• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, September 27, 2007

Alloy Media + Marketing's urban and multicultural division, Alloy Access, is launching an out-of-home ad network targeting African-American and Hispanic consumers via barbershops and salons. The launch coincides with the expansion of an existing agreement with Mac-Gray, which operates a national chain of laundry facilities at colleges across the country.

The barbershop and salon agreement with the Black Owned Beauty Supply Association opens up potential relationships with all 1,700 of its members. At launch, the network includes 400 venues in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Alloy plans to double this number by the end of 2008. Touting their desirability as ad venues, Alloy Access executives noted the popularity of these businesses as points of social congregation in the African-American and Hispanic communities.

Tru Pettigrew, the president of Alloy Access, remarked: "We have always recognized and utilized meaningful channels to connect our clients with the multicultural audience, and with the establishment of our barbershop and salon network, we are now fully leveraging these spaces to engage audiences in an environment where they feel comfortable."

The Mac-Gray agreement allows Alloy Access to expand its out-of-home network to include more than 1,000 colleges and universities nationwide. Alloy is installing "laundry boards" in roughly 1,600 college laundry facilities--areas also known for their mix of business and socializing.

Reinforcing the multicultural network, the deal will also give Alloy entrée to 1,000 community laundromats concentrated in Hispanic and African-American neighborhoods.

Among the advertisers already using the out-of-home network at laundry facilities is Washington Mutual, which is running a campaign in 100. Rockport is one of the inaugural advertisers for the barbershop and salon network.