Philips has launched a “Groom U” tour across Canada, handing over its products to ambassador, Coach Nikki, as she demonstrates to students the dos and don’ts of cutting and shaving, as well as how to be creative with their facial hair, from Sept. 22 until Oct. 21.
The company is making an effort to talk to male students, within the ages of 18 to 24, at a time when they are conscious of their appearance and have not yet established their everyday grooming ritual, says Veronica Castillo-Ruiz, marketing manager for male grooming, Phillips Canada.
“We did some research and we wanted to do something that would accelerate our growth in this category and to really engage with them,” she says. “We haven’t talked to consumers in a long time and all the communication that has gone out in the past few years has been about selling them a clean shave. We found that men have changed; they want to express themselves in different ways and have different looks.”
The brand has also decided to have a presence within the sports category and with the help of media agency, Carat, it has placed print ads in The Hockey News as well as across The Score’s assets, she says. Philips also enlisted Vaughan-based Tag Idea Revolution to carry out the event promotion and creative.
An extensive promotional takeover in the bathrooms and main areas of restaurants and sports facilities will also be implemented, says Castillo-Ruiz. There will be placement of floor, wall and mirror decals as well as digital boards, banners and posters.
The campus tour will take off in Alberta and the brand will make its way to British Columbia, several parts of Ontario as well as Quebec and Nova Scotia. Consumers are invited to follow them every step of the way by visiting the dedicated tour site, PhilipsGroomU.ca. Coach Nikki will keep students updated with tweets (#PhilipsGroomU) as well as video uploads to the brand’s YouTube page.
