The primary goal of this campaign was to garner impressions and engagements within the college-aged male demographic through TikTok content with a highly recognizable influencer partnership that generated interest in self-haircutting. The chosen influencer created authentic and relatable content that showcased the ease-of-use and benefits of self-haircutting.
Cutting your hair at home can be intimidating, especially for the younger demographic who are highly conscious of their image and fear making mistakes. The apprehension of ruining their appearance can deter many from attempting self-haircuts. To address this challenge, Hoffman York (HY) on behalf of Wahl Clipper Corp. embarked on a mission to elevate awareness and generate interest in self-haircutting. The campaign not only showcased the ease and convenience of using Wahl products but also inspired the target audience to embrace self-haircutting with confidence.
HY launched this strategic TikTok influencer campaign with the following objectives:
Knowing that our target audience is significantly influenced by social media personalities, specifically on TikTok, we strategically allocated a substantial portion of the budget towards partnering with a highly recognizable TikTok creator. HY researched and identified influencers who were well-known and trusted among college-aged men. The chosen influencer, AreYouKiddingTV, had a following that was 64% male with 59% of their following between the ages of 18-24, with an average engagement rate of 6.5% on TikTok. They were tasked with producing engaging and authentic content that resonated with this demographic. The core of this initiative was a video showcasing a college-aged male student cutting his own hair using the Wahl Cordless Color Pro Clipper. This demonstration instilled confidence and inspired other young men to attempt self-haircuts by alleviating their fears of making mistakes. To maximize reach and impact, the video was not only shared on TikTok, but also across other platforms by the creator, including Instagram and YouTube. By leveraging the influencer's extensive following and cross-platform presence, the content created a widespread ripple effect, driving both engagement and interest in self-haircutting solutions among the target audience.
The collaboration between Wahl and AreYouKiddingTV was executed with an on-site activation at a college campus. This event aimed to engage a college-aged man in a unique and interactive experience by challenging him to cut his own hair in exchange for a cash prize of $1,000. The activation not only drew significant attention but also provided a great opportunity to show the target demographic the ease of use of cutting their own hair. Following the activation, AreYouKiddingTV produced one social media video, over one minute in length, documenting the college student cutting his own hair for the first time. This video captured the process of using Wahl’s product, highlighting the ease and satisfaction of achieving a haircut on your own. By sharing this authentic and relatable content across various platforms, AreYouKiddingTV effectively demonstrated the accessibility and benefits of self-haircutting, further encouraging their audience to give it a try.
Thus far, the video achieved remarkable success, generating more than 12.2 million impressions and 1.1 million engagements across all social media platforms, all accomplished organically without any additional paid media support. This reach not only surpasses our initial objective of 500,000 impressions and 100,000 engagements but also highlights the power of authentic and engaging content. Additionally, of the 807 comments on the TikTok video 96% were positive in sentiment which surpasses our 80% goal. Compared to other content on AreYouKiddingTV’s pages, the video outperformed their average engagement by almost double. The video's widespread resonance and popularity underscore the effectiveness of our strategic partnership with AreYouKiddingTV, demonstrating the compelling influence of relatable, real-life experiences in captivating our target audience. The organic traction achieved is a testament to the strong connection and trust between the influencer and their followers, as well as the growing interest in self-haircutting.
