HX Expeditions, the world’s oldest expedition cruise line, is preparing to mark its 130th anniversary with a new PR partnership in Australia and New Zealand.
Following a competitive pitch, the company has appointed Soda Communications to lead media engagement and brand profiling in both markets.
Soda will work alongside HX’s global marketing team to deliver strategy and manage trade and consumer relations.
“We were open-minded when assembling the agency short list, looking at agencies of different sizes, specialisations and locations,” HX Expeditions Senior Marketing Manager Shannon Davis said.
“It was extremely important to us to align with a like-minded agency who understand our product and brand as well as the challenges of our sector.
“Soda’s pitch stood out for its depth of research, creative approach, clear market insights and genuine enthusiasm for helping HX build a stronger share of voice in a competitive media landscape.”
Soda Communications Managing Director Chriss Mannix said the agency was thrilled to win the pitch.
“We were really clear from the start that we are not a travel-only PR agency, even though we have excellent credentials in that space – we also feel that HX has incredible stories and people to talk about in a wide range of editorial sectors,” Mannix stated.
“Our passion lies in trends and observations that grab the attention of consumers by creating dinner time conversation that shapes brands. We’re so pleased to be appointed to work with HX to achieve this.
“Our team has quickly become expedition cruising obsessed and engrossed in discovering remarkable and quirky facts about the remote destinations that HX visits – from Svalbard, where polar bears outnumber the human population, to HX’s most popular destination, Antarctica, where penguins are some of the most iconic residents.”
Operating a fleet of five ships, HX offers more than 250 itineraries across 30-plus countries. Best known for its pole-to-pole expeditions, the line combines adventure with science, sustainability and education.
HX has also been a leader in greener cruising. It was the first operator to ban heavy fuel oil, cut out unnecessary single-use plastics and introduce hybrid-powered ships.
The brand donates thousands of cruise nights annually to scientists and supports conservation and education programs through the HX Foundation.
To celebrate 130 years of expedition heritage, HX Expeditions recently unveiled its largest-ever travel agent incentive. Check out the details on Karryon here.
Earlier this year, the company announced it would invest more than A$11.5 million in refurbishments on two of its most popular smaller ships, MS Fram and MS Spitsbergen. Read more about that here.
