MAM
Royal Caribbean International receives EFFIE award
MIAMI: Royal Caribbean International received the New York American Marketing Association’s Silver EFFIE Award a few days ago for its Alaska Get Out There advertising and marketing campaign .
The EFFIE –considered a top honour in the marketing industry — signifies a campaign’s creative excellence and effectiveness in meeting business objectives. Last year, Royal Caribbean received the Gold EFFIE for its Get Out There campaign.
Royal Caribbean International senior VP marketing and sales Dan Hanrahan has been quoted in an official release saying: “We are honoured to receive recognition for this dynamic campaign that has proven successful even beyond our original objectives. The campaign has helped us significantly increase brand awareness. And more importantly, it has helped us show Americans what the Royal Caribbean experience is all about; and get them excited about the adventures they can have on a Royal Caribbean cruise.”
The Alaska Get Out There campaign, created by Arnold Worldwide, is an extension of the original Get Out There initiative launched three years ago. The aim was to reposition the brand; dispel consumer misperceptions of cruising; and generate increased demand for Royal Caribbean.
The campaign’s TV spot opens with two men clinging to the edge of a glacier, with one urging the other to: “Go on, leave me.” A female voice interrupts them saying: “If you two don’t cut it out, I’m going to be late for my massage.” The camera pans up to reveal a Royal Caribbean ship in the background and cuts to fast-paced action-shots of the vacationers climbing the ship’s rock wall, glacier trekking, dog sledding and exploring Alaska’s interior by train car.
The commercial ends with a voice-over tag: “Somewhere between the glacier hiking, the dog sledding, the train tours and the rock wall, it hits you. This is way more than a cruise. See for yourself at royalcaribbean.com and get out there.”
Royal Caribbean and Arnold Worldwide designed the campaign to appeal to consumers the company has identified as “Explorers” — active and adventurous people of all ages and backgrounds who want to do, learn and experience more on vacation. The integrated effort utilises a variety of media including print, television, the Internet and the company’s Crown & Anchor loyalty programme.
Nearly 300 of the US’ top advertising and marketing executives reviewed the campaigns submitted for EFFIE award consideration. EFFIE entries increased by 25 per cent this year, making 2003 one of the toughest competitions ever.
Winning campaigns incorporate all aspects of a successful marketing programme — planning, market research, media, creative and account management — and demonstrate a partnership between agency and client in creation, management and building of a brand.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
