P&O Cruises: Britannia Naming Ceremony

It was the biggest ship built for the British market…but it was also broadcast PR on the grandest scale. Shout! Communications has had the pleasure of supporting P&O Cruises with broadcast PR for several ship launches, but a naming ceremony that involves the Queen is always going to be that extra bit special. This was the case with Britannia when she was unveiled at a spectacular launch in March 2015.

The Project

Shout! was there when Britannia first sailed into Southampton. We produced B-roll that included aerial and sea level shots as well footage of the The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment’s Parachute Display Team jumping from a plane as the ship sailed in. We used the couple of days prior to the launch to film interiors of the ship and carry out pre-recorded interviews. On naming day Shout!  had four camera crews dockside to record the Queen officially naming the new ship; our on-site video editors turned the footage around immediately, allowing us to distribute it to TV and online news journalists in the UK and beyond.   Our satellite truck was also dockside,  ready to live stream the event to broadcasters hungry for pictures, plus all of P & O Cruises’ fleet around the world.   We’d also booked Ingrid Seward, Editor of Majesty magazine, to be a commentator for any broadcasters interested in speaking to her – meaning live coverage was possible throughout the day, even when the corporate spokespeople were otherwise engaged with the events of the day.

What We Did
  • Filmed interviews and events around the launch of Britannia
  • Edited and distributed B-roll and online packages to the news media 
  • Secured coverage for the story across national, regional & international outlets including the BBC, ITV, Mail Online, Telegraph to name a few
  • Arranged interviews with key spokespeople for regional, national and international TV and radio broadcasters
  • Edited highlights reel for social media, marketing and internal communications
Challenges

This was a massive event involving a huge team of people so logistically it was challenging.   There were many members of the broadcast media, vying to get the best pictures, and it was our responsibility to ensure they were all happy with what they got. The security around the event was extremely tight because of the Queen’s presence which meant that moving around the site was tricky. The pressure to get the B-roll to broadcasters quickly meant we had to be extremely fast and decisive in the edit.

Outcome

Our footage was used by broadcasters around the world both on TV and online. We secured interviews with BBC and commercial radio for P&O Cruises’ senior management as well as the ship’s Captain and some of the celebrity chefs associated with the brand. There were more than a thousand pieces of broadcast coverage with an AVE estimated at more than £5 million.

More Case Studies

23. Aug 2022

Parents discovering a passion for science, youngsters sending messages to space. Then astronaut Sir Tim Peake came on board.

4. Aug 2022

A self-published book about graffiti knitting. It doesn’t sound the most likely broadcast PR story. But look what happened!

4. Aug 2022

With hybrid working having become the “new norm”, some of us have skewed the boundaries between home and professional life. Mailbird’s campaign reminding workers about email etiquette therefore was timely.