Keeping consumers informed about professional colour

Alison Jameson and the team at Alison Jameson Consultency are heading up the conusmer element of the Keep Colour Professional Campaign. Alison offers an insight into how the consumer media is catching on to the importance of professional colour.

With hairdressers throughout the country backing the Keep Colour Professional Campaign it was important to raise awareness among clients of why it made sense to visit a salon to have their hair coloured.

The campaign is designed to build confidence and awareness in the consumer media of professional colourists' skills. It aims to open up the significance of the colourist in a consumer-friendly way, so that clients understand the process, aren't bamboozled by the terminology, and communicate better with their hairdresser.

By breaking down the technical barriers, we are hoping clients will gain a better understanding of the colour process, which will give them the confidence to communicate more effectively in the salon and achieve their colour dreams.

We had access to the sponsors' colour ambassadors - the ultimate experts in their field - and used their knowledge and expertise to get the message across. The ambassadors provided us with hints and tips aimed at providing the consumer with information on why a professional colourist is the best person to apply colour.

The first press release we sent out introduced journalists and bloggers to the campaign, and explained the difference between a salon treatment and a product they might select from a high-street shelf.

We highlighted the extensive training hairdressers undertake when specialising in colour, likening professional colourists to artists working with an extensive colour palette.

The release was sent to regional and national newspapers, weekly and monthly magazines, TV and radio stations, e-zines and bloggers. It gave us the opportunity to speak to the media about the campaign, and it has been featured in elleuk.com, Fashion Monitor, Get Lippie, AOL, Country & Townhouse, and on ukhairdressers.com.

When working on a campaign such as this, bloggers are important as they are looking for instant stories that can be uploaded immediately. Black Beauty & Hair has asked for one of the colour ambassadors, who specialises in colouring afro hair, to provide it with a colour dictionary for an issue later in the year.

HJI publisher/editor-in-chief Jayne Lewis-Orr has also provided a quote for the FT's Weekend Magazine.

The sponsors' colour ambassadors have provided information on colour do's and don'ts, the latest colour trends, and celebrity hair colour. We have given quotes to numerous monthly glossy magazines and have enticed several journalists in to colour ambassadors' salons to have a colour treatment. 

In the run up to the Keep Colour Professional Action Week, starting on 10 May, we will be targeting regional media, supporting hairdressers throughout the country who have backed the campaign, and ensuring that colour is kept professional.