CAROLINE FISH
CASE STUDIES
Turning barbers into brand advocates for Gillette.
The African American barber has a very special relationship with his customer. He’s a style expert, a skin care expert, an artist and a confidant. He’s an integral part of his community.
As part of Gillette’s effort to increase market share among AA men, we proposed building an authentic relationship with the AA barber as a path to influence the consumer.
We created an integrated digital, experiential and CRM program—the Gillette Barber Connection—to establish and deepen that relationship.
The pilot program launched with a robust presence at an influential trade show in Atlanta, with real-time video updates on Facebook. Watch the wrap-up video here.
Barbers were thrilled that Gillette was finally reaching out to them and showing them the respect they feel they deserve. The pilot program instilled a sense of trust in the Gillette brand and created new brand evangelists. Based on the success of the pilot, Gillette agreed to the development of a comprehensive, national Barber Engagement platform.
Articulating the nuances of a brand promise.
Lowe’s brand positioning, Never Stop Improving, was built on the insight that inspiration is the key that sparks home improvement. As with all brands, though, it means different things to different people.
To the African American consumer, Never Stop Improving takes on a more emotional, family-oriented meaning. For this audience, their home is a reflection of who they are—it represents who they are to the world. To their families, to their neighbors, to their community.
Another important distinction is that for AAs, homeownership is a more recent phenomenon. African Americans have begun owning homes in large numbers only since the 1960s. As a result, they don’t have the same kind of familiarity and experience with DIY projects as general market consumers do. There’s a real feeling of anxiety and lack of confidence among AAs when they approach home improvement.
These insights informed our communications to this market for Lowe’s – reinterpreting the brand promise for this particular audience.
Creating a cross-cultural phenomenon.
In 2007, Reggaeton was just beginning to make headway in the music world. Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” was being played on mainstream radio stations. We decided to co-opt this emerging musical genre and use its cultural currency to connect Cablevision with Latinos and general audiences throughout the New York area.
The result was a fun, catchy, direct response TV campaign that became the most successful campaign in Cablevision’s history. And to date, its response rate has not been beat.
Watch more of the campaign here.