A three-year extension to a partnership between MSC Cruises and premiership leaders Chelsea has been agreed.
The deal will now run until June 2024 with the company continuing its role as official global cruise partner to the football club.
The collaboration includes LED perimeter advertising, VIP hospitality, star player engagement as well as a dedicated digital marketing presence.
Over the past year MSC Cruises has put greater focus on online activations, leveraging their digital presence through social campaigns with Chelsea FC.
MSC Cruises chief executive Gianni Onorato said: “The continuation of the partnership is further evidence of our commitment to the UK and Irish markets which are a key part of our global growth plan.
“Across the world we are working with key partners to support our journey and I am pleased to say that the Chelsea FC partnership will continue to be important in our goal to build further positive brand association as well as introduce our distinctive cruise experience to new audiences both in the UK and Ireland, and globally.”
At the start of the partnership three years ago just 14% of fans were familiar with the cruise line, growing to 85% at the end of the first term of the partnership.
UK and Ireland managing director Antonio Paradiso said: “Despite the challenges of the pandemic the partnership has been a great success and I am thrilled to be extending it for another three years.
“We began this partnership in order to reach new audiences, and increase brand awareness and I’m happy to report that so far we have exceeded this objective.
“We’ve seen great success in terms of engagement and customer acquisition and have had feedback from passengers and travel agents about how this increased visibility has driven them to book a cruise with us.
“Having seen such positive results from our partnership during the most challenging of times for the travel industry, we have no doubt this partnership will continue to offer immense benefits over the coming years. ”
Chelsea chief executive Guy Laurence added: “We are thrilled to extend our partnership at this exciting period for the travel industry.
“We have worked closely with MSC over the past three years to support them in their strategic business objectives and this extension is testament to the best-in-class activations we have delivered with them to meet and surpass those goals.
“We now look forward to the next stage of our partnership, as we continue to use our global platforms in an innovative and unique manner to share MSC’s premium cruise experiences with our loyal fanbase.”