This summer, Banana Boat rolled out a creator-led campaign to shine some light on consumer attitudes and to promote its “Sheer Sensitive” sunscreen line with social media, retail media networks, and Major League Baseball media channels.

The multichannel campaign, called "Get Outside Stat," had creators promote a consumer survey the brand conducted about sun-related activities.

• This year, US social network amplified content ad spend is expected to reach $11.99 billion, up 20.7% YoY, EMARKETER forecasts.
• US creator revenue is expected to reach $21.10 billion in 2026, up 16.4%, according to EMARKETER.

Amplifying messages with creators

Creators and the brand shared findings from Banana Boat’s consumer survey in video ads and social media posts, lending humor to insights about summer activities.

One 15-second spot, promoting Banana Boat’s Sheer Sensitive sunscreen, shows a young woman getting into a Jeep with male friend for a summer spin, accompanied by the stat: “75% of summer flings won’t get their ‘fling on’ this summer.”

On social media, influencer Gabby Nikolle shared a post about her love of animals in the outdoors, keeping a bottle of Banana Boat close by. She feeds turtles, an alligator, and other critters at a wildlife reserve. A message from the brand reads: “Sun protected for even the wildest days.”

Between these two distinct assets, the campaign combines high production value with candid moments in the lives of creators that connect with social media users, striking a balance seen in other creator efforts like Accelerator Energy’s Livvy Dunne push.

Engaging audiences with stats

Throughout this effort, Banana Boat uses data from its survey to support conversations about getting out and enjoying summer activities, making the campaign ripe for social media engagement.

A major focus of the study is the number of outdoor summer activities in which many Americans aren’t participating. For instance, 79% of July 4th plans won’t make it out of the group chat. And 73% of waterskis won’t make it to the water this summer, according to Banana Boat.

“The campaign isn't about making people feel guilty,” said Jennifer Campbell, Banana Boat’s senior brand strategy manager. “It's about creating a moment of recognition and reminding people not to let summer pass them by. Some of the best moments don't require a vacation, a reservation, or a perfect plan. They happen right outside your front door.”

While the stats are intended to inspire consumers to get outside, polling itself is an activity to spur engagement and spark conversation.

One campaign creator partner, Maciej Zurawski (who has over 900,000 Instagram followers), used his own poll question to ask users about how often they grill outside, tying back to the outdoor activity theme in the campaign.

“Social and creator content play an important role because they allow the statistics to feel relatable, shareable, and culturally relevant,” said Campbell.

From social to retail

The creator-led campaign isn’t just about spreading awareness. With retail media networks included in the mix, Banana Boat also aims to drive purchases.

“Media consumption today is incredibly fragmented, which means brands can no longer rely on a single channel to tell a story,” Campbell said. “Our approach was to create multiple touchpoints across the consumer journey, from awareness and engagement to purchase, ensuring the message shows up wherever consumers are making decisions about how they spend their summer.”

Retail media networks engage consumers close to purchase, supported by transaction data when their customers purchase products.

“[Retail media networks are] effectively positioning themselves as middlemen who want to insert themselves in between the social platform and the advertiser,” said our analyst Sarah Marzano, at EMARKETER’s Creator Summit. “What's really exciting about the role of retailers… is their ability to measure the outcomes right and pair their transaction data to help advertisers understand the efficacy of their advertisement.”

With this creator-led campaign, Banana Boat aims to show it’s paying close attention to consumer lifestyle choices, interests, and digital behaviors, while closing the loop with retail media network insights and engagement.

This was originally featured in the Retail Daily newsletter. For more retail insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.