Mark woolley talks brand building

Mark Woolley is founder of Electric Hairdressing, a brand that encompasses far more than just salons. Here he talks about his approach to creating and growing a brand – the subject of his Business Extra presentation at Salon International 2013. What is the most important element of a brand? For me, it’s about the people and the relationships we have with the staff and the clients. Apart from being good at hairdressing, this is the key to creating a great hairdressing brand. You have to get the team and clients to feel part of something. How important is a name to a brand? When I left Saks in 2006, I received a lot of conflicting advice from people; some said I should put my name above the door and others said definitely not to! Personally, I feel it’s easier to get people to buy into a name that isn’t associated with one specific person. Electric sums up the atmosphere in the salons – they all have a real buzz about them. A lot of experts say it doesn’t matter what you call a business or brand, but I disagree. It was important for us to have a name that was quirky and didn’t have the word hair in the title. I wanted a name that could transcend salons, products, artistic teams and anything else that would fall under the brand umbrella. What feel did you want to create for Electric? I spent a lot of time thinking how the brand would feel. I wanted it to feel British but contemporary. I was inspired by brands such as Soho House – a brand that has opened in several cities around the world, with the same look, format, and feel, and has succeeded in all locations; Virgin, which offers first-class service at a business-class price; and Apple, which is design-led and cool. How important is PR to a brand’s success? PR is really important for developing a brand, but you need to have a PR agency on board that gets the brand. Also, if you’re going to shout about something, you have to be able to back that up with the quality of what you’re doing in the salon, or the work of your art team. Again, it all comes back to the people. Salon International 2013 takes place at ExCel London from 12 to 14 October. For more information and to book your tickets, visit www.salonexhibitions.co.uk or call 0844 894 2000. Don’t forget to follow @Salon_Intl and #salon2013 for all the latest updates, or like the Facebook page here.