Ep. 170 – BEST BACK TO SCHOOL CAMPAIGN EVER? 💈💈 ===> GUEST: Lisa Hake, VP Mktg GREAT CLIPS (4400 locations!!) – How They Turned ‘Glow-Up’, ‘Fire’, ‘Lit’ Into Epic Database Growth!

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Welcome to do this, not that, the podcast for marketers. You'll walk away from each episode with actionable tips you can test immediately.

You'll hear from the best minds in marketing who will share tactics, quick wins, and pitfalls to avoid. Also, dig into life, pop culture, and the chaos that is our everyday. I'm Jay Schwedelson. Let's do this, not that.

We are here for do this, not that, and this is going to be fun. We have Lisa Hakey here from Great Clips.

Now, before I tell you about Lisa, I have to tell you, I looked in the mirror this morning as I was getting ready to go to work. I was like, oh, my God, I need a haircut. Because I couldn't get out of my mind. I was talking to Lisa today, and I don't know.

It's stressful to me, but. All right, so let me tell you about Lisa. Lisa is the vice president of marketing and communications at Great Clips.

Thank you, Jay. Thanks for having me. And by the way, you have great flow. That's. That's a style. Now. That's a style.

Wait a minute. That's like an official statement coming from you. I feel like you have. You're the authority. That you could say, there we go.

It's more of the style. Our stylists are the authority.

I have a question on this, which is totally off topic and terrible. Like, you're walking around your office. Not you, but anybody. Like, can you have bad hair day at your company or is that, like, not good?

Yeah, I mean, everyone has a bad hair day, right? But, yeah, they will get ripped a little. It's time to get in for a haircut. So.

Oh, my goodness. Like, you can't even wear a hat there. You got to step it up. All right, all right.

Before we get into, we're going to talk about the most epic back to school campaign. I think every marker that's listening, like, oh, my goodness, I need to try to do something like this in my organization.

Before we get to that, Lisa, how did Lisa become Lisa? What is. What is your origin story?

Oh, let's see. Well, I grew up in Wisconsin, but moved to Nebraska when I was in high school. So I graduated with my undergrad from the University of Nebraska.

Go Huskers. Still rooting for them. And then moved Here after undergrad and I've worked for a variety of big brands here. Started Pillsbury 3M.

Started my own business for a while that I ended up becoming a franchisor, so. So it's a retail based business. Then left that business, ended up going to Best Buy. Spent nine years in retail with Best Buy.

Had some great experiences, lots of different roles there. My last three years I would lead marketing for the Geek Squad.

So went through a whole brand transformation with the Geek Squad on the services side of the Best Buy business model, and then got a call from great clips, met the great people here.

Love the brand, love the company, the values, everything that they stood for enabled me to get back into that world of franchising, which I really admire and appreciate. And yeah, I've been here ever since. It's been seven years.

Well, that's an amazing story.

And what I most got out of that is that if I ever have computer problems or my TV's not working, I'm going to call you because you basically just said you were in the Geek Squad. I mean, that's what I got out of that.

Yeah, I often, you know, joke about that. I know nothing about technology, but I did. I was on the marketing side, remember, the brand side, not the agency side.

You could combine your entire career and get like the flow. Be a thing where you cut the hair like the vacuum. That would be like everything all in one.

Yeah, there's something there, something there.

All right, let's get into. Can you share with us this epic Back to School campaign that you all just launched? What's it about?

Because I want to dig into what I think is one of the best marketing plans ever.

Well, thank you, I appreciate that. But yeah, I'd love to talk about it. So Back to School season is a major inflection point for our brand and our franchisees.

It's one of our biggest drive times of the year. Parents and kids all need a haircut leading into Back to School.

So we put a significant emphasis on creating a very integrated and engaging marketing campaign that, you know, every year we try to tap into the trends and insights that are being felt by our customers. And our customers during Back to School are busy parents with school children. And we had really great success last year. We worked with Walker Hayes.

He actually wrote a song and it was nothing fresher than a haircut. And it became our anthem for Back to School. We worked with Walker and his wife and six kids all getting their hair cut.

And so we wanted to lean into that idea again.

And so we were brainstorming and really trying to get ourselves into the mindset of that busy school age parent which luckily many of my team fits that that demographic, including myself.

And what we realized is what we the common theme I guess we notice is that more than ever kids are using slang phrases and parents are struggling to understand what the heck their kids even are saying or mean by that. And we dug into a lot of research around that and you know, it's fascinating, you know.

So we morning consult did a research study show showing that Gen Alpha children, 30% of their parents say they have no idea what they're saying. They have to actually look up on Google what they're saying.

And so we centered our whole campaign around this notion of helping parents understand their Gen Z Gen Alpha kids so that they can get the look they want and the confidence they need leaning into that, leading into that back to day or back to school, school day. So we love collaboration, we love, you know, finding ways to really tap into the conversation that's happening.

And so centering around this Gen Z slang is, is where we focused, we worked with three influencers.

So these are teachers who create content all around Gen Alpha, Gen Z slang because they're in, they're, you know, working with kids day in, day out, they know what they're saying and then they create this really fun, engaging TikTok, YouTube, Instagram content on the topic. So we worked with these three teachers and then we also worked with Joey Fatone who happens to be a father, a 14 father of a 14 year old daughter.

Her name is Chloe and you know, also very famous for being the member of NSync, you know, the most popular boy band at the time when now these parents of Gen Z children and Gen Alpha children were, you know, really into that music, that boy band music. So, so it was great.

So he's relatable, he's relatable in not just the sense that they're fans of his, but he also, he doesn't understand what his daughter Chloe is saying half the time either.

And so we brought them into our salon, they got haircuts and created some great content that really reinforced how parents are struggling to understand their kids and that you know, families are really in the right place at great clips to ensure they're going to get the right the haircut their kids want. And it incorporated these students, slang translators, these teacher influencers in helping Joey translate what Chloe was saying in the moment.

So, so I want to know something.

I want to know something. So you get Joy Fatone on board. And you're like, we have this great idea.

We're going to make this like, slang dictionary so that way parents can understand what their kids are saying. So when it's time to get their haircut, go in, everyone can communicate.

So you're in that meeting at your offices and do you guys start firing off slang? Like, do you know if somebody's like, okay, let's conclude the word like fire or whatever?

Like, how well were you able to participate in that discussion?

Oh my gosh, it was hilarious. Because I'm not able to participate at all. I'm beyond that even. My youngest son is 17.

And so luckily we work with great agencies and a lot of younger Gen Z team members to help us pull this all together. But I would bring home the content, as I always do, and have my son react to it.

And half the time he told me how cringy I was and how, you know, there's no way you're going to use that term in your marketing. And so it was great, though. It was great. I'd bring it back and I'd say, nope, my 17 year old does not approve of this. We are not using this.

You have your own focus group. They do all this work and then you come back to the office of the next day. Guys glow up is fine, but mid is no longer going to work.

Exactly. Yeah. It was Riz. He was like, you cannot use that. No, no, no, no, that's true.

Because, okay, so my kids are 16 and 17, so I try to also keep up. And so I'm at dinner the other night and I try to drop one of these words every once in a while. So I dropped Riz.

And my daughter goes, what are you saying? I'm like, riz, first of all, you can't say that, period. And it's no longer something anybody says.

No, yeah, yeah. And that's, that's something that's. That we learned as well. You know, it. The Gen Z gentle fussling.

It changes as soon as it's int know, you got to stay ahead of it. You got to stay on top of it. And, and the meaning of these words change as well. They just take on a life of their own. So it has been fun.

Okay, so I. Amazing. You make this slang dictionary. Okay, but how do we.

And, and also, I think it's epically smart that the most important haircut any young person has in any calendar year is the back to school haircut. That's the haircut that's going to define your status in school. Period of an end of story.

So how did you take all of this and turn it into a database growth event? A way to capture information like what did you actually do?

Yeah.

So I mean, it's one thing to draw attention to our campaign and get social engagement and all of that interaction, but we really wanted to bring people in and have them engage with great clips. I mean, ultimately we want them to go get a haircut. Right? You know, the parents, their kids, the whole family.

Wow.

And so people had to go and we worked with Marigold on this experience and people went to this experience to register to get this free haircut offer. So in less than three hours, we sold out of all 24,000. Free haircut offer. Yes, yes. So very fast.

And then we wanted to back that up with another offer. Right. I mean, it's a really stressful time period, especially from inflationary budgetary price pressure standpoint.

So parents are looking for deals, they're looking for bargains. And so we wanted to give that offer as well. So a lot of our salons are offering discounts and deals leading into back to school.

But we wanted to do something that drove that engagement to two great clips. And so we had, we have the slang dictionary on the site, but we also had a pop quiz for parents to test their slang knowledge.

Oh, no.

It's a five question survey. And for completing the survey, you get a $5 off haircut coupon.

And so you opt into that coupon, it's delivered to your email, the single use coupon code. And what's been great is We've had 300,000 so far in the first two weeks of the campaign. 300,000 completions of that pop quiz.

And half of those people who have completed the pop quiz have opted into email. That's great. We are growing the email and that's just two weeks in and this campaign runs through Labor Day. So it's great to see.

That is amazing. So let me ask you. That's. I love that. And first of all, I'm a huge fan of quizzes. I think it's an underutilized tool.

Regardless of what size marketer you are. It's an underutilized tool because everybody loves to the gamification. It's not boring. You're involved.

So I'm curious though, like, can you use the that, that zero party data that you're getting that people are giving you about their interests and things to now turn around and personalize future offers. Is that part of the plan?

Yeah, I mean, that's the ultimate goal. Right. We want to know who our customers are in a deeper fashion so that we can send them more relatable content.

And so that, you know, we know that, you know, obviously this is more likely to be a family with children engaging in our back to school content. Engaging in, yeah, this gamification and all that. So it's all about building these channels.

We've been on kind of a focus to build these owned channels over time to start gathering this, you know, getting deeper first party data, getting that zero party data so that we can really streamline and personalize that relationship with our customers. Absolutely.

You know, another, another tactic that I think that you all did that I think is super smart. And again, regardless of what size markers out there is, you had an offer and you, you probably knew is going to get taken advantage of very fast.

People are going to jump on it. But then you had a piggyback offer that was like, listen, sorry you missed it, but here's something, and I don't think that enough marketers do that.

And, and really, as you're describing, everything that ultimately was the thing that grew your database. Right. That was really the big win.

However, we just, we don't have a lot of benchmarking around. You know, what, what's going to happen? What's the reaction going to be? So it's continuing to test and learn in those types of areas.

But yeah, having that backup offer which we know is appealing, we know people engage in was really important to the campaign.

And so in general, like when you think about email, I know this is a ridiculous thing to say, but I think about getting my haircut. I don't think about, oh, what's my email relationship with where I got my haircut, which of course I get my haircut at Great Clips.

But is there, what type of content in general, put aside this campaign, but what type of content does Great Clips really put out there related to getting a haircut besides for just saying here's a discount, go for it.

Right? Yeah. I mean the offers are one component of it.

We know who our customers are, we know when they come in to get a haircut so we have predictive modeling that suggests when they should come back for a haircut. And we know when we've missed that haircut, and when you miss that haircut, you're not getting it back.

So, you know, for us, it's about keeping that customer engaged in between those haircuts so that we're always top of mind. We're or adding value. They're understanding the value that we deliver.

So a lot of times it will be offers, but in other times, it will just be content, and we'll reach out to them. We'll show up in their inbox when we know they're due for a haircut or when they're coming up for a haircut.

Can we even get them in it, you know, a week earlier? We know our customers wait too long. That's one thing they tell us all the time. They put off that haircut, they wait too long.

So, you know, being in there to remind them, hey, it's time for a haircut check in now. But then in between that, we do product offers, we do product features, we showcase different haircut trends.

We do a lot of gift guides and trend guides around haircuts, just because we are the authority when it comes to haircuts, hair products, all of that. And so we can provide a lot of really useful information to our customers that is engaging.

Actually, I was just looking the other day at some Google keyword trends and men's haircuts and keyword searches around men's haircuts in general, over two times more frequent than women's haircuts. And that's because. I think it's because men get their hair cut more frequently. They're less likely to talk to each other about it.

And so they're looking for advice and guidance on, you know, the latest trends and styles. So why aren't we. Why don't we be the source of that information for our customers?

That is wild. You know, and I also think that men, maybe I'm wrong, are more open to switching.

You know, sometimes I feel like if I said to my wife, you know, why don't you go over here? It's less of a drive. She's like, no, I've been with this person. Like, it's like they're relative almost. You know, where. Yes, guy.

It's like, who has availability? That's where I'm going. If I don't look ridiculous. I don't know. That's. That's terrible. Probably.

Yeah, I think. And, you know, the hair is shorter, right? It Grows back. If you don't love it, you'll. You can change it again in another six weeks.

So let me ask you a question. So you mentioned, you know, your Martech stack. You use Marigold for a lot of this stuff. Do you also leverage, like SMS or is email it for you all?

For now, we're using. We're really focused on our email channel as well as our app channel. And we do a lot with push notifications.

We do a little bit with sms, but not from the marketing lens at this point. That's a whole nother conversation. However, push notifications is a really big, engaging channel for our customers.

You know, the majority of our customers are using our app. They're engaging with our app because they can check in, they can check wait times before that haircut. And so.

So leveraging that to provide messaging to customers is a big way we do that. But I would say email is even bigger right now.

Wow, that's amazing. I love hearing that because everyone's always like, email's legacy, blah, blah, blah, whatever.

But it is the workhorse of all things marketing, right? It really is. It is crazy. All right, well, this has been amazing.

I think the thing that I love the most about what you all do, because this is not the only campaign you've done like this, is that in this world of AI where it's like, how do we leverage AI and do this, do that, you all are getting in there and saying, you know, how do we be relatable? How do we matter? Forget about. I mean, yeah, I'm sure you leverage AI for all sorts of stuff, but how do you market, like, a human to a human?

Is that like, kind of the vibe internally?

Absolutely. I mean, we know our customers, we know what they care about. We know what is important to them, especially when it comes to getting a haircut.

And we know that at any given moment, most customers aren't looking for, like you mentioned your wife. They're not looking for a new place to get a haircut. So how do we break through? How do we tap into these cultural moments?

How do we, you know, really dig into the mindset of what's important at that given point in time to be relevant and to be part of the conversation and to provide something that's going to really arrest attention and get people to engage? I think that's the biggest thing we focus on 100%.

All right, before we wrap up, you need to tell me one slang term that you now feel is, like, in your arsenal that you maybe weren't using. Before this whole campaign because I'm going to steal it and I'm going to use it. So I'm ready.

Oh, gosh, let's see. It's definitely not bruh, because I hear that way, way too much. Oh, I guess the one that really stood out to me was caught in 4k.

Caught in 4k.

Caught in four k. Like you did something instead of caught red handed. It's you were caught in 4K.

Oh, I'm gonna say that at home tonight. I'm probably gonna get so shredded. I will try to. I will be reporting back on how that goes. I, I already don't feel like it's going to go well, but.

No, probably not. Probably not.

Listen, everybody, I want you to check out this campaign. You go to greatclips.com backtoschool and you get to check out Joy Fatone, which is the best. The campaign's amazing.

Lisa, I hope you come back on the show. We have so much more to talk about. This was so much fun. Thank you for being here.

Well, thank you, Jay. It was really great. I enjoyed it myself. So thank you. And yeah, check out the campaign. Get your $5 coupon and get into.

Great clips and go follow Lisa on LinkedIn. Lisa Hakey on LinkedIn spelled H A K E. Check her out. She's awesome. Thanks, Lisa.

Thank you, Jay.

You did it.

You made it to the end. Nice. But the party's not over.

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