Case Study: Floating Press Conference

Client: Litton Marine Systems

Market Sector: Worldwide commercial shipping and shipbuilding

Date: 1998

Challenge: Litton Marine Systems was a new entity created from three well-known brands in the marine electronics industry. The three legacy brands - Sperry, Decca and C.Plath - were better known than their new parent company. When the time came to introduce a new series of marine navigation radars, it was important to establish an identity for Litton while also featuring the unique selling proposition of the new products.

Strategy: Rhodes Communications suggested staging a press event to preview the new product line to international marine journalists, most of which are based in the U.K. The timing was carefully selected to be several weeks prior to one of the industry's biggest maritime trade shows in Amsterdam. An important feature of the press preview was to showcase the unique technology in a real-world setting. Accordingly, a group of influential marine journalists were invited to participate in a "floating press conference" on a cross-channel cruise ferry running between Dover and Calais. Each of the reporters had ample opportunity to see the radar in operation on the ship's bridge. The tour culminated in a reception and dinner at a chateau hotel in France.

Results: The BridgeMaster E radar introduction was featured prominently in every major maritime industry publication, with a combined circulation of over 100,000. Most of the magazines devoted a full page or more to the subject, and the product was hailed as a major breakthrough in marine radar technology.