Interview with Pimps and Pinups

Pimps and Pin Ups Interview



The most popular products that they sell out of the salon are styling products. They use a range called Kevin Murphy http://www.kevinmurphy.com.au/ Which is an australian brand quite cool/fashion focussed. The packaging of the products was really interesting as it was quite simple but with nobs and caps on it which gave a sort of G.I Joe military feel to them. The products were called interesting names like 'Easy Rider' - which was like a bryllcream with a matte finish and also 'Hair Resort' - which gave a textured 'just been to the beach' feel. She was very adamant that alot of men really loved the textured beach feel and liked the fact that you put it in the hair and it feels like nothing is in their but holds a cool messy style for a long time. (endurance seems to be a reoccuring theme)



I asked her do men spend alot of money in salons and what do they spend it on. She said that its more metrosexual men who will spend more on products as they have a keen interest in looking after themselves and will spend a bit more money to get good results. (alot of research has found that men will spend more money on specialist or effective products and its almost as though by marketing it as a premium and professional product men are more likely to buy it as they think they are getting some sort of expert technology. this could be something to consider with l'oreal as it is quite reasonably priced at the moment so men might think they may aswell just get one from tescos or use their wives because the price does not reflect a higher quality product)



She also said it is important to consider the area where the products are being sold. Obviously in a richer areas people are going to have more money to spend and the type of person coming into the salon might have more of an interest in their appearance and grooming and spending money on treatments and products as opposed to low price cheap hairdressers in poorer or even quieter areas. The exclusivity of the product is important too as she said its easier to differentiate yourself from the competition if you are offering something new/exciting/innovative/different than if you just have the same products and treatments as everyone else on the street. (so im thinking could we look into exclusivity of treatments? only particular salons qualified to do them or maybe some heirachy where the treatments/products available in salon reflect the skill of the hairdresser using them? not sure)



With regard to what men like about products already available she said that natural products/eco friendly/organic do very well for men and they seem to prefer textures and smells that are natural or have very little perfume in them. We discussed how maybe men might feel more comfortable using products with natural ingredients as its a bit more manly (its almost linking back to our initial idea of the body products that might have some element of pain to use or be very raw in their appeal. the whole hunter/gatherer theme is quite strong almost marketing the products as strong/natural/masculine - sort of like when younger boys run around playing in the mud climbing trees etc its taking that adventurous/outback feeling and applying it to a product) She said alot of men prefer subtle and natural products and like the fact that it is organic. She also said that a mens range has to be very simple and concise - too many products confuse things so there should be a set amount of products in the range that each have a specific job/purpose which is clearly outlined on the packaging so they know exactly what is should be used for and how (this links back to our survey monkey where alot of men said what they wanted from a product was for it to do what it says on the tin type thing) She showed me the Kevin Muprhy range (I have pictures of everything) and it says 'name of product', 'brief desciption of what it is e.g matt styling clay' and then 'use it like this' very simple.



I asked her what products/treatments she thinks are missing from the market. She said something like a 'sea salt spray' treatment to revitalise and hold the hair/give it texture (i thought this was quite basic but she was australian so kept going on about beach hair) She also suggested something moisturising and that dandruff and grey hair problems are common questions men ask in the salon and always ask about treatments in these areas.


She said that within our research when we are trying to find out about what men want from products we should try and avoid direct questions like 'what do you want from a hair gel?' and instead ask more lifestyle orientated questions like 'when do you usually feel like you are looking your best?' or 'what is your favourite fruit?' (see if there is a correlation between all men eg they all like citrus fruits could be interesting in terms of product development) and 'do you like the way you look after you have been swimming at the beach' etc things like that.



I also picked up some magazines and had a look through these in the hairdressers



- Fantastic Man (the gentlemans style journal)

- Esquire

- GQ

- Zoo Magazine (not to be confused with ZOO)



I saw alot of adverts for Wellman vitamins etc - thought maybe L'Oreal could do a Wellman nourishing vitamin treatment??

Also saw alot of celebrity endorsement Bob Geldof, several sportsmen etc Dont know if it would work or be relevant but maybe we could use a fitness/health icon to endorse the range.



Anyway just thought i would type it up as quite alot of info and thoughts came out of it - i didnt have my notebook with me it was a bit spur of the moment so this is typed up from notes i made on the backs of receipts! I am going to go back to that area on Monday though as I saw loads of cool looking salons in Spitalfields so I will go back and get some

more in depth interviews then.



Thanks for emailing me about the meeting Katie! Is that it or was there anything else? And are we still doing thw work for Tues that we arranged or do I need to do anything else?



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