The Campaign

In September 2011, KMS California launched a new and extensive range of hair styling products that would allow you to do almost anything you want with your hair to really define your individual style. KMS California is sold exclusively through salons. So, to get it into consumer’s hands, we first had to persuade our core target - salon owners and hairdressers that KMS California is an empowering brand for people wanting to do creative things with their hair. We were given a global brand positioning of ‘Who are you?’ with a series of models expressing themselves in a contrived way. This was not going to cut it in the Australian market. We needed to do something to create real impact and inspire this fickle audience. Our challenge was to create maximum impact on hairdressers, their creative communities and showcase KMS California as a creative product/tool.

Results

‘The Real Project – by KMS California’. The real style, beauty and fashion sensibilities of the KMS California brand were brought to life by embarking on a cultural project that celebrates the individual above all else. Instead of using fake models - we created a real connection between KMS California and its consumer. We handed the controls over to them - crowd sourcing a campaign to give us the ultimate in real self expression. We asked them one simple question - 'Who are you?' - You have 15 Seconds. They videoed their response which was then broadcast to the world via the dedicated website. Up for grabs was the chance to win a television commercial, all about themselves, that would air on national TV! Individuals were encouraged to participate and share in this idea via a dedicated project website using social media plug-ins (Facebook Connect, Twitter sharing) and mobile technology. During the initial stage, cultural ambassadors were recruited to drive connection with early adopters and leaders. Partnerships with leading KMS California salons also allowed us to capture salon and industry brand advocates. As more individuals entered, excitement and buzz around both ‘The Real Project' and the brand grew. Editorial and advertising partnerships with key media properties, along with an aggressive PR campaign extended the brand to mainstream media networks. The project culminated in featuring the Top 15 ‘The Real Project’ winners as decided by their peers. Winner videos were shown across the nation on TV as 15 second TVCs, top and tailed with KMS California branding.

We aimed to create a program that compounded the networks of hairdressers. A participatory initiative that would get the hairdressing industry buzzing– thanks to KMS California. Hairdressers and their creative communities are notoriously extroverted. They are always on the hunt for their 15 minutes of fame. What if we gave them an opportunity to star in their very own commercial, about themselves, that would broadcast on national TV! By leveraging real individuals in conjunction with technology, we were able to tap into their world, and create real brand ambassadors that both inspired and actively moved the brand through social networks.

Social connectivity drove the campaign, with a 280% increase in Facebook likes and over 66,000 post views. A massive 105,218 YouTube views were made during the campaign, culminating in the final few days as winners were chosen. ‘The Real Project’ website had 15,500 page visits, with 66.84% of these consisting of new consumers. The average consumer returned three times throughout the duration of the campaign, showing the high level of consumer engagement with the project. Through 'The Real Project', KMS California was able to reignite the hairdressing industry and their positioning with its core consumers.