AA salons are opening sacred spaces and providing movie studios with the red carpet treatment.
It’s not a mainstream idea to market in these venues, but beauty and barber shops do have the mainstream appeal of word-of-mouth marketing. Studios, networks and brands that are willing to step outside of traditional media and engage the African-American community with authentic messaging will find that monetizing these spaces is worth the effort. When it gets right down to it, studios and networks have always had challenges reaching the core African-American consumer out of home, and, until now, most failed to grasp the power and influence of black salons and barbershop within the black culture and community.
But consider this:
According to Nielsen, African Americans drive 85% of ethnic hair and beauty purchases.
Not only are these consumers powerful on their own, they also have an innate ability to influence the general market consumers. They are 81% more likely than any other group to influence what others listen to and wear. When they find a product they love, they are the first to spread the word. In fact, 74% say they recommend products that have worked for them.
For these reasons, black barbershops and salons have now become the great equalizer when it comes to connecting brand messages to the African-American community.
With streaming wars intensifying and the movie landscape rapidly shifting, entertainment companies are adding non-traditional media to the mix that cut to the core of their target audience. Not only are studios launching channels with exclusive new original programming, they are producing content that resonates with African-American audiences. And they need new, creative ways to ensure that this content is reaching the right audiences.
The African American salon experience is unique, and it creates a unique opportunity to connect with this coveted audience on a more personal and emotional level. That makes these shops prime destinations that consistently delivers a captive loyal consumer.
Media companies that embrace and reflect African-American culture within their advertising messages will have the most success with this consumer, but to achieve this, they will need to consistently craft culturally relevant, experiential campaigns that align with beauty salon influencers.
African-Americans are consuming media in more ways than ever before, but the marketing pathways for reaching them are still limited. By joining forces with beauty venues that serve as sacred places for African-Americans, the entertainment industry has a great opportunity to reach people where they are, To do so, they must be fully invested in the idea and treat the marketing they do in beauty salons and barbershops as integral to their overall brand strategy.
Photo by Edgar Chaparro on Unsplash
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