• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, August 2, 2023

For Great Clips, the back-to-school season is its busiest -- and it's launching a different kind of campaign this year so each of its 4,400 franchisees can makes the most of that time. The company is teaming up with country singer Walker Hayes, whose "Fancy Like" dance craze made him (and his kids) a lockdown legend. The campaign features "Haircut," a still-unreleased song the company hopes will have the same viral appeal. Lisa Hake, vice president of marketing and communications for the Minneapolis-based Great Clips, explains the effort.

Retail Insider: Let's start with the song, which goes, "Girl, you got me feeling fresher than a haircut at the strip mall." Are you hoping it might be as big as "Fancy Like," which gave Applebee's such a big boost?

Lisa Hake: I would call it serendipity. We had been talking about the back-to-school campaign, and our research had turned up data about how self-conscious kids are heading into the first day of school. Parents also felt that having a good haircut can help kids overcome those insecurities and give them that boost of confidence. We started talking about celebrity influencers and focused on Walker Hayes because he is such an involved dad and so popular on TikTok.

When we reached out to him, his agent came back to us and said, "Not only would Walker love to work with your team, but he also has this unreleased 'Haircut’ song, and he'll let you use it."  And it became an integral part of our campaign.

Retail Insider: The campaign just started. When will the song be released?

Hake: It's in the hands of the entertainment company. We're just waiting and hoping. If it doesn't hit during the back-to-school period, that's fine. The song will be relevant to our business all year long.

Retail Insider: Hayes is an interesting choice. Country music, by genre, is one of the least popular, especially among young people.

Hake: We approached this by looking at social channels We wanted it to be a TikTok-first campaign, and Hayes' following there is huge. His family is also important—he's got six kids, who are very much a part of his authentic dad appeal. It's not just Hayes that resonates with listeners.  It's his entire family. And we're putting our paid dollars behind reaching busy parents, which will get their attention. We do just as many adult haircuts as kids during this season.

And to reach people who aren't likely to see this, we're also working with some other key influencers.

Retail Insider: Your business is run by franchisees. Do you need their sign-off for a campaign like this?

Hake: We do start early with franchisees. We share our brief with them and show them creative and directional ideas. We're very collaborative, and the response to this campaign has been great. It's especially resonated with our stylists. They like being part of this bigger brand and a cultural moment with plenty of buzz on TikTok. It's been fun to see that.

Retail Insider: Besides selling more haircuts, what are you hoping this campaign accomplishes?

Hake: This is a broad awareness-driving campaign for us, so it's all about the impressions. We've already seen many reposts, shares, comments and engagements, starting with Hayes' followers. In terms of earned media, it's already got 60% more stories than we had last year, with a campaign focusing on quarterback Drew Brees and his family. We're really happy with the impressions so far.

Retail Insider: Can you say how much you're spending?

Hake: No. But it's our third-biggest campaign of the year, after our NCAA March Madness and the NHL Stanley Cup.