An entire island nestled right in SoHo that anyone could escape to.
All you had to do was find and open the escape hatch.

The breakthrough activation dropped in the middle of New York generated over one billion impressions, 1.8 million organic views the first day, and a 7000% increase in web traffic that temporarily disabled Norwegian Cruise Line’s booking site and officially put Great Stirrup Cay on the map.

Challenge 

It started with a true need to disrupt. The cruise industry is a highly competitive, copycat category. And for the launch of their reimagined private island, Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegian Cruise Line needed to break through the noise and stand apart from competitors already offering island experiences. We couldn't just lean on our amenities to stand out, so we took an audience-first approach, framing the island as the ultimate answer to the escapes people crave in their daily lives.

Solve

Our idea was simple: invite the world to Escape to the Great Life right in the middle of New York City. Built around the universal desire to break free from the everyday, the activation would position Great Stirrup Cay as more than just a destination, it became a symbol of freedom, adventure, and fun. And we took it to the next level by bringing the island to life IRL in SOHO, all they had to do was open a door…

Execution 

We created a discoverable event experience that surprised New Yorkers with a fully immersive  island in the middle of the city. Complete with a tiki bar, lounge chairs, hair braiding, tin drums, four tons of beach sand, and 250 feet of immersive LED screens, the experience gave thousands of visitors the island escape they needed and included a national segment on Good Morning America. The hidden island activation then expanded to 250 scannable wild postings across the city along with twelve interactive escape hatch kiosks that gave away hundreds of free escapes to the actual island.

Results 

+1 billion impressions 

7,000% increase in website traffic

1.8 million organic views on social