Skincare brand CeraVe is turning 20 and says it’s inviting all of “its friends” to celebrate. The brand is touring the country from July 29 to Sept. 14, popping up a birthday present-shaped activation in six cities: Chicago; San Francisco; Riverton, UT; Ann Arbor, MI; Tallahassee, FL; and Asbury Park, NJ.
The 20 Years of CeraVe Tour’s larger-than-life, 20-by-20 gift box structure features blue glass walls, doorway streamers and a giant white bow wrapped around the exterior. To help beat the heat, brand ambassadors are distributing hand fans to consumers in line, and while they wait, they can scan a QR code to take a quiz before entering.
Once inside, attendees explore CeraVe’s 20-year timeline on a wall that showcases brand milestones and product launches (with a few disco balls thrown in). As a thank-you for “making us your No. 1,” CeraVe set up a bottle charm-crafting station for participants to add a little flair to their favorite products (embellishing stations are a hot trend right now), and they also come away with gift bags containing a product sample.
Through the exit, an oversized CeraVe bottle photo op and a birthday cake incorporating a big tub of CeraVe cream await attendees for some last selfies and snaps. The brand is also encouraging fans to leave their mark by signing a birthday card at the end, customizing it with messages about why they love the brand.
“Every pop-up tour we do really comes back to our goal of making skincare that is developed with dermatologists more accessible to everyone and meeting people where they are, not just geographically, but in how they experience the brand,” says Joshua Helman, avp-brand engagement at CeraVe. “These tours also allow us to return the love to our fans and thank them for their continued support throughout the years.”
Influencer and dermatologist Dr. Dustin Portela is once again joining CeraVe, following his appearance on last year’s CeraVe Drama Free Cleansing Tour, meeting consumers in Riverton, UT, and local board-certified dermatologists are on hand at each stop to offer on-site consultations and skincare advice. But the most special guest on the tour is CeraVe’s new goat mascot named Sarah V (get it?), who pops in periodically to pump up the party atmosphere.
“People love Sarah V; she is the best and the newest addition to our family. Consumers really gravitate toward brand mascots, and they love to have that photo experience. It’s a great way to bring to life the brand,” Helman says. “And as to why it’s a goat—we’re the No. 1 dermatologist-recommended skincare brand in the U.S., which you can say means we’ve been ‘goated’ by the people. So, we entered Sarah V into the conversation with a campaign this year, and while celebrating this 20th birthday on the road, we wanted to make sure that we brought Sarah along to give fans a chance to meet her face-to-face and capture content of their own.”
Just over halfway through the tour, CeraVe has already welcomed more than 2,000 consumers through the experience. The team made it a key part of its mobile marketing strategy to hit locations beyond the usual suspects.
“We were really intentional about bringing this experience to cities and communities that often get overlooked when it comes to big brand activations and that we don’t normally get to meet IRL,” Helman says. “For places like Riverton and Tallahassee, this tour is our way of showing up for them in the same way that they’ve shown up for us all these years. We also have a mix of cultural events, local shopping centers and college campuses that we are activating at and near so that we are engaging a super diverse audience.”
The big question that remains is whether we’ll be seeing Sarah V again. Helman confirms: “I don’t see Sarah V going away anytime soon. As long as we continue to stay the GOAT, we’ll continue to have Sarah V as our mascot, so we’re very excited to have her continue to be part of the brand.” You heard it here first. Agencies: Allied Global Marketing; Coyne PR.
Photos: Courtesy of CeraVe
