A Hairy Situation
On March 20, 2020, Barba Men’s Grooming Boutique, along with every other “nonessential” business in NYC, closed due to the pandemic. Owner Xavier Cruz, whose doors were shuttered and whose income was nonexistent, sought a way to stay connected to his customers while also giving back to the community.
By week 4 of lockdown, Google searches for home haircuts were up 400% and botched haircuts were flooding the Internet. That’s when we decided to launch Quarancuts Virtual Hair School: one-on-one, guided haircuts, via Zoom, by Cruz himself—all complimentary. Our first student? Fashion icon Billy Porter, who posted about his experience on all his social channels, spreading the word.
Slide into our DMs
Everything was run from Barba’s Instagram—virtual appointments were booked by direct message and haircut lessons were edited into fun, episodic IGTV content, released every week.
Congrats, You’re a Barber Now!
Quarancuts made barbers out of everyone. All Quarancuts Virtual Hair School graduates received Amateur Barber Certifications to share with their followers.
Social Posts
The Buzz Heard Round the World
Quarancuts got everyone buzz cutting and buzzing. Xavier Cruz was featured on
LIVE with Kelly and Ryan, guiding Ryan through a much-needed haircut,
and also appeared on Access Hollywood. Additionally, Quarancuts was featured
in People, In Touch, Oprah, Page Six, The Los Angeles Egotist, and Muse, and garnered AdAge’s Editor’s Pick.
Results
Remarkably, on a mere $5,000 budget, the campaign increased Barba’s public
profile during the worst business climate of our lifetime.
