What is the difference between a barbershop and a beauty salon? The presence of a corporate style. It is not enough to come up with a catchy name and develop a logo for a men’s barbershop. To make the institution stand out among competitors, it is necessary to take into account all the elements of corporate identity:
- trademark (verbal, pictorial or sound);
- logo;
- slogan;
- branded fonts and colors;
- barbershop positioning;
- the legend behind the creation of the men’s barbershop;
- other constants (company block, uniform, layout scheme, etc.)
In the review we will consider those who, armed with sharp razors and scissors, make men even more beautiful. Barbershops on the Ukrainian market: where, how much it costs, who has created their corporate identity, and who is stuck at the stage of its development.
Read why corporate identity is important:
- How creating a corporate identity helps to increase the price of a product
- Development of corporate identity on the example of Ukrainian pharmacies
- Corporate identity is the packaging of your company
Barber shop corporate identity development: who got it right
Frisor
Cities: Vinnitsa, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odessa, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi
Frisor barbershop logo and associative range
League of experienced men’s barbers, where people come to the master, not to the barbershop. This is the slogan that greets visitors to the barbershop’s website. The barbers themselves are elegant men in their 30s (sometimes well over 30). The barbershop’s corporate identity is beautiful and solid. Wooden floor, dark green walls, leather chairs, laconic logo, strict barbers’ suits – all elements of the corporate style say that this is a quality expensive place.
Looking ahead, let us say: it is not that expensive. Prices in such establishments differ by only 15%.
Interior of Frisor barbershop
Actively maintain groups in social networks, posting videos of their work, thematic photos, as well as advertising of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Positioning. Barbers position themselves as artists, creators. During haircuts, specialists use cinematic lighting for “quality haircut geometry” (as they state on their website) and for interior beauty (as we actually think). Actively participate in master classes and meetings of masters of men’s haircuts.
Tommy gun
Cities: Kiev, Odessa, Mykolaiv
Logo and associative range of Tommy Gun barbershop
Black and white website (with red accents), black and white floor, black and white logo… A very laconic corporate style. In the case of this barbershop, one wonders whether this minimalism was originally conceived by the designer or realized due to lack of budget.
Interior of Tommy Gun barbershop
Positioning. The guys themselves claim that when developing the barbershop’s corporate identity they were inspired by the America of the 20s. Silent movies are playing in theaters, jazz sounds from basements, Gatsby is throwing parties, and the lost generation is mourning their losses. Did the founders of Tommy Gun manage to convey the whole atmosphere of that era?
All the photos in the group are without color, the weapons on the walls and the name clearly refer to the Italian mafia, there is a bottle of Jack on the table… The branding agency’s answer is that there is a corporate identity, but it needs to be finalized. We would recommend creating a brand legend, as well as working on the design of corporate clothing (currently, barbers work in plain white T-shirts or shirts with the logo).
Elements of barbershop corporate identity: examples of professionals
True barbershop
City: Dnepropetrovsk
Logo and association line of True barbershop
“True barbershop. Real barbers” – the masters of men’s hairstyling declare. And they confirm their words with photos of stern, bearded, mustachioed, frowning barbers.
Facility’s interior is very similar to Tommy gun: photos on the walls, plaid floor.
True barbershop interior
Positioning. Either there isn’t one. Or the positioning is not fully developed (read not by such cool professionals as in “Koloro”). On their social media, the guys post a lot of videos of them goofing around, singing 5’nizza and relaxing after work. It seems to us that it’s this easy-going attitude to work that could be a unique selling proposition in the men’s barbershop market.
Gentlemen’s Club
Cities: Kyiv, Vinnitsa, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Rivne
Pricing Policy:
- not listed on the website.
Gentlemen’s Club barbershop logo and associative range
These guys know exactly what to call a barbershop. A gentlemen’s club. A place where girls are persona non grata and drinks under 40 degrees are a sign of weakness. Wood floors, brick walls, classic uniforms. The customers are happy. Confirmation of this is already 7 barbershops on the territory of Ukraine.
The interior of the Gentlemen’s Club
Positioning. Very concise site. Not a lot of text. Too little text. Occasionally have themed parties and raffles.
FIRM
Cities: Kiev, Moscow, Minsk, Yerevan, Yerevan, Zaporizhzhya, Vilnius
Logo and associative range of FIRM barbershop
If you are wondering “how to open your own barbershop”, take an example from FIRM. The corporate style is thought out to the last detail. The website has a radio with real men’s music, the results of work are not presented on random photos on Facebook – FIRM has a lookbook. Sometimes the press writes about the barbershop, they brag (justifiably brag) about it in the “Media” section.
And most importantly, FIRM tells stories. Stories of ordinary people: visitors, barbers, creators.
Sometimes there are reviews about excessive pathos of the place, but as we know, you can’t argue about tastes.
FIRM interior
Positioning. Elite establishment. The barber is not an employee who gives you a haircut, but a host you’ve come to visit. The brand identity is definitely established.
How to open your own barbershop: learning from the successful ones
Chop-Chop
Cities: Kiev, Kharkiv, Odessa
Chop-Chop barbershop logo and association row
It’s radically different from FIRM. Light bright place, girls working at the reception. Even the barbers in the photo look more friendly. English experts helped to come up with the name of the barbershop. Chop means chop, chop, chop, and the expression Chop-Chop translates as “quick-quick”.
Interior of Chop-chop barbershop
Positioning. In this place you want to relax, drink free whiskey, have a few words with the barber, who after the second whiskey you begin to perceive as a friend.
Barber
Cities: Kiev, Brovary
Logo and associative range of Tsirulnik barbershop
Let’s plunge into the atmosphere of the movie “Behind Two Hares”. Branded fonts, thematic design of the site… But crossing the threshold, we see the American flag and hipster barbers. The idea to return to the past is certainly good, but its realization is still missing.
Interior of barbershop Tsirulnika
Positioning. Offers the same services as the competition: booze, good male company, a visit from a father and son.
A harsh verdict from an equally harsh branding agency
There is a lot to choose from. The Ukrainian barbershop market has been developing rapidly since 2012. Who are the market leaders? In our humble opinion, FIRM and Frisor are establishments that have spent more than one sleepless night working on creating their brand.
We suggest you sleep easy. You can entrust your company’s reputation to the masters of their craft.
To Coloro’s marketers, copywriters and designers.
