How to Become the Official Salon of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
We’re excited to welcome Brandon Hensley to Beyond The Technique to share how his salon, Tangerine Salon, became the official salon of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (DCC)! Of course, your salon won’t be able to become the DCC salon because Brandon’s salon already is, but you will learn how Brandon made this happen and how you can make your own massive deal with a high-profile brand!
Marketing and Advertising
Before we dive into how Brandon made the deal with the DCC, we need to get clear about some basics that will help you do the same. Let’s start with the difference between marketing and advertising. According to Brandon, the difference between marketing and advertising is where you’re at with your salon business. Brandon explains that after you reach a certain level of brand awareness and success, you stop advertising and start marketing. Advertising is crucial when you first open your salon business, and your salon needs to start attracting clients. Advertising includes mailers, ads in magazines, coupons, radio ads, or anything else that you’re purchasing to get the word out about your business. On the other hand, marketing is about a strategy.
Brandon explains that salon competition in Dallas can be fierce, so developing a marketing strategy to stand out from the pack was crucial to their success! For Brandon, standing out meant having multiple salon locations in high-profile, high-rent areas, and that is exactly what he did! Within about 18 months of opening their first location, Brandon signed a lease on their second location. With the second location, the reputation of their brand was enhanced; in Brandon’s opinion, customers started thinking, “Wow! They have two locations, they must be doing something right!” In addition to adding a second location, Brandon was committed to having the best service providers and the highest quality products to make sure their word-of-mouth was always positive!
With multiple locations and such great success, you might be wondering what the marketing budget for Tangerine Salon is, and I certainly was, too! Brandon explained that they have both a corporate marketing budget and a local salon budget. The corporate budget is for propelling the entire brand forward, while the local budget is for local-specific strategies. For instance, one of Tangerine Salon’s hallmark marketing strategies is giving gift cards to local PTAs, charities, and fundraising events. Each salon has autonomy in making some of their own marketing decisions with their local budgets.
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
Now, the story that you’ve all been waiting for! How did Tangerine Salon become the official salon of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders?! Brandon shares that he had written on his own vision sheet years and years ago that he wanted to be the DCC’s salon, and eventually they came calling! Brandon attributes the salon’s marketing, brand awareness, and being in several luxury districts as the reasons why they were approached to be the salon of the DCC.
Brandon shared that Kelli Finglass, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders’ director, had visited a Tangerine Salon in the past and when it came time for the team to change from their previous salon, she approached Brandon and of course he said yes! That is when the Dallas Cowboys’ corporate machine came in to make the deal happen.
The contract between Tangerine Salon and the DCC is for five years and grants the cheerleaders unlimited, complimentary access to services at Tangerine Salon. In return, Tangerine Salon receives all kinds of benefits including: advertising (the cheerleaders are constantly Tweeting and posting on Instagram when they are in the salon), the ability to say they are the official salon of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, advertising at AT&T Stadium, and an entire episode on the cheerleaders’ show, Making the Team. In addition to that, they get all kinds of perks like tickets to the game and access to the top-notch suites. Brandon admits that the cheerleaders are in the salon a lot, so having multiple locations and lots of staff is the only way that they could make this partnership work. Nonetheless, Brandon admits that it is well worth the payoff!
Overall, all the small decisions that Brandon made—from writing his goals on his vision board to opening several locations in high-end districts—positioned Tangerine Salon to become the official salon of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders! I hope Brandon’s story inspires you to set big goals and take steps every day to achieve those goals! To learn more about Brandon, Tangerine Salon, and their relationship with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, listen to Episode 138 of the Beyond The Technique podcast.
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