There’s nothing quite like a crisis to spur marketing creativity, and this year STAMP 2020 gave applicants an outlet to share the ingenuity through new COVID-19 categories that revolved around marketing products and gift cards and communicating with clients through the salon shutdown period. Here's Interlocks'' COVID-19 Client Communication campaign:

We Are in This Together
Interlocks 
Newburyport, MA
Owner: Ginny Eramo

When Interlocks decided to electively close its doors March 16 prior to Massachusetts’ mandate, Owner Ginny Eramo took to social media with a video plea to the industry to follow her lead and help flatten the curve—the video reached 34,000 views on Facebook and served as the foundation of Eramo’s continued representation of the beauty industry for the state in the development of reopening guidelines. 

Meanwhile to stay connected to guests and keep revenue coming into the salon, the marketing team launched the salon’s own online store through SquareSpace, offering nearly 600 products, as well as gift cards. To incentivize sales, the salon offered 15% off products throughout closure and 10% off gift cards in the month of April—as a result the online store generated $84,900 in product sales and $26,000 in gift card sales. 

Throughout the closure, the salon sought the team’s help to stay connected to guests. Many of the salon’s professionals did social media takeovers, filmed tutorials, and drafted Q&As—all of which were shared via emails, blogs, website updates and social media posts. In addition, the team made product recommendations, produced at-home tutorials and scheduled virtual consultations, all which supported product sales. 

The salon also tapped into a niche talent of one of its concierge team members to offer a 15-part Mini Morning Meditations through Facebook Lives. “Initially planned to end after a week, the series was extended twice, due to request and demand from our clients,” says Jordan Becker, director of marketing and business development. 

During the closure, the marketing and management teams brought clients timely, transparent and helpful information that detailed the safety precautions they were taking regarding reopening, explained why the salon wasn’t offering color to-go kits, and offered inspiration. 

“We also enlisted the help of local calligrapher Lauren Smith to help us share the message ‘We’re all in this together’ as a large rainbow window display,” Becker says. “Countless people see this everyday and a social post of the window gained traction on social media reaching 6,000 people. A subsequent photo of part of our team expressing enthusiasm for seeing their guests again also gained attention.”