Anyone who’s been through TSA or has seen bags loaded or unloaded onto a plane from their window seat knows that traveling isn’t exactly gentle on luggage.
Still, multiple people with roller bags and totes from the travel and accessories brand Béis recently took to social media to share visible wear and tear on their bags, sometimes saying it appeared after just one trip. Through social listening, the company’s staff noticed—and decided to host a retro, car-wash themed event called “Béis Wash” to clean people’s bags and show them how to keep them looking fresh.
The response online has so far appeared to be positive. More than 1,200 people attended the February event, and hundreds of bags were cleaned, according to the company. Beyond the day itself, creator posts about Béis Wash across Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube had a combined reach of 7.2 million, according to stats provided by Béis, while supplementary how-tos and promo videos the brand posted across platforms racked up additional views. On top of that, the brand also saw a bump in sales from a corresponding promotion it ran alongside the event, Liz Money, SVP of brand and creative at Béis, said.
“This was our top highest traffic moment and highest revenue moment,” Money told Marketing Brew. “We were able to provide a service and test out if this is something that the consumer has an appetite for, and we found that absolutely they do.”
Listening to what customers have to say has been useful for Béis, Money said. Based on customer feedback from a previous in-person event, the brand held a virtual warehouse sale for the first time last month. The weekend the sale began, the brand saw an increase in followers as well as more than 690k Instagram impressions and 3.3m TikTok views, according to stats provided by the company.
“We’re always going to be looking for what the consumer is asking us,” Money said. “And we’re always going to do our very best to answer that.”
Up in the air
Béis, a DTC brand founded in 2018, is expanding into the world of brick and mortar via pop-up events, which Money said is part of an effort to create real touchpoints with consumers. Before Béis Wash, the brand had dabbled in some others, including the Béis Motel and Béis Hotel, where customers could take photos and try out products IRL.
“The idea of ‘product as a service’ is something that we’re going to be leaning into super heavily in the next three to five years,” Money said. “We’re looking at more ways that we can get in front of the consumer and provide them with services that go beyond just selling them a product.”
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In addition to keeping tabs on social chatter, Money said her team is plugged into the customer care team, which relays concerns and issues consumers share. A group of “repeat, loyal customers” share thoughts with the brand on what they want to see next during focus groups and dinners, and Facebook groups run by brand loyalists can serve as another resource to monitor, she said.
As customers of the products themselves, Money’s team also shares their own experiences around things like having a marked-up bag come off the luggage carousel—even if, according to Money, “we’ve always said a little dirt on your bag can be a badge of honor.”
“We understand,” she said. “We love a good, clean bag as well.”
A fresh start
When designing the Béis Wash concept, Money said the team was inspired by the launch of its Slate Collection along with the idea of “clean slates” more generally. The brand’s home location also helped: “LA has no shortage of car washes,” she said.
Béis partnered with cleaning brands like Scrub Daddy and Branch Basics for the event, as well as creator Emma Chamberlain’s beverage brand Chamberlain Coffee, which was served in the waiting area.
Social posts like DIY cleaning videos and merch offerings were shared online to help bring the event to those who couldn’t attend. Helping make sure that customers across the country didn’t miss out was also an inspiration behind the development of the virtual warehouse sale, Money added.
“Pop-ups are costly,” she said. “It’s a lot of dollars that we spend to do this, and it’s hard to be everywhere at once.”
As the brand focuses on creating real touchpoints with customers, it’s also dialed into “improving the quality of our product”and further expanding its offerings, Money said. Internationally sized rollers, along with new color offerings based on customer requests, are in the works, she told us.
Recently, social comments about dirty luggage feel “a little less like the squeaky wheel,” Money said. But for those who couldn’t make it to Béis Wash, the brand is collaborating with Branch Basics to create a cleaning kit, which consumers can use at home.