Smooth Sailing: How Norwegian Cruise Line Navigated Influencer Marketing with InfluenceKit

Norwegian Cruise Line's Story

In the highly competitive world of cruising, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) knew they needed to make waves to stand out from the crowd. They embarked on a journey to leverage innovative influencer marketing strategies to capture the attention of potential customers.

Initially, NCL took a traditional approach, building personal connections and engaging directly with influencers. As their efforts began to pay off, they encountered new challenges. Managing the growing network of influencers became increasingly complex and time-consuming.

Michael Radlick, NCL's Director of Influencer Marketing, shared his insights: "Before using InfluenceKit, generating reports was extremely time-consuming due to the lack of a dedicated platform." NCL recognized the need for a tool that could streamline its processes, provide comprehensive analytics, and effectively measure the impact of its influencer marketing campaigns.

NCL set sail on a search for a solution that could automate reporting, offer a holistic view of the content being created, and deliver robust analytics. They sought a platform that would empower them to navigate the vast ocean of influencer marketing and chart a course for success.

Wrangling Influencer Content and Metrics

NCL faced a significant challenge in managing its influencer relations and content. The process was time-consuming and manual, requiring constant communication with influencers to obtain content and metrics. Michael explains, "We were doing most of this coordination in general and then kind of the wrangling of getting all these assets over to the agency." The process was cumbersome, involving countless emails and screenshots, which overwhelmed NCL's small team.

The delay in generating reports further compounded the operational burden. "The reports we were getting were taking a lot of time for our agency to generate because they had to go in, pull from screenshots into a spreadsheet, pivot table spreadsheets, run formulas," Michael illustrates. This manual approach resulted in reports being delayed by months, hindering NCL's ability to make timely decisions for future influencer campaigns.

Recognizing the need for a better solution, Michael knew that NCL required a tool that could streamline content collection, automate reporting, and provide a holistic view of their influencer marketing efforts. NCL was ready to leave behind the tedious world of spreadsheets and screenshots and embrace a more efficient, data-driven approach to influencer management.

The InflueneKit Moment

For NCL, the InfluenceKit moment arrived when Michael Radlick first laid eyes on an InfluenceKit report. "I had never seen a report from a Creator that had all of the content visually presented in a way that you could click through, expand, close the things you didn't want to see, open the things you did want to see, and really dive in," he recalls, his initial reaction still vivid.

This innovative solution seemed tailor-made to tackle NCL's challenges with their previous manual reporting process. InfluenceKit's impact was nothing short of transformative, saving considerable time and effort. Michael notes, "This solved our problem. Now, I don't really have to wrangle at all, because once they connect their accounts, I can decide what goes in and doesn't."

InfluenceKit quickly became an indispensable tool, offering a high-level view and facilitating more strategic decision-making. "It's been great to be able to look at things and see which larger initiatives are driving more," Michael shares, highlighting the platform's value in guiding their efforts.

The ability to effortlessly report results to leadership was another significant advantage. Michael emphasizes, "Being able to report up easily and quickly has been the best. I can quickly say, 'Our June content creator sailing generated 3.1 million impressions with a 3-cent cost per view.' That's the kind of stuff that's really helping me."

Implementing InfluenceKit represented a pivotal shift for Norwegian's influencer marketing, streamlining processes, enabling more strategic analysis, and simplifying executive reporting. It became an integral part of their operations, with Michael summing it up succinctly: "It's been great for us."

How NCL Uses InfluenceKit

InfluenceKit has become an indispensable part of NCL's influencer marketing strategy, used daily for managing campaigns, improving communication, and deriving valuable insights from data.

Streamlining Campaign Management

InfluenceKit has transformed the way NCL manages its influencer campaigns. Michael Radlick, a representative from NCL, states, "The customizable setup of our product launch assignments in InfluenceKit has made tracking everything incredibly easy. This has been a tremendous advantage for us." The enhanced tracking and customization capabilities have significantly improved the effectiveness and strategic alignment of NCL's campaigns.

Enhancing Reporting and Analytics

The reporting features provided by InfluenceKit have been a game-changer for NCL. Michael emphasizes, "The ability to report up easily and quickly has been the best for me." With comprehensive data at their fingertips, NCL can make informed, real-time decisions, ensuring that their influencer strategies are consistently effective and aligned with their broader marketing objectives.

Simplifying Content Collection

Before InfluenceKit, NCL faced challenges with the time-consuming process of collecting content from influencers. Michael shares, "The automatic content pull-in feature was probably the biggest relief for me. I no longer had to constantly follow up with managers and creators to upload content and metrics." InfluenceKit's automated content collection has saved NCL valuable time and effort, streamlining their workflow.

InfluenceKit has proven to be an essential tool for NCL's digital marketing efforts. Not only does it simplify their influencer marketing processes, but it also provides the data-driven insights needed to continuously optimize their strategies and drive success. With InfluenceKit, NCL can focus on creating impactful campaigns and building strong relationships with their influencers.