Blue Lizard x Hawaii

Brand Strategy | Experiential Marketing | Strategic Partnerships

ASK

Find a problem within the state of Hawaii and identify the brand best suited to solve it.

CHALLENGE

In a state driven by tourism and saturated with beachside sun care options, how can a single sunscreen brand stand out?

SOLUTION

Make Blue Lizard unavoidable by integrating it into key travel touchpoints from airport arrivals to hotel stays, ensuring it’s top of mind before sunburn ruins the vacation.

Hawaii's conditions demand high-quality sun protection

Hawaii has the highest daily UV index in the U.S. due to its proximity to the equator.

The sun’s rays are more intense, and white sand beaches reflect 25% of UV rays, increasing exposure.

Target: Tourist traveling to Hawaii

Tourism is the backbone of Hawaii’s economy.

$20.87 Billion

Total expenditure of visitors

$241

Average daily spending per person

9,657,607

Visitors in 2023

9,499,995

Traveled by air

Hawaii Tourism Authority

27% of Americans forget to pack sunscreen for their trip

New York Post

The Brand: Blue Lizard

Well suited for the intense sun in Hawaii

Created in Australia where extreme UV rays require strong protection

The Mineral
Sunscreen Experts

Blue Lizard sunscreens create a physical barrier against UV rays

Innovative Product Packaging Design

Bottles react to harmful UV rays reminding users when to apply

Hawaii is an ideal market for Blue Lizard to capture tourist attention and drive sales because the conditions demand high-quality sun protection, but tourists don’t always prioritize sunscreen.

This creates an opportunity for Blue Lizard to be top of mind at key moments in the travel journey especially when tourists realize they need protection.

Why isn't Blue Lizard already top of mind?

Market Challenge

The sunscreen category is highly competitive, with well-known brands like Neutrogena and Coppertone already stocked in Hawaii’s hotels and stores.
Blue Lizard needed to stand out as the superior choice not just by emphasizing SPF protection, but by owning the travel experience.

Image Source: Washington Post

“I realize the directions may say to reapply every 90 minutes but let’s be real, who is actually counting down the minutes and thinking about sunscreen on the beach?”

*Quote from interview with Hawaii Tourist*

Habit Challenge

Tourists often don’t think about sunscreen until they’re already burned by then, their trip is affected, and they’re less likely to spend money on premium sun protection.
Changing this habit required reaching consumers at critical moments before sunburn sets in.

Right now, sunscreen is an afterthought. Tourists don’t think about it until they’re already burned, and they tend to grab whatever is convenient rather than making an intentional choice. Blue Lizard has the opportunity to shift this behavior.

Objective

Integrate Blue Lizard into the vacation journey, ensuring the brand is not just seen, but actually considered and purchased.

Problem

A sunburn takes 5-7 days to heal

“We paid all this money to go somewhere tropical, and I ended up spending more time indoors than outside because of my sunburn.”

“I only get two weeks off of work a year and I spent half of my vacation in my room with a cold washcloth on my shoulders because of that sunburn.”

“By the time my sunburn started to heal, the vacation was pretty much over.”

*Quotes from interviews with Hawaii Tourists*

Insight

The vacation feels half empty when people are forced to stay inside because of a painful sunburn.

Travelers spend thousands of dollars on a Hawaii trip, but a bad sunburn can take them out of the action for half their vacation.
This fear of wasting their vacation creates a powerful motivator. People don’t just want to be safe, they want to fully experience Hawaii.

Strategy

Your vacation belongs outside.

Make Blue Lizard impossible to ignore by turning sunburn prevention into an unforgettable, pop culture fueled experience.

A sunburn isn’t just painful, it can ruin an entire vacation. No one wants to be the friend stuck inside while everyone else enjoys the beach. But sunscreen is an afterthought, something people only think about after it’s too late.

To change that behavior, we needed to make Blue Lizard and sunscreen application as culturally unmissable as the risk of sunburn itself.

The Work: A Multi-Touchpoint Approach to Vacation-Saving Sunscreen

After Landing

Reaching tourists the moment they land with OOHs throughout Honolulu airport featuring David Hasselhoff, plus kiosks for travelers to purchase Blue Lizard on the spot.

Hotel

Retail vending machines at 39 Marriott hotels across Hawaii, along with Blue Lizard–branded key cards and sunscreen samples provided to every guest to remind tourists upon check in to use Blue Lizard during their trip.

At the Beach

The Cooked Watch station on Hapuna Beach offers shaded relief, branded merch, and on-duty Cooked Watch personnel reminding beachgoers to #dontgetcooked.

By blending nostalgia, humor, and real-time sunburn prevention, we ensure that Blue Lizard is impossible to forget and impossible to leave out of the vacation experience.

This strategy transforms Blue Lizard from just another sunscreen brand into a must-have for Hawaii travelers reinforcing its position as the sunscreen for extreme sun destinations.

Brand Awareness

The airport & hotel placements ensured Blue Lizard was one of the first sunscreens tourists saw upon arrival.

Retail & Hotel Partnerships

The Marriott collaboration created direct purchase opportunities, making Blue Lizard more accessible than competitors.

Tourist Purchase Behavior

By shifting sunscreen from an afterthought to a vacation essential, the campaign drove tourists to buy Blue Lizard before they burned.

TEAM

Bailey Wood (AD)

Grace Hyde (CBM)

Kedi Hickman (CW)

Logan Cooper (XD)

Megan Strodel (ST)

Rhiannon Newman (AD)

MY ROLE

Consumer & Cultural Insights
Strategic Partnerships
Campaign Messaging & Social Strategy