overview
NYC Ferry is part of New York city's transit system. They operate over 60 vessels that ferry locals and tourists across the river every day.

The ferry was relying solely on the city and rider fares to stay afloat, and it just wasn't enough for them to be able to run the system at the level they wanted. They decided to explore naming rights opportunities, and hired our team to help bring it to life.
Note: This project was done as part of my work with Innovative Partnerships Group. 
All brands utilized for illustrative purposes only unless stated otherwise.
project timeline
April 2025 - April 2026
creative team
Creative Director (Me)
Art Director
presentation & storytelling design
video editing
concept design
a. challenge/constraint
The NYC Ferry is part of New York city's transit system, but it's a little bit of a hidden gem. It's not as well known as the subway or the bus system. This made it challenging to make an initial impact when reaching out to brands.

Additionally, there are very specific rules and regulation that we had to adhere to when it came to branding the ferry around advertising on the water in NYC.
b. creative strategy
Our approach to the ferry was to showcase its scale, prominence, and visibility in the city. On top of that, we wanted to show how brands could leverage it as a resource, both on the boat, and through technology like the Ferry app.

Since we knew we had restrictions in terms of the scale of the logo, we opted to pitch the ferry as being completely recolored by the brand. This created unique challenges when building multiple decks and videos, as we had to figure out how to change the color of the boat each time.
b1. sizzle video
With the sizzle video, we wanted the naming rights to feel real. We wanted to show it in a way where you can see the branding on the boat as it's moving, that you can see how clear it is. We wanted to give the impression of impact.

We also aimed to show the scale of the opportunity and position the ferry as an NYC icon.

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b2. storytelling design
Our initial deck design began with a high-level overview to the scale, and then pivots quickly to the prevalence of dance in popular culture. Then it summarizes the scale of the events, influencers, and performers across the ecosystem to demonstrate the customizability of a partnership at any level.
c. result
We brought a very high-profile opportunity to the table for the NYC Ferry who made a strong offer*. The offer came in just as New York City elected new leadership, and that leadership brought policies that ultimately allowed the ferry to pass on the naming rights opportunity.

*none of the examples on this page reflect the brand that made the offer.
c1. customizing the pitch - video
We hade advanced conversations with a banking partner that ended up not panning out. But to impress them, we fully activated one of the vessels with a wrap and made customized graphics. We also provided them with a new version of the video that gave them a more customized look at how they could activate.

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Concept Image Gallery
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