I sat down virtually with the Marc Sebastian to chat all things Ultimate World Cruise and the strategy behind holding TikTok’s attention for 18 days straight.
We both accidentally inserted ourselves into the World Cruise story back in December. I made a silly little bingo card that went viral many times over as almost half the card has been completed within 5 weeks of the 9-month cruise setting sail.
Marc posted a video joking about wanting someone to send him on the cruise to stir up drama and get the “real tea” but then a brand actually said “let’s do it”. Atria Books, a publishing company, sent Marc onboard for 18 days to Antarctica and the Drakes Passage with a stack of books to create what would ultimately become the world’s first real time interactive sponsored brand trip/campaign.
(Truly, I have never seen an influencer campaign structured like this before – if it’s not taught in marketing classes one day I would be surprised.)
Trends come and go in a literal blink of an eye these days, but with creative strategies and storytelling, Marc kept millions of viewers tuning in to his channel every day to watch his journey to Antarctica on the cruise.
He was kind enough to sit down and chat with me for a whole hour about how he approached the daunting task of creating sponsored content, keeping millions of viewers engaged with the cruise as a whole, sailing through the Drake Passage, navigating friendships, and surviving on a cruise with countless canceled ports all by himself and at the same.
Thank you Marc for taking the time to chit chat, gossip and answer some questions!
Video quality note: my computer was ready to chunk itself overboard while exporting this interview, so the quality is a little mediocre. Blame Apple.
