Doctor Odyssey Sets Sail With Deluxe Marketing Campaign

Talk about luxury upgrades. Former Dawson’s Creek heartthrob Joshua Jackson trades #CreekLife for #CruiseLife as he returns to the life aquatic on primetime television in Doctor Odyssey.

Almost 14 million viewers joined the maiden voyage of ABC’s shipboard medical procedural across linear and digital platforms within three days of its Sept. 26 launch—a sizeable passenger manifest for a modern-day network drama.

Credit the starry cast, which also includes Don Johnson and Phillipa Soo, hitmaking producer Ryan Murphy, and a bespoke marketing campaign powered by that essential fuel for any deluxe cruise ship… Big Deck Energy.

According to Erin Weir, executive vice president of marketing at ABC and Disney Entertainment Television, BDE was one of the three “guiding forces” behind the Doctor Odyssey campaign, along with the glitz and glamor of the “upper deck lifestyle” and the “high stakes” of open water medical emergencies. Those three forces are reflected in the network’s various marketing initiatives, from luxury store and resort pool takeovers to surprise shopping and travel upgrades.

“It really feels like there’s nothing else like this show on television right now,” Weir says of Doctor Odyssey. “It’s an escapist ride, but also a medical procedural in a [unique] environment. That really populated everything we did throughout the campaign.”

From Saks to shining sea

You don’t have to sail to the middle of the ocean to see the centerpiece of the Doctor Odyssey campaign—just set a course for Midtown Manhattan. ABC partnered with Saks Fifth Avenue for a takeover of its flagship New York City storefront that included transforming five of its windows into portholes that provide passers-by with a look at show-specific props and costumes.