From April 27th to the 29th, Burt’s Bees marked its 40th anniversary with a vibrant BURThday pop-up event in Toronto. This milestone attracted 2,250 enthusiastic attendees, eager to join in the festivities and explore the natural, science-backed Burt’s Bees brand.
The Game Plan
Our goal was to engage, educate, drive sampling and trial while showcasing the brand’s top innovations. With a strategic lens for IRL experiential and a robust content platform for digital/ social use, we built a series of dedicated public and private programs for consumers, micro and macro content creators, press, and Shoppers Drug Mart retail partners! This activation focused on building affinity and awareness amongst the brand’s top target audiences - Gen Z and Millennials - and was designed to communicate this brand’s modern look and feel with engaging experiences.
The Highlights
On April 27th, Burt's Bees kicked off its 40th BURThday with a preview of the pop-up leveraging micro content creators from TikTok and Instagram platforms before the public launch. After this one hour livestream event teaser, Burt’s Bees welcomed a line up of enthusiastic attendees eager to explore the brand. Over the weekend, 2,250 invitees and organic consumers joined us to learn about Burt’s Bees formulations from expert educators, spin the wheel to win skincare prizes, witness a live lip lab station on how Burt’s Bees lip balms are made, and decorate Toronto’s popular KWENTO cupcakes - a subtle, engaging, and mutually beneficial brand partnership. A key part of establishing authority as a brand based in nature and backed by science was to involve the brand’s leaders through on-site customer education and conversation:
Dr. Hemali Gunt, Head of Clinical & Scientific Affairs at Burt’s Bees
Abena Antwi, Associate Research Director & Product Designer at Burt’s Bees
Christine Jackson, National Education Manager for Canada & US at Burt’s Bees
Thoughtful content-worthy moments inspired guests to engage and share organically on their own pages, including a colourful three-tiered KWENTO birthday cake and a lifesize six-foot Burt’s Bees lip balm! All guests left with Shoppers Drug Mart coupons, a cupcake, and a skincare and lip care formula of their choice.
Inside the Experience
Influencer Sleepover:
On the evening of April 27th, top content creators from across the GTA attended a sleepover-themed event in the pop-up's upstairs space. Influencers arrived in gifted, brand-adjacent PJs and enjoyed a night of curated brand immersion. The evening featured a pizza party, signature Bees Knees cocktails, and an insightful presentation by Burt's Bees leadership. KWENTO led a fun cake decorating class, culminating in a two-tier cake for everyone to enjoy. The event provided ample opportunities for influencers to create engaging content, highlighting the scientifically-proven benefits of Burt's Bees formulas and representing the brand's exciting skincare, sun protection, and makeup innovations.
Media Overnighter:
On April 28th, beauty editors from five major Canadian publications attended an overnight stay at the Ace Hotel in Toronto. This intimate media relationship-building gathering included a three-course dinner and insightful discussions about Burt's Bees' history and innovations, led by the product experts and brand leaders Dr. Hemali Gunt, Abena Antwi, and Christine Jackson. The evening fostered meaningful conversations and quality facetime with key industry players, laying the groundwork for anticipated editorial coverage in leading fashion and beauty publications like Châtelaine, The Kit, Hello! Canada, Yahoo! Canada, and Fashion Magazine.
Retailer Sessions:
We hosted the brand’s major retail partners from Shoppers Drug Mart on April 29th to wrap up the weekend. These sessions included a delicious spread of Mandy's Salads, an educational product innovation presentation, and a cake-decorating class. The participants were highly engaged, and the feedback was extremely positive, reinforcing and personalizing this key and mutually beneficial retail partnership. Attendees returned with knowledge of the new Burt's Bees innovations, full-sized core SKUs to experience, branded crewneck sweaters, and toiletry bags.
Impact and Reach
This pop-up garnered 281 social posts, surpassing the goal of 150. This coverage resulted in over 5 million impressions and $2 million in media value. While the pop-up was consumer-focused, the coverage secured across influencers, micros, and consumers connects organically and directly to our Gen Z and Millennial audience in their own diverse voices. Overall, the BURThday Pop-Up was a fantastic celebration of Burt's Bees' 40-year brand journey, and an impactful, authentic brand anniversary campaign.