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Back in November, Bandier was planning an event to introduce influencers to a new product range. Bandier owns and operates a handful of in-house brands, and one of them, Wesley, was getting set to launch a seamless collection.
“We had to figure out a way to show the fabric moving. This isn’t a high-impact workout set we were trying to promote; it’s more for Pilates or stretching,” said Alexis Fried, Bandier’s brand marketing coordinator.
So, across New York and Miami, Bandier invited 25 influencers to experience the collection while testing out Body Roll, a lymphatic drainage machine. It can be used to self-administer massages for 15-45 minutes.
At the New York City event, which took place at Body Roll’s Tribeca studio, influencer Madison Rae (35,000 TikTok followers) posted about trying the machine while wearing the Wesley set. The post has over 381,000 likes and more than 10,000 comments.
These are sizable numbers — but they’re small potatoes compared to what happened when actor Lili Reinhart (5.9 million TikTok followers) came across Rae’s post and stitched it. Reinhart’s post shows her making a dramatically skeptical face. If you’ve never seen a person use a Body Roll machine, it may look … salacious.
Reinhart’s post has 9.6 million likes and 32,000 comments, and has been viewed more than 70 million times.
The collaboration clearly worked wonders to get eyes on both Bandier’s Wesley collection and Body Roll’s studios. Founder Piret Aava opened the first Body Roll studio in January 2020, and the company is still a small business. Body Roll is like a siren song for those on social media, according to Ashley LaCambria, director of operations. “Every time a person comes to the studio, they put it on Instagram,” she said. “Part of wanting to try it is getting to post a video of yourself doing it. Then those [who see the post] are like, “Ooh, what is that?”
The collab also provided beneficial brand alignment, Aava said. “[Bandier] is such a well-known name that having them associated with our brand was an honor,” she said.
After seeing the success of the event, Bandier and Body Roll decided to continue their partnership. In February, Bandier brought two Body Roll devices onto the second floor of its Upper East Side store for a services-centered pop-up. On February 13, it co-hosted a celebratory influencer event with momfluencer Jennie Moness (57,000 Instagram followers). That day, the store tripled its usual sales.
The pop-up will run for at least a few months — no end date has been set. Since its inception in 2014, Bandier has prided itself on being a pioneer in experiential retail. Its first store opened with a dedicated Studio B workout space.
“[That was] really pioneering at the time. Since then, a lot of active brands have opened studios, so we’re evolving. She’s coming to us because she’s already active; we don’t need to make her be active. So [we’re questioning]: What’s her lifestyle? And what are those things she’s interested in that could be a nice lifestyle addition and make her life easier and more enjoyable?” said Danielle LaFleur, Bandier’s president, explaining why brand partnerships make sense.
A lymphatic drainage experience is a perfect example, LaFleur said: “[Lymphatic drainage] has so many benefits. … It’s energizing … but also just feels good; it’s a massage. So for her to be able to fit that in her busy day, while stopping by and pick up her favorite [activewear] set — that’s adding to her lifestyle and making it something that’s adjacent to our primary business.”
“Retail has changed a lot over the past few years because so much is online,” Fried added, speaking about how Bandier plans to continue innovating. “We want to be creative about making the in-store experience more special.”
