Skift Q&A: Viking River Cruises on Building Brand and Activity Awareness

Richard Marnell, the man that's helped make a name for Viking River Cruises and the river cruising industry, started his travel marketing career more than 18 years ago selling safari vehicles in developing countries. For the past six years, he's leveraged more than $400 million to raise awareness of the Viking brand and river cruising industry. As part of our Skift50 launch, we caught with Marnell to learn more about how the brand emerged in a fledging industry and how it combats negative perception of its sister ocean cruising industry. Skift: Can you tell us a little about your marketing background and how long you've been with Viking? Richard Marnell: I started in travel in 1990 with a company that sold trucks and safaris in exotic developing countries. We were bought out by a larger travel company. I moved into that company and came up in a data-based marketing group adding up to 18 years of travel experience. I became the head of Viking's North American marketing in l