If you’re going to promote a waterproof bandage, there’s no proving ground quite like Summerfest. It’s a sentiment that Band-Aid put to the test during the first two weekends of the Milwaukee, WI-based music festival as this year’s official bandage sponsor.
As a relative newcomer to the festival scene, the brand wanted to make a splash—literally. Summerfest, hosted along Lake Michigan June 19-21, June 26-28 and July 3-5, not only took place amid hot and humid weather, but included activities like swimming and kayaking, a splashpad for kids, misting stations, and, naturally, the sweaty nature of enjoying live music. It was just the right environment to help demonstrate the efficacy of the brand’s new Waterproof Clear Adhesive Bandages.
A Splash Zone activation served as the centerpiece of Band-Aid’s sponsorship presence, while cross-festival product trial opportunities, a remix of its brand jingle and creator partnerships also helped the brand educate festivalgoers on its waterproof technology and latest product innovation.
The Splash Zone footprint was crafted to mimic a community pool, with design elements like faux tiles, a pool ladder, wall-to-ceiling graphics featuring a fractal style that replicated water, props and lifeguard chairs all bringing the theme to life. Festivalgoers were invited to step inside, chat with brand ambassadors about the waterproof bandages, snap photos, grab bandage samples and snag exclusive swag.
Tapping into the thriving newstalgia trend, the company also celebrated the 50th anniversary of its iconic “Stuck On You” jingle by remixing the tune and broadcasting it during all nine nights of the Summerfest at the Sound Wave DJ Series, presented by Band-Aid. The remix was also available on Spotify, TikTok and Instagram for fans at home to enjoy.
In addition to the Splash Zone and DJ Series, Band-Aid had product dispensers set up across the festival grounds, all strategically located in high-traffic, water-adjacent areas, including the kayaking station, splashpad, amphitheater, fountains and Grab & Go store.
“We were really excited to bring this technology and what we think is a better experience for our consumers,” says Steve Maseda, head of U.S. wound care at Kenvue. “And we thought, what a great way to do it. It’s incredibly humid in the summertime, it’s a hot environment, it’s a sweaty environment, there are misting stations, there’s a kayaking station not far from where we had our pavilion. So that was something that really made sense coming in from a waterproof standpoint for this execution.”
To amplify all of its efforts, Band-Aid worked with macro lifestyle influencer Niki Patton, who attended Summerfest with the brand on weekend one. During the other festival weekends, the brand partnered with lifestyle, fitness and sports creators on Instagram and TikTok. Maseda says the brand may recruit even more influencers for next year’s fest.
By the time the festival wrapped, Band-Aid was drenched in positive results. More than 10,000 media members, influencers and consumers engaged with the pop-up activation, 150,000 samples were distributed across the event, and more than 250 pieces of organic TikTok and Instagram content were shared from the grounds.
“We exceeded our KPIs in terms of the samples, as well as the unique visitors and the social posts and organic content we got. We felt really strongly that it was a success for us,” says Maseda. “…We’ve been joking around that this is the year of the Band-Aid brand. So this is one Summerfest, one activation, and waterproof is one platform that we launched that is doing incredibly well in the market. But there are so many other things we have going on this year. We’re just trying to continue to amplify the Band-Aid brand in unique ways.”
Photos: Courtesy of Band-Aid
