When your client is a guest in your chair, she also is a captive audience. Savvy marketers use this in-salon time to communicate their marketing messages direct to the client. Examples include mirror and shelf talkers, window signage and merchadising displays. In-Salon Marketing is the promotion of your message using communication within your four walls, or on your building's exteriors.

The 2022 STAMP (SALON TODAY Annual Marketing Program) recognized 37 honorees in 21 categories, with four of those winners in the In-Salon Category. Presented in a Show-and -Tell style, these proven marketing strategies are ripe for borrowing, adapting to your own business and using in your own market.  The competition awarded marketing and promotional ideas in five overall categories: Traditional Marketing, Digital Marketing, Campaigns, Branded Salon Materials, and In-Salon Marketing. To break it up and make these online stories a little easier to digest, we are presenting each category as a separate story. 

This story looks at the successful marketing ideas that take place within a salon's four walls, or in one case, on its windows!

In-Salon Merchandising Display

Remembering Oribe

Headlines the Salon
Encinitas, California
Owners: Gayle Fulbright and David Linde
With the relaunch of Oribe’s iconic Dry Texture Spray--complete with Oribe Canales’ Muscleman photo on the can--Headlines decided to do a big, in-salon promotion celebrating the brand and the man behind it. During the month-long campaign, the salon paid homage to Oribe’s legacy by displaying photos of his legendary work over four decades with the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Cindy Crawford and Madonna. 
“We started off the month with a special launch of the Dry Texture Spray, complete with ‘Spin the Wheel’ specials and discounts on all Oribe products,” Linde says. “Our Oribe brand ambassador Katie provided sweets and snacks, as well as giveaway Oribe gift bags. Clients and team members had so much fun with all the excitement of the unique giveaways, and we sold more than $22,000 in Oribe products in that month.”

In-SALON PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN

All About the Brows

Interlocks
Newburyport, Massachusetts
Owner: Ginny Eramo

While Interlocks has offered brow tinting since 2019, many new and existing clients were unaware that the service is offered right at the sink during salon services, and not just in the spa. 

Marketing Manager Amy Pirro designed these mirror clings that feature the add-on service with an eye-catching metallic gold foil accent on the brows. “Since implementing this simple feature this year, we have achieved a 350% increase in service volume per month for brow tinting,” says Eramo. 

Skinny Beverage Menu

Jiva Salonspa
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Owner: Bill Bradford

When the salon’s guest-facing beverage bar needed a revamp, so did the salon’s beverage menu. Owner Bill Bradford recognized an opportunity to create a multi-faceted marketing piece that would become a go-to for the client. 

As an environmentally-minded salon, it was important that the menu have a minimal global footprint. Bradford had 10”x 4” boards stained to match the salon aesthetic, then drilled holes to insert elastic that held the binding of the menu in place. The paper used has a waterproof sheen that helped the salon reduce print quality because the material would withstand the test of time. 

Leafing through the menu, guests can find information on hair extensions, add-on services, online gift cards, the salon’s referral program, a $20 gift to try a new service, product advertisements, a gift guide, the salon’s Refer-an-Artist program and a complete list of seasonal beverages.

“We have these located at the Welcome Desk, at our Experience Center, on the end tables in our spa and at each service station,” Bradford says. “We’ve heard nothing but positive things since we launched it and they’ve been very helpful in communicating seasonal offerings, as well as promoting services and products.” 

SALON EXTERIORS

Let Your Beauty Shine

Ruiz Salon
Austin, Texas
Owners: Heath Smith and Allen Ruiz

On any given day, Ruiz Salon’s West End location alone has more than 250,000 cars passing daily, so the owners determined their best marketing opportunity was to revamp the exterior appeal. Working with Imaginal Marketing Group, the salon designed external window clings that would grab the attention of their loyal guests and attract new prospects. 

“We wanted an elevated design that matched our branding and fashion-forward services. We kept the models diverse to represent our salon guests, and included language that celebrates an individual’s unique beauty,” Smith says. “Overall, we spent $9,450 having the clings created, and we love how the windows look, the visual impact and wow-factor they have, and the feedback we’ve received from our neighbors and guests.”

CHECK OUT THE OTHER STAMP WINNERS FOR 2022:

Traditional Marketing

Digital Marketing

Campaigns

Branded Salon Materials