person fishing in a river in a lush green valley surrounded by mountain ranges under a partly cloudy sky.
An elderly man and woman sitting together inside a cozy lodge, holding mugs and smiling at each other. Large windows behind them reveal a scenic view of mountains and greenery.
Alaska Cruise. A cruise ship sailing on a fjord in Alaska with snow-capped mountains in the background, part of Princess Cruises.
Alaska Cruise. Two women sitting in a green field with mountains and snow-capped peaks in the background, smiling and enjoying each other's company at sunset.
Alaska Cruise. Brochure cover for Alaska cruises by Princess featuring the Star Princess cruise ship sailing through a fjord with snow-capped mountains in the background, highlighting a 2026 cruise itinerary and awards.
A red airplane parked on snow with a group of five people standing nearby, mountains and glaciers in the background under a clear blue sky.
An advertisement for Princess Cruises featuring a group of four people in outdoor hiking gear celebrating with hiking poles against a snow-capped mountain backdrop. The ad promotes Alaska cruises, with special sale offers and amenities.

WABU in the Wild

A story is only as strong as the team that carries the cameras. 14 days, 18 locations, 27 crew, 8 talent & 1 beating heart.

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Silhouette of a bison with the text 'WABU CREATIVE' below.

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