This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the international annual beauty show called Premiere Orlando. It was my third year going to the event and it was definitely my favorite so far! A great thing about these shows is it’s the best way to see what your brand’s competition is working on in all aspects (branding, socially, new products, innovative techniques) and leverage your brand by learning from their successes/mistakes.
At a show where your brand is constantly competing with the “noise” next door, how can you stand out in a crowd so the industry leaders want to learn about your brand? Here’s a list of some of the showstopping brands, from a marketers perspective, that were outstanding this year:
Groom Like The King
AMERICAN CREW upped their game this year with a crowd-pleasing theme of “The King” himself, Elvis Presley. What a great icon who was known for his sexy hair & enticing hips to base the entire show around. Utilizing the same booth as years past, CREW went all out in a very cost effective way.
With minimal updated imagery to include Elvis, the biggest showstopping moment was during the show. The runway was lined by 1950s screaming fangirls dressed as the perfect Elvis-loving teens in poodle skirts and high ponytails tied off with ribbons. Every model walking the runway had a perfectly styled “cool guy” pompadour. AMERICAN CREW also featured a tribute to athletes of that time by continuing into a second portion of the show highlighting versatile hairstyles, abs, abs and more abs. The audience couldn’t help but smile while watching the entire spectacle.
Additionally, in the booth, the brand was selling a kit of select pomades. They were the same products as always, but stylists had incentive to purchase because the updated packaging to include a picture of Elvis. They also were not selling the products individually, which was a very smart sales tactic. If a stylist wanted their favorite CREW pomade with Elvis’ picture, they had to purchase the entire kit at a higher price point, a great way to move products. All in all, it was a perfectly executed, well-rounded promotion. Kudos to CREW!!
Learn more about Crew’s awesome products here.
#GETSMASHED with COLORSMASH… I sure did!
COLORSMASH, of Condition Culture, has been around since 2010 but each year focuses on a separate product line (Featherlocks, Knotties, to name a couple). A few years ago, COLORSMASH’s temporary hair color was in the form of chalk. A huge success for Condition Culture, but they have certainly upped their game and now have temporary color in the form of hairspray!! Simply spray the color conservatively & see the color.
They currently have 3 colors available – Pink, Violet & Indigo. I purchased pink & LOVE it. My only comment (not necessarily a negative) is that the spray is a little on the stiff side, but you can brush through the spray after it has dried to smooth out the stiffness. As someone who loves the idea of having fun, different hair color but worries about the professionalism & permanence of it, this product is the perfect solution. If you couldn’t tell, I quickly became a huge fan!!
Now onto the important stuff… what lured me to the booth? It’s simple… #getsmashed. COLORSMASH had a crew of promoters with colorful hair (and bodies) walking the show floor with information on the products & coozies with water bottles with the simple & catchy hashtag, #getsmashed. It’s clever, playful & fun. What’s great about this hashtag is that it goes beyond this show & can be used by COLORSMASH fans forever. And from a show perspective, it was perfect to catch attendees’ interest & see what the brand had to offer. In the booth, COLORSMASH featured small-scale demos giving show attendees personal attention to demonstrate how the products work. It felt more hands on & exciting… a nice change from the large, theatrical displays.
Not only is the product unique on it’s own to entice industry leaders to purchase, COLORSMASH provided incentive to purchase more than one bottle by offering a promotion of 1 color for $10 or if you buy 3, it’s only $25.
COLORSMASH had it all at Premiere. An awesome product, fantastic group of individuals to bring people to the booth, a hands on experience once at the booth & to top it off an fun-loving hashtag to match its product.
Learn more about Color Smashed NEW color hairspray here.
A skate park? At a beauty show? Why not!
Talk about drawing attention & standing out from the crowd! Peter Coppola’s skate park display was alternative, exciting and FUN! They created an atmosphere that drew people in by the action, but in the end, everyone thought – wow, his hair still looks GREAT after all of that skating!
From a marketing standpoint, whoever is behind the Peter Coppola’s branding is a genius in my book. The simplistic design matched with super engaging textures is excellent. The #coppolacrew was on point! The alternative promotion of Coppola’s #hairshowhalfpipe was perfectly executed with a combination of attention grabbing, education, and product promotion. Two thumbs up from my standpoint!
Learn more about Peter Coppola’s professional styling products here.
SPECIAL SHOUTOUT TO MODERN SALON!!
There was one publication that stood out from the rest, in my opinion. I’m already a fan of Modern Salon, but they blew it up this year!! Editors were LIVE on Facebook during the entire show updating fans on all of the exciting new products & brands at the show. They brought the show home for many stylists that couldn’t attend and it was AWESOME!!
Check out Modern Salon’s Facebook page here to catch up on their favorites from the show.
That’s it for today! I’d love to hear what you thought of the show. Comment here or on Facebook/Instagram on some of your favorite brands, products or marketing techniques you saw at the show!
Xoxo,
Laura of Allo