Twenty-somethings get grey hairs, too. At least, that’s the message Just For Men wanted to spread by targeting a younger demographic as title sponsor of the Sept. 7 National Beard & Mustache Championship at the House of Blues in New Orleans. Hundreds of contestants with all kinds of beards, mustaches, goatees and muttonchops competed for prizes in 18 categories.
To promote the sponsorship and boost the brand’s relatively new social media presence, Just For Men partnered with Social Media Link of New York City to engage 2,000 members from its Smiley360 consumer advocacy database in the months leading up to the event. These influencers were charged with testing and talking about the product on their networks and encouraging friends to enter a Just For Men Facebook contest by uploading images with the hashtag #FacialHairChamp. The winner received special recognition at the championships.
Throughout the day of the event, Just For Men also hosted a live “Tweet Fest” with scavenger-hunt style photo upload requests and posted questions via Twitter. The digital efforts combined generated close to 2,500 social posts and a 15 percent increase in share of voice for the brand.
“Research shows most men tend to develop greys in facial hair younger than on head hair, so we felt this program was a fun way to lose the stigma and fear of grey hairs, to salute men with facial hair and the fact they make life interesting, and to let them know we’re here to help,” Elisa Golm, marketing assistant for Just For Men at Combe International, told Buzz.