A Partner in Business and in Life
At Janet St. Paul Studio for Hair and Beauty, Director of Operations Natasha McMillen helps bring her wife Janet St. Paul's vision to life, elevating every system from education to operations.
by Stacey Soble
The Making of A Holiday Card
Looking for a clever way to wish your clients a happy holiday? Check out this digital card from the Drybar, and learn how it was made from the company's founder Alli Webb.
December 22, 2011
3 min to read
With five locations in 12 states, the Drybar is one of the leaders in the professional blowout market, but it also is a sophisticated and savvy marketer. The company was launched a few years ago by Alli Webb, a TONI&GUY trained stylist who spent several years under the tutelage of New York’s John Sahag. But Webb also spent several years in public relations, working with clients such as Faith Hill, Keith Urban and Paul McCartney.
To get a sense of the professionalism of the Drybar brand, one needs only to take a peek at its color-branded website with its animated menu, clever icons and fun sense of humor.
Last week, I was excited when a friend of mine (and a Drybar client) forwarded me a copy of the salon’s digital holiday card. Without saying a word, Alli, several staff members, and Buttercup, the chain’s mascot yellow blowdryer, harmoniously wish clients a happy holiday.
I was intrigued and wanted to share the card with SALON TODAY readers, thinking it would inspire them to start planning next year’s marketing efforts. So, I reached out to Alli with a few questions about how the video greeting card was produced:
ST: How did you come up with the blowdry caroling card?
Alli: “My husband Cameron came up with the idea for the video. He is the creative mind behind our marketing and branding. Before Drybar, he worked in advertising as a creative director and wrote commercials for Mercedes-Benz, BMW and most recently Jack-in-the-Box. Have you seen those? They are hilarious.”
ST: Did you shoot the video yourself or have a professional crew?
Alli: “Cameron shot and edited the video himself, as well as decorated the trees, wrapped the presents, bought the clothes, hung the stars, etc. He’s quite talented. In fact, he shot all of the videos on our website. (Check out all the videos at thedrybar.com/videos.)”
ST: How did you get the blowdryers to play the tune?
Alli: “Getting the blowdryers to play actually was made possible by a very talented musician named Gabe Sokoloff. He took the sound of a single blowdryer, then multiplied and pitch-shifted it into a sound effects program to create the tune. We then played this song at the shoot (over and over) while the sylists tapped their brushes to the beat.”
ST: Who is featured in the video? Are these actual staff members?
Alli: “Featured in the video are myself directing the carolers; Rudy Espinoza, one of our shop managers; Armen Apelian, one of our fab stylists; Roxanne Anderson, our CA regional manager; Sarah Landau, my sister-in-law and spirit director; and Karly Holden, our newest support center addition.”
ST: How did you distribute and what has been the response?
Alli: We posted the video on Twitter and Facebook, as well as sent it out to all our clients. The response was so great. We’ve had many positive e-mails coming back to us. A lot of work went into this, and it was nice to see how much our customers appreciated it!”
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