Beauty brand partnerships with athletes are on the rise, and that’s especially been apparent since the start of the Paris Olympics.
Schwarzkopf Professional, a hair-care brand globally known for its professional color offerings, is one of the latest beauty players to enter the athlete partnership space. In July, the brand announced a partnership with multiple athletes for the relaunch of its Igora Vibrance Demi-Permanent Color, which rolls out in all Schwarzkopf Professional retailers this month. Igora Vibrance initially launched nearly a decade ago, but it has been upgraded to cater to clients with diverse hair types and styling preferences. The new product also features more sustainable packaging with 50% recycled plastic and 83% recycled paper.
For the relaunch, the brand introduced a campaign titled “Up Your Hair Game” featuring three Olympic gold medalists: tennis star Venus Williams, gymnast Aly Raisman and professional wheelchair basketball player Megan Blunk. For the campaign, each athlete underwent a significant hair color transformation performed by Schwarzkopf Professional colorists Brendnetta Ashley, Carly Zanoni and Devyn Pennell. The campaign will run until October.
“Hair was a big part of my gymnastics career, but it’s also just part of who I am. I have fond memories of getting ready with my mom for gymnastics competitions or getting ready with my teammates,” said Aly Raisman, who last competed at the 2016 Olympic Games where she won one gold and two silver medals. She announced her retirement from professional gymnastics in 2020.
Raisman said the fact that beauty is becoming a less taboo topic in professional sports is significant. “There is a lot of pressure in gymnastics — and I’m sure in many other sports — to wear your hair a certain way and to look a certain way, especially for women. For lack of a better word, women have to be ‘perfect,'” she said. “So it’s been great to see women getting more attention [for being themselves]. I hope it continues to grow and we get to see female athletes wearing whatever they want and expressing themselves however they want to. It’s an exciting time for [beauty] in women’s sports.”
The campaign is running across Schwarzkopf Professional social channels, plus the relaunch is being promoted in Schwarzkopf Professional retailers and on the brand’s website. In addition, the brand has enlisted influencers for a 90-day influencer campaign. On their channels, both the professional athletes and paid influencers will share their respective hair journeys, provide personalized tips and tutorials, and showcase before-and-after hair transformations.
“Awareness and connection are our key, so as a brand we’ve been in introspective mode [to figure out ways to better connect with consumers],” Michelle Chandler, general manager for Schwarzkopf Professional, told Glossy. “We learned that we weren’t connecting on a human level and that the role hair plays for any woman is profound. [With this campaign], we want to establish ourselves as the trusted partner to support you through whatever chapter, phase or expression you find yourself transitioning to or from.”
Founded more than 120 years ago, Schwarzkopf Professional was acquired by chemical and consumer goods company Henkel in 1995. This year, the conglomerate acquired China-based Vidal Sassoon from Procter & Gamble in February. For its first half of 2024 earnings, reported in July, Henkel shared that its sales reached $11.81 billion, representing a 2.9% year-over-year growth.
