*In the early 1990s, Wil Shelton was a successful licensed hairstylist, who owned a hair salon in Bellflower, Calif., 21 miles southeast of Los Angeles. While he was relatively happy with his clientele, he began pondering ways to bridge the world of entertainment with hair salons and barbershops.
Shelton was motivated by the number of clients who sat in his salon for hours getting their hair serviced. In doing so, they heard nonstop music from albums recorded by new and established artists. The captive audience in the salon, according to Shelton, always inquired about the albums and expressed their desire to ultimately purchase them. It was the same shop talk for new movies, books, and other platforms of entertainment.
“This happened so much, I got this epiphany about how I was inadvertently helping the entertainment industry and companies market their projects,” said Shelton. “I figured out how I could capitalize on this constant talk in my salon about entertainment.”
Shelton began sending proposals to every record label and movie studio that he could think of. Within 30 days, explained Shelton, he received shipments of free new CDs to play in the salon, as well as free movie passes to distribute to clients.
“That’s when I knew I had something!” Shelton said with a laugh. “African Americans have always had an insatiable appetite for entertainment. We go to the movies twice as much as other ethnic groups. We watch 40% more television. We spend $1.2 trillion annually on goods and services. We have strong buying power. But there is a blind spot when it comes to cultural capital and the receptive captive audience that already existed in barbershops and hair salons for decades.“
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In 1996, Shelton founded and became CEO of Wil Power Integrated Marketing (WPIM), a full-service consumer engagement and experiential marketing company based in the Los Angeles area. Wil Power’s core audience: clients from urban hair and beauty salons and barbershops across America. The company’s name was a derivative from his salon, Wil Power Hair Designs.
“Wil Power now has a network of over 100,000 salons and barbershops,” Shelton said. “We connect global brands and entertainment companies with African American consumers in these salons and barbershops. We are able to reach more than 100 million consumers annually.”
Shelton is not a one-man show to his 90% African American consumer base.
“Over the years I’ve developed relationships,” Shelton said. “I have teams on the ground that go into about 40 urban markets where we have street teams. And they have relationships with all of these hair salons and barbershops. When we set and execute a campaign, it runs smoothly. It’s exciting!
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Shelton said he’s proud of WPIM’s effective grassroots marketing strategies, which include social media campaigns that are heavily rooted in a strong network of micro-influencers, who are salon owners, stylists and barbers.
These micro-influencers, under the Wil Power banner, reach millions of people through the company’s multi-level media efforts, which can entail the distribution of coupons, customized product placement, product sampling, window posters and other merchandising opportunities.
“When the television show “Empire” debuted, Fox Television reached out to us to help them build awareness and generate high ratings for the show,” Shelton recalled. “We developed an activation that penetrated into the salons and barbershops to let their customers know the show was coming on. This was a project we knew African Americans would rally around. It was the type of television show they wanted to see.”
In addition, major film studios use Wil Power’s services to generate a national buzz about various movies to black hair salons and barbershops nationally. Films have included, but are not limited to, “The Equalizer 2,” starring Denzel Washington; “Two Can Play That Game,” starring Vivica A. Fox, Morris Chestnut, and Gabrielle Union; “Deliver Us From Eva,” starring LL Cool J and Gabrielle Union; and “The Best Man,” starring Nia Long, Taye Diggs and Morris Chestnut.
Shelton’s company has also worked on albums released by Toni Braxton, Charlie Wilson, Brandy, and Miguel, to name a few. Wil Power was hired to help market Steve Harvey’s book, “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man.”
“Record companies and movie studios started to see our results and understood that hair salons and barbershops were untapped audiences,” said Shelton. “They saw that they were now able to reach African Americans in thousands and thousands of salons and barbershops.”
After 24 years of success, Shelton said Wil Power has no competition – anywhere.
“I was surprised,” said Shelton, whose company is now reaching into Hispanic markets. “When I thought of the idea 24 years ago, I felt there was someone doing what I had in mind. But it wasn’t! I was the first out the gate with this niche within a niche, and I haven’t heard of anyone else doing it.”
Shelton said he’s excited about Wil Power’s future.
“We want to branch out into global brands and other industries, like financial institutions, casual dining, fast food, and the travel industry,” said Shelton. “They all want their fair share of the $1.2 trillion annual buying power of African Americans. They are eager to find a way to reach them out of home. And hair salons and barbershops are excellent places!”
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