Ever feel like you get the best ideas when you’re visiting museums, walking through nature, or standing in the shower? Well, our Creative Director has had some of her greatest flashes of inspiration whilst sat in the hairdressers. Hear us out.
That’s because it’s never just about the haircut. It’s also a space that relies on – and teaches us – valuable skills and lessons transferable to our everyday lives as B2B marketers. Skills like connection, vulnerability, communication and trust.
Taking inspiration from these fundamentals, here are 5 key lessons in B2B creativity, direct from the salon chair.
1. Be specific
In the hairdressers, you need to be able to communicate exactly what you want. And the more specific you can be, the better your chances of getting the vision you set out with.
It’s the difference between ‘can I have a haircut’, and ‘can I have a shoulder-length, layered cut, with chunky blond highlights, in the style of Rachel from Friends in the 90s.’
The same very much applies to B2B messaging. For example, brands will use a vague message like “grow your business”. However, if you say something like “double your conversion in 30 days”, the offering becomes far clearer, more tangible, and more likely to resonate. Look at the clarity in this message from Slack:
This level of specificity is also important if you plan on using humour in your messaging. The more relevant you are, the more you can show your audience that you understand their world, what they aspire to achieve, and the pain points that drive them mad.
2. Surprise them
Our creative director was in a hairdressers recently, when a boy asked if he could get a “Ron Weasley”. This certainly was a surprise, because Ron isn’t known for great hair.
But an outlandish request like this has the effect of making you sit up and notice.
In scientific circles, this is known as the Von Restorff effect: when multiple, similar stimuli are present, the one that differs from the rest is the more likely to be remembered. A perfect example of this is Umault’s ‘B2B never dies’ campaign; trust me, you won’t see the framing they choose for B2B marketing coming:
The same principle applies to language, too. Well-known phrases and idioms lull people into a sense of familiarity, so done right, a twist on a classic can grab their attention, fast:
3. Give them a picture to visualise
When he was 7, one of our writers admitted to taking a picture of the old Chelsea footballer Graeme Le Saux to the barbers.
He just really wanted a spiky fringe.
And it worked. Sometimes, it’s just far easier to show what you mean than to try and describe it. The same applies to your concepts; take this classic example from IBM as an example:
It doesn’t talk about digital transformation or efficiency. It’s giving you a tangible idea of what organised chaos looks like, and to consider how your current state of affairs could be improved.
Again, language can have the same effect as imagery. Concrete words lead to concrete ideas that let your audience picture something. And if they can picture it, they can remember it. Take this example:
The second option delivers such a more vibrant mental image and helps to sell the concept far more powerfully.
4. Be emotionally vulnerable
There’s an emotional vulnerability to being in the hairdressers. Have you ever left the salon in fear that the story you shared was too personal? Or maybe they told you a joke so funny that it goes straight into the WhatsApp group? Perhaps you left feeling like a 10/10, ready to take on the world.
The problem with much of B2B marketing is that it fails to register against any of these emotions. In a recent study conducted by System1, 60% of UK B2B viewers and 54% of the US audience felt nothing while watching B2B advertisements. This research also showed the financial cost of neutrality: neutral ads need 10x the spend to have the same impact as emotionally engaging ones.
Delving into the individual emotions, happiness has a better chance of driving long-term brand loyalty in your audience. If a piece of content makes you feel good, then it’s more memorable and effective at driving positive associations with the brand in question.
But all emotions have their place in B2B. Take this example from HappySignals:
It runs through the gauntlet of the classic challenger narrative: anger and frustration are presented first, then surprise with the shift into more positive feelings, leaving its audience with a sense of hope.
5. Trend (with caution)
Ah, trends. From the perm to the David Beckham mohican, through to the modern day resurgence of the mullet. Trending styles have all enticed us at some point – for better or worse.
In our work, we’ve all been drawn into trends too. Our advice: pick something that works for your audience and brand identity, and don’t be tempted to jump on every trend bandwagon, as it could end up doing more damage than good.
It’s worked well for the likes of Vacation and Liquid Death, with the 80s currently the era of inspiration for them:
But we all remember the reception Pepsi Co. received when it decided to use the swell of social justice in 2017 to try and market their drinks with Kendall Jenner…
Taking a little off the top
And there concludes our creative lessons from the hairdressers, five points to apply to both your next visit – and the next time you start work on a creative project.
For more slick styles and on-trend trims, we’re always happy to talk through your vision.
Selbey Anderson Group of agencies