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Every day of every weekend during the summer, the famed Hampton Jitney sends anywhere between 50-100 buses to the Hamptons. And if you’re an extra lucky passenger, in addition to getting a summer weekend in one of the East Coast’s most desirable seasonal destinations, you may find a full-size Goop moisturizer or an L.L. Bean Boat and Tote waiting on your seat when you board the bus.
Though the Jitney’s onboard product placement program has, to some extent, existed throughout the company’s 51-year-history, it has grown some 150% in the past two years. That’s thanks, in large part, to Nina Bracovic, its director of marketing, who has been with the company for 15 years.
When she started, about 200 trips per summer would see samples on seats, she said.
During Covid, unsurprisingly, activations slowed down, and the Jitney actively worked to minimize “surfaces on board,” Bracovic said. But, since 2022, things have picked up steam, surpassing their previous levels.
In the past two summers, the number of trips that see customer gifting has skyrocketed to 450-500, with more inbound inquiries from brands by the day. Bracovic credits the momentum both to a stronger social media push and to word-of-mouth — sometimes even from Jitney passengers who themselves work at brands and, after seeing another activation by a competitor, for example, want in, too.
Samplings are only assigned to full trips, and “advertisers like to focus on those Thursday and Friday eastbound [trips] or Sunday and Monday westbound, because they want to get that busy prime travel time,” Bracovic said.
In addition to attracting new sponsors, posting on social media helps the Jitney highlight its advantages over the train to its 4,600 Instagram followers, Bracovic said. Among them: guaranteed seating, as the bus does not overbook; an onboard host, which Bracovic compared to a flight attendant; and, finally, the possibility of receiving a free gift from one of the bus’s brand partners.
In recent weeks, those brand partners have included WetBrush, Ouidad and Goody. Products have included hair care from Sachajuan, skin care from J.Lo Beauty, skin care from Glow Recipe, and the aforementioned L.L. Bean Boat and Tote.
Base rates to gift range from $600 per trip on the regular Jitney to $700 on the Jitney Ambassador, its higher-end offering. For a standard Jitney ride, 60 samples are required, while an Ambassador ride requires 30.
Sampling is not the only way brands can activate on the Jitney. They can also wrap the full bus, though this is a far more expensive option. Wrapping the bus costs between $32,500-$45,000 for four weeks at a time. Brands can also choose to sponsor wi-fi on the bus or provide branded water bottles.
But in the beauty world, sampling is the obvious choice. It makes perfect sense, after all.
“We place the items on the seats before people board the coach, Bracovic said. “They have to physically pick up the item to sit down, so [they] have an immediate engagement with the item, and then [the brand has] an audience that is captive for two-plus hours to engage with this item.” People often try the product then and there, and even post it, she said.
Along with the sample, brands also typically include some kind of call to action, be it prompting users to enter a giveaway or to purchase a larger version or another product using a discount code.
This summer, Glow Recipe has participated in the product placement program twice, once in June and once during the July 4 weekend.
“We knew we wanted to show up in the Hamptons in some way — it’s so popular and only growing in popularity, especially among our core demographics: 20s, 30s, 40s, and heavy in New [Yorkers], which is our one of our key demographics,” said Lauren Malecha, Glow Recipe’s senior director of marketing. Activations at Hamptons hotspots, like Surf Lodge and Gurney’s, are popular and even commonplace nowadays. As such, Malecha said, she was attracted to the way the Jitney could capture a passenger’s attention. “What else are you doing when you’re sitting on a bus but having an opportunity to actually read a piece of collateral [and] play with samples?” she said, echoing Bracovic’s point. Further, Malecha noted, providing necessities like SPF, which people may forget to pack, is most useful at the start of a trip.
For the Jitney, Glow Recipe created a set of deluxe samples meant to offer “a really nice summer routine — a full face of glow [achievable] with the samples that were in there,” Malecha said. “We had our Hue Drops [bronzing drops], our new Dewy Flush [blush] so you can get that little gorgeous flush, and then our Watermelon Mist — so you could do your entire summer routine without wearing a lot of heavy products on your skin. It gives that Hamptons glow with just the products in the pouch.”
The brand also distributed a “newspaper” featuring a QR code that brought riders to the brand’s Sephora page to “continue to build that relationship,” Malecha said.
L.L. Bean participated in one of the Jitney’s biggest activations this summer, wrapping two buses and kitting them with extensive gifting during the busy fourth of July weekend. Lucky riders received a large Boat and Tote bag, an L.L. Bean teddy bear (dubbed L.L. Bear), an L.L. Bean beach towel and a Little Words Project kit allowing them to bead their own bag charm. “We really wanted to remind people of the simple times in the summer; we wanted to draw on nostalgia and that carefree spirit of being outside,” said Kayla Lessard, L.L. Bean’s manager of product partnerships.
“At L.L. Bean, we’re an outdoor lifestyle brand, so we’re really about enabling and enhancing outdoor experiences for people,” Lessard said. “When thinking about this summer and how you’re getting outdoors, from the city out to the Hamptons, the Jitney is literally the vehicle that’s taking you to have these outdoor experiences, like going to the beach. So they were a logical partner for us.”
As far as consumer gifting goes, this was one of L.L. Bean’s larger endeavors, Lessard said, noting that the brand gave away approximately 700 totes, and the totes are a very sought-after item at the moment.
While it’s hard to measure results from this kind of activation, Malecha still deemed it worthwhile. The Jitney reported to Glow Recipe that all 1,200 kits were taken off the bus. But also, she got anecdotal feedback through the grapevine of an overheard moment in a Hamptons yoga class. “Someone was talking about the samples they got on the bus. [She was like], ‘I’m going to use this SPF. I love this brand.’ … That’s exactly the type of conversation and buzz we wanted to drive. That’s how we know we’re in the right place.”
Collabs of the week:
Korres x “Mamma Mia!”
Like Urban Decay earlier this year, Greek skin-care brand Korres is showing up at the theater, as the official skin-care brand partner of “Mamma Mia!” in tandem with the show’s upcoming Broadway revival. The partnership will include providing skin care to the musical’s cast, as well as gifting to 600 guests on opening night.
“One of the things we love most about ‘Mamma Mia!’ is the vibrant Greek island setting, from the set and costumes to the overall energy of the show, which happens to be on trend for this summer. When thinking about potential partners that share that spirit, Korres immediately came to mind. Their team includes Broadway fans who really understand our vision,” said Amy Jacobs, executive producer of “Mamma Mia!”
In addition to the opening night gifting, the show and the brand will host a giveaway. One winner and their guest will win a trip to New York City, including tickets to “Mamma Mia!,” a Korres shopping spree, yoga at Sky Ting, dinner at the Greek restaurant Kyma and luggage from BEIS. The campaign is being promoted across korres.com, email, paid media and social channels, particularly TikTok and Instagram, said Caroline Joseph, North America brand manager at Korres.
Spanx x Bala
Bala, known for its weighted bangles beloved by fitness aficionados, has teamed with Spanx on a collection of activewear and workout accessories. While Bala has launched various collaborations, including with brands like Pucci, Summer Fridays and Ralph Lauren, Spanx is new to the partnerships game. The collection is “not just functional, but fun,” and features “bold colors to energize her movement routine,” said Katie Weeks, Spanx’s vp of brand marketing. Spanx is doubling down on activewear, and customers will see a continued focus on “delivering high performance product” powered by the brand’s technology, Weeks said. “We believe we have authority in this space, when it comes to setting the standard for how women want to feel as they exercise,” she said. “We’ve been doing that for 25 years and we’re just getting started.”
