Founding Circle Line's Pawsitively Perfect Pup Cruise Franchise

May 9

Summary

I came up with Circle Line's Pawsitively Perfect Pup Cruise in 2022. The idea was simple: let New Yorkers bring their dogs on a skyline cruise. It sold out, got picked up by the New York Post, and turned into enough of a following that I added a second annual edition, the Howling Halloween Pup Cruise, that same year. By 2024, the Halloween cruise was landing in the New York Post, MSN, and AOL, with over 206 million in reach for that one event. It's still running four years later, twice a year, and I still run the concept, the PR strategy, and the on-site production for both.

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The Challenge

Circle Line needed press and local buzz, not just tourist traffic. Sightseeing cruises tend to get treated as a one-and-done tourist activity, so I needed something that would get media and influencers to cover it on their own, without a paid push behind it, and something people would actually come back for.

Objectives

Earn media and social coverage without paid promotion
Build a real following with local New Yorkers, not just visitors
Create a recurring event media would want to cover year after year
Tie it to a cause that made the story more than just a marketing stunt

Strategy

I built the concept around dogs, the skyline, and a real charity partner. I launched it on International Friendship Day in 2022 with swag bandanas and built-in photo moments, and brought in North Shore Animal League America from day one, hosting their mobile adoption unit on-site and giving them 100% of ticket proceeds. That gave the story a reason to matter beyond being cute

Once the summer cruise took off, I added the Halloween edition that same year, so I'd have two annual news hooks instead of one. Every year since, I've added something new, a costume contest, a DJ, a photobooth, so press and influencers have a reason to cover it again instead of writing it off as the same story.

My Role & Execution

I've run this from day one. That includes:

Coming up with the concept and briefing our PR agency, 5WPR, on media alerts and influencer outreach for both cruises
Building and managing the North Shore Animal League America partnership, including their on-site adoption unit
Running all on-site logistics: DJ, photobooth, costume contest judging, boat selection, and setup coordination with the marine crew
Making changes year over year based on what didn't work, like switching to two-decker boats after guests said the crowd felt too spread out, and fixing the waiver process after guests kept missing it
Leading the media strategy each year, tying it to news pegs like National Shelter Pet Day and Circle Line's 80th anniversary in 2025

Results

2024 was the biggest press year. By its third year, the Halloween cruise landed full features in the New York Post, MSN, and AOL, plus broadcast segments on CBS News New York and NY1. Combined reach across both 2024 cruises topped 208 million, with the Halloween cruise alone driving over 206 million of it.

Year by year:

2022 (launch): 250+ attendees, 908 million+ media impressions, 107,000+ social impressions on the first summer cruise. That result is what led me to add the Halloween cruise the same year, which pulled in another 25 million+ impressions with coverage from the New York Post, PIX11, Time Out New York, and El Diario.
2023: Summer cruise earned 13 media placements and 151 million+ impressions. Halloween cruise earned 45 placements and 122 million+ impressions, with wins including The New York Times, PIX11, and Good Morning America.
2024: Summer cruise covered by New Yorkled, El Diario NY, New Jersey Family, and W42ST, plus two live NY1 segments. Halloween cruise broke into national outlets for the first time: New York Post, AOL.com, MSN, plus CBS News New York and NY1 broadcast segments.
2025: Summer cruise, timed to National Shelter Pet Day, earned 12 media and social placements and 101,000+ impressions, with influencer coverage from @Andy.TheYorkie (7.3K followers) and @Nico.MiniSausage (41.8K followers), plus CityDog NYC and Modern Dog Magazine. Halloween cruise, called out as the "4th Annual" by Benji's Guide to NYC, drew 208 guests and 171 dogs, and landed a Forbes feature (52.9 million UVPM) plus Time Out New York, New York Family, NYC Dog Events, and Jet Set Pets.

National reach beyond NYC: By August 2025, the "Pup Cruise twice a year" story was running as a syndicated radio segment in markets including Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, D.C., and Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Real charitable impact: North Shore Animal League America has been the beneficiary since the first cruise, with 100% of ticket proceeds going to the shelter and real adoptions happening on-site nearly every year, including 3 at the 2025 Halloween cruise.

4+ years running: What started as one stunt in 2022 has run twice a year, every year since, and grown from a New York Post story to a New York Post, MSN, Forbes, and AOL story, without losing the local following that made it work in the first place.