Whole
Foods

The Ask:
Create a communications plan to increase the population of African-Americans shopping at Whole Foods stores across the nation in an authentic way.

The Insight:
Through internal studies, we learned, that  in the Black community, people’s relationship to their hair is constantly evolving. Everyone’s hair is differs in texture, volume and curl patterns that each require the use of unique products and techniques to acquire a certain look. After talking to many Black women and going over the data, we started to realize that Black women in general are constantly going to various stores, trying new products, and spending a lot of time learning haircare technique.

Positioning Statement:
Whole Foods is the dedicated provider of high-quality, organic products for Black women making natural health and beauty choices.

The Strategy:
Here for your whole journey.

The Objective:
Whole Foods will be a part of the growing movement to support Black women with their journey of hair, beauty and self-empowerment. Everyone has a different reason for choosing the beauty products and hairstyles they wear. At Whole Foods we respect a woman’s decision to choose and offer a variety of lines that  accommodate and nourish all hair and beauty styles.

The Marketing:
Our team developed a multi-tiered marketing strategy which included:

1) Paid Influencers
Utilizing social media influencers who are highly recognized in the the Black beauty world, such as Patricia Bright and Shayla Mitchell. Black Americans are 44% more likely to interact with/support brands on social media than other formats. 

2) Spot TV
Investing in spot tv is crucial because Black Americans spend 26% more time watching TV programming compared to average households. Competitors that index higher with the black population such as Kroger utilize spot tv compared to Whole Foods, who rely heavily on national spots.

3) Sponsorship Activations
Becoming a sponsor of Curlfest, a celebration of natural hair and Black beauty, is held at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY. The festival hosts 25,000 people and the demographics are 70% women.

Team:
Yotam Ohayan (Copywriting), Kt McVeigh (Copywriting) Jimmy Krahe (Experience Design), Emmaline Terry (Art Direction), Alec Plourde (Art Direction), Joe Reilly (Creative Brand Management)