{Note:  I am not affiliated with Holland America or the San Juan Islands.  This project was completed for educational purposes only}.

Tool: Photoshop

This week we were tasked with creating a Spring Break 2017 social media campaign for a company in the travel industry.  I chose a destination we used to love exploring when we lived in Seattle – the San Juan Islands!  And who better to take Spring Breaker-s there than Holland America cruise line headquartered in Seattle itself?  The Holland America logo is very well-known in the Pacific North-West.

This is not a Cancun or Vegas type of Spring Break.  The terrain is kept naturally rugged and beautiful.  In fact, billboards, street peddlers, and common touristy sites are very rare.  Most of the islands are pack in and pack out, and have minimal shops.  This Spring Break destination appeals to true adventurers looking to get out and explore.

I used simple images with breath-taking views found along the Oregon and Washington coasts, as well as up into Canada’s Vancouver Island.  Those are the stops along Holland America’s Pacific Coastal 2 night cruises.  I wanted the viewer to feel part of the scene, as though they were ready to hop right in and start exploring.  I kept the view point at eye-level and made the dock, the hiker, and the kayak align at center focus so the viewer could immediately place themselves and imagine 360 degrees to explore.  None of the images I chose had recognizable landmarks.  This way, the terrain still seems new and inviting.

The lines I came up with capture the feel of the wide expanses of space to explore — “Follow the call to explore”, “Choose your adventure”, “Yours to explore”, and “Your adventure beckons”.  Each tag line places the emphasis on the cruise customer to choose how they will spend their time on off-boat shore excursions.  Swimming or fishing off the dock, hiking, kayaking, and trail-walking are shown as some excursion options.

Here are the 3 Facebook cover images:

Here is the Twitter cover photo:

Although the San Juan Islands have a crowd they typically attract, by showing many activities and including the word YOU, YOUR, YOURS, this campaign will target a new group of Spring Break tourists to customize their trip and take ownership of the beautiful Pacific North-West.

My geo-filter follows the campaign of showcasing outdoor off-ship excursions available on Holland America at the San Juan Islands.  I wanted to keep it fun and whimsical like many of Snapchat’s filters, and make sure to emphasize the logo.

Snapchat geo-filter: