Banana Boat 'Certifies' Consumers

St. Louis — Energizer Personal Care conducted an online campaign to get 101,000 Americans "sun certified" by having them take a short quiz on the Banana Boat Facebook page. The effort received more than 2.3 million views from May through July, plus nearly 1,000 sweepstakes entries from 2,000 followers on Twitter.This "Sun 101" initiative was a major focus of Energizer's 2011 summer marketing budget for its Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen brands. Energizer's Everyday Essentials platform ties into its ongoing mission to drive sun-protection awareness with its sun-care line, says Beth St. Raymond, marketing director for the Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic brands.The campaign offered consumers who took the quiz incentives of daily prizes, including sunscreen products, beach totes, beach towels, gas cards and Visa gift cards. For each consumer who became sun certified, Energizer promised to donate $1 (up to $101,000) to the Skin Cancer Foundation to support educational programs. (Banana Boat products have carried the Foundation's Seal of Recommendation for almost 20 years.)"One way [the company] is looking beyond product innovation is by executing sun education initiatives," says St. Raymond. "We recognize that there is still a strong need for sun education among consumers to help drive overall category growth and household penetration." She says Energizer got the message out as broadly as possible with social media.Energizer also conducted research on consumer attitudes about sun care as part of its 2011 Omnibus Barriers to Trial study. Results revealed that consumers who do not use sunscreen think they don't spend enough time outdoors to risk sunburn, or that people with olive, brown or black skin tones don't need it. Furthermore, men are less likely than women to use sunscreen, as are households without children and lower-income consumers."The findings underscore the importance of our sun education initiatives to change the way people think about and shop for sun-care products," St. Raymond adds.The campaign provided in-store displays for the Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic product lines. St. Raymond would not comment on account-specific activities. The products are sold at such retailers as Walgreens, Walmart and Supervalu's Jewel-Osco. She also declined to reveal the campaign's budget.

Banana Boat 'Certifies' Consumers

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