Regent Seven Seas Cruises launches second integrated campaign in collaboration with David Jones

Regent Seven Seas Cruises has activated a second, multi-faceted partnership with retailer David Jones, aimed at consumers and travel partners.

In 2022, RSSC became the first non-endemic brand, and the first cruise line in Australia, to partner with the popular Australian department store. 

This year’s highly integrated campaign will feature multiple touch points across digital and out of home at the David Jones Sydney flagship store, with a goal to raise brand awareness among the department store’s high value shoppers.

The campaign launched on Monday 4 March and includes three branded David Jones windows on Elizabeth Street, a Champagne-stocked Regent Cruise Lounge, and four digital screens along the escalators showcasing The World’s Most Luxurious Fleet™ and Unrivalled Space at Sea™. Two outdoor digital screens on Elizabeth Street will also showcase the Regent video.

Lisa Pile, Vice President Sales & General Manager Asia Pacific said the continuation of the exclusive partnership is an exciting opportunity to collaborate in the luxury retail space and showcase the line’s all-inclusive  product to consumers and trade partners.

“We are delighted to be partnering with iconic brand, David Jones, for a second year. The eye-catching window displays and in-store activity are set to create intrigue and inspiration for future voyages, cementing our commitment to providing unforgettable luxury travel experiences for our guests,” said Lisa Pile.

One of the windows displays a ‘Sun, Sea and Chic’ theme, paying homage to some of RSSC’s popular Mediterranean itineraries and ports of call such as Nice (Villefranche), Cannes and Saint-Tropez. 

Another window is themed ‘Epicurean Perfection’, showcasing the culinary experiences onboard the cruise line’s newest ship, Seven Seas Grandeur. 

The Regent Cruise Lounge on Level 7 will run from 4 to 10 March, for selected hours every day. Guests can enjoy a glass of Champagne while speaking with a Regent Personal Cruise Consultant.

Launch event: fashion and travel converge

At the launch event, Lisa Pile was joined by Jared Pottier, David Jones Senior Style Consultant; Alicia Tassone, David Jones Senior Style Consultant; and Nick Smith, Managing Director, Medium Rare Content to discuss international trends and travel style. 

The launch event was attended by select luxury travel advisors, trade partners, travel trade media, and David Jones VIP clients.

At the event, hosted within the exclusive ‘The Apartment’ on Level 7, Lisa Pile addressed guests and admitted to being a “‘David Jones die hard – you only have to ask any of my team! With my grandmother, I used to always know when she was off to DJs because she had the heels on. And I’d say, ‘Grandma, where are you going? And she’d say ‘DJs!’”

“I really believe the reason Regent does so well in our part of the world is because we love that understated luxury. It’s ‘elegant casual’ and I think that’s what people really appreciate,” said Pile. 

It was revealed that there’s 270 million searches in Google on the topic of ‘what to pack for a cruise’.

Asked for her tips, Lisa Pile said while she ordinarily loves a lot of patterns, when it comes to packing for a cruise she chooses a base colour and lays every out while packing. Stylist Alicia Tassone noted the different shopping patterns between men and women, with Steve Odell, Chief Sales Officer then asked to comment.

“I think things really evolved for men with cruising as well. And a lot of that is about modern luxury versus more traditional luxury.  I have a very old friend of mine who is going for the first time on a Regent cruise. He called me a couple of days ago … and he said ‘do I need to take my DJ (dinner jacket)? I said the last time I took my DJ on a cruise was probably 15 or 20 years ago – because that has changed as well, said Odell.

“Of course there are choices for people who want to be more formal. But I think this new generation of cruiser is definitely taking a different approach. It’s more casual… smart casual. And that’s something with Regent  that we really have encouraged for the onboard experience: that you can be as casual as you want to be, obviously within the bounds of being smart,” said Odell. 

Pile shared that something Australians may not realise is that prior to the pandemic, Australians used to travel on average for five weeks when they went overseas, but now it’s between five and eight weeks – so their packing and fashion needs have changed.

Australians love to travel, it’s in our DNA. And we’re doing more than one destination. We might do a cruise around the British Isles and then we might do Northern Europe. The trends are definitely longer and the Med is the number one destination for Australian. I know that prior to the pandemic, 20 per cent of Qantas’s business was people flying overseas for cruise. It is a huge industry. Australia has the highest penetration, per capita, in the cruise market. We love to cruise and it’s growing year on year,” said Pile. 

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David Jones stylists Pottier and Tassone then previewed some suggested ‘Cruise Collection’ fashions. The David Jones city store has nine stylists on hand, available for two-hour personalised styling sessions, bookable through the David Jones website

For more information, visit rssc.com