How Great Clips' National Marketing Partnership with the NHL Helps Franchisees

Last year, Great Clips hit the ice as the Official Hair Salon of the National Hockey League during the playoff season. This year, the leading salon brand kicked its multi-year NHL partnership up a notch, gaining over 70 million impressions through the successful “LegendHairy Greats” campaign.

It’s easy to see why the creative campaign was the talk of the nation, especially on social media. After all, unique hairstyles have been a key element of hockey for decades, with styles like “the cotton candy,” “the tsunami” and “the portobello” runners-up to the ever-classic mullet.

“One of the reasons we’re so excited about the ‘LegendHairy Greats’ campaign is the connection the program has with hockey culture. Hockey hair is a popular and growing topic amongst hockey fans and players, so we’ve been able to authentically connect our brand to this conversation to drive engagement among fans,” said Heather Leiferman, Director of Communications at Great Clips.

Throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Great Clips invited hockey fans to vote for their favorite player hairstyles in a clever bracket-style playoff, as well as tweet the most iconic game-stopping #HockeyHair moments. Great Clips aimed to help fans connect with the league’s hairy personalities and fellow fans through social media—while simultaneously driving business to franchise salon locations.

In addition to drumming up online engagement, Great Clips issued a call to action: Go get your own hockey haircut. The campaign increased brand awareness and steered customers into the brand’s 4,400 franchisee-owned salons.

“One major component of the campaign is the #hockeyhaircontest where fans are encouraged to share their fresh new cut on social for a chance to win free haircuts for a year and a signed NHL jersey,” explained Leiferman. “While our partnerships and campaigns are national in reach, we’re laser-focused on leveraging assets and opportunities for our franchisees to bring these programs to life in their local markets to drive sales.”

Great Clips has been pleased with the 2019 campaign so far. Executed across online, social media and broadcast news channels and advertised across its thousands of salons, the campaign has generated 25 stories to the tune of 74.7 million impressions, increasing awareness and extending the conversation.

Publications that have covered LegendHairy Greats include: Forbes, Star Tribune, USA Today For the Win, SB Nation, Front Office Sports, Chicago Sun Times, Sports Business Journal, Sports Business Sponsorship, and the Minneapolis Egotist, among others. Additionally, sports industry influencers such as freelance journalist Alicia Jessop (17,300 followers) and Barry Janoff of NY Sports Journalism have shared the campaign on social media.

National campaigns designed to drive business to Great Clips franchise salons are just getting started. Earlier this year, Great Clips announced its status as “Official Retail Salon Partner” in a new alliance with the X-Games and unveiled a new advertising campaign called “Good to Great.” This diversity of campaigns reaches a wide variety of customers across the country.

“These programs allow us to connect with passionate fan bases, while also demonstrating how our salons and their stylists can provide quick and easy haircuts to meet anyone’s style and personality,” said Leiferman.

Indeed, Great Clips’ creative mixed-media marketing strategies set the industry pace for leveraging influential star-power—all while remaining “laser-focused” on growing business at the individual salon level.

The total investment to open a Great Clips salon ranges from $136,900 to $259,400. For more information, visit https://www.greatclipsfranchise.com/.