Brief:
- Sally Beauty received 1,157 applications for a spot on its first #SallyCrew team of beauty influencers, and now is asking social media users to help choose the finalists. Each participant through March 13 can share a video on Instagram explaining why they're uniquely qualified to be an brand ambassador for the beauty chain, according to an announcement.
- Instagram users are encouraged to express their enthusiasm for their favorite prospective influencers with posts that use the #SallyCrew and #SallyBeauty hashtags.
- Sally Beauty plans to select 25 semi-finalists who will be asked to promote products on their social platforms and showcase how they can demonstrate the "power of pro" to achieve professional results at home. The company will select the final #SallyCrew members in May.
Insight:
Sally Beauty is entering the next stage of its campaign to recruit a team of brand ambassadors after seeking applicants of loyal fans through its website. The influencer program can help the company tap into a popular category of creator content on social platforms like Instagram and YouTube. More than 70% of Instagram users have made fashion, beauty or style purchases after seeing an item on the platform, with makeup as a top category, a survey by Dana Rebecca Designs found.
Sally Beauty's effort to create its first team of influencers and brand ambassadors is part of this year's rebrand and nationwide campaign to reach consumers directly instead of targeting salon professionals. The chain aims to boost online sales amid growing competition from online retailers like Amazon, which last year opened a digital storefront for salon professionals.
Last month, Sally Beauty expanded its digital leadership team with the hiring of Kevin Metz as VP of e-commerce and Vanathy Lakshmi as VP of digital product, per a separate announcement. Metz previously was chief marketing and digital officer at jewelry retailer Stuller, and also held e-commerce jobs at Ulta Beauty and Yankee Candle. Lakshmi previously was senior director of digital product at Walmart, and also has worked at Pier 1.
Sally Beauty in the past year has focused on mobile marketing efforts to reach the next generation of beauty shoppers, whose buying habits differ from those of older generations. The company last year started a mobile-first strategy that included a redesigned website and the ability to shop from its Instagram feed. In November, it expanded its ColorView AI Technology to let customers virtually sample hair color and cosmetics before buying them online or in stores. Sally Beauty's mobile and digital efforts appear to be paying off, with e-commerce sales rising 27.4% in Q4 2019 from a year earlier, the company reported in November.
