Lighthouse - A urban lighthouse for MSC

MSC Lighthouse
Where to feel the sea

Client

MSC Cruises

Industry

Travel

Disciplines

Art Direction
Content Creation
Copywriting
Experience Design

MSC Cruises Temporary Store brings the brand’s experience from the sea to the city of Milan through interactive projections and VR stations. The Lighthouse is the core element of the Store as both a symbol of discovery in the world of navigation and an icon of MSC Ocean Cay Marine Reserve.

Problem

Experiencing MSC Cruises it’s a matter of the here and now, as well as the destinations you visit on the go. But for those who have never tried it, it is hard to get to know a brand that needs all senses to be fully enjoyed, since physical and emotional feelings lay at the heart of traveling. So, how can we make people feel the experience of traveling with MSC Cruises without taking off? How can we bring a sea travel brand to the mainland?

Solution

Branding today is not just about products or services. It’s about all the extensions of the brand. Hence the relevance of physical experiences and stores as mediums, designed to enclose the brand’s essence, communicate its values, and bring it to life. That’s why we decided to make MSC Cruises’ experience live to the mainland through a Temporary Store, choosing to bring its core element, the sea, where it has never been before: the city of Milan.

It all started from an iconic symbol, the lighthouse, which offers a privileged point of view on the sea, lights up the road to follow, and indicates a point of arrival. It is also an icon for MSC Cruises, as a key element of the MSC Ocean Cay Marine Reserve, the brand’s private Caribbean island.

Under the lighthouse’s guidance, that’s how we developed the project:

We designed a Temporary Store located in the heart of one of the most famous areas of Milan, where people could feel the sea by living an immersive journey.
We partnered with Samsung to bring the MSC experience inside the Store through interactive video projections and the latest VR technology
We allowed visitors to experience life on ships, admire the view from the Bridge of Sighs on board, and interact with the Lighthouse itself, leaving a digital trail of water by walking on the lights projected to the ground.

After a fascinating opening night, within one month the Store became the go-to destination for 230.000 people: the sea successfully reached the city, its stations, Milanese smartphones, and overflowed the press. And the journey has just begun...