Spring Break: A Lucrative Partnership

Spring Break: A Lucrative Partnership
Salon And Lotion Manufacturers Spread The Good Word

by Scott Eric Barrett

Spring break is to the indoor tanning industry what the Super Bowl is to professional football: the best time of the year to create a lot of fans and make a heap of money.

On the surface, spring break seems like indoor tanning's nemesis. Beaches, volleyball and surfing are prime examples of outdoor fun, but many spring breakers build their base tans at their local tanning salon and many others want to keep the tan they come home with. Spring break basically is a kick-off event that needs to be taken advantage of industrywide to reap its many potential benefits.

While salons do their part by offering special promotions and lower-priced packages, companies such as Emerald Bay, Kava Kava International, John Abat International and Australian Gold are helping salons deliver the message of sensible, moderate and responsible tanning.

A Grand Beginning

For tanning salon operators, spring break equals money. While some industry veterans argue that promotions during the busy season are unnecessary--"Why do we need to have specials during the busiest time of the year?"--most salon operators throughout the country try to find creative ways to bring tanners to their salons rather than those down the street.

Rick Vitelli, owner of The Tanning Spa, with locations in Huntington Beach and Irvine, Calif., says the first step to having a great spring break is understanding that it isn't just a holiday, rather the beginning of the tanning season.

"While it's true that many students tan prior to spring break, the thing salons should focus on is that spring break really signifies the start of the tanning season for the majority of the seasonal indoor tanners, spring-break-bound students or otherwise," he says. "I focus my business on making seasonal tanners into people who make tanning a part of their lifestyle every month of the year. That's the way to build a really profitable indoor tanning business."

Both of Vitelli's salons are located near California colleges; however, students don't comprise the majority of his tanners.

"Every salon has its niche," he says. "Some go for bargain hunters. Some go for upscale business people. I definitely gear my salons for the far end of the upscale demographic. Most students can't afford my salons, so I don't market to them specifically. Students, as a rule, don't have a lot of discretionary income. They often go home for summer and winter breaks, and they rarely stay in the community after they graduate."

His marketing really intensifies during springtime because that's when the motivation for coming into tanning salons is highest, so it makes sense to spend a large portion of his marketing budget at that time.

"We do PennySaver covers every week, Valpak coupons every month, quarter-page Yellow Pages ads in three different books, and place 5,000 postcards at complementary businesses every month," he says. "Also, I'm continually amazed at how many customers are driven into our salons from our Web site."

Spring break isn't just important to salons near beaches, says Kurt Keating, owner of The Tanning Club in Colorado Springs, Colo. "Up until spring break, things are somewhat stagnate from a business standpoint for us, and we rely on promotions and sales offers to get new clients in the door," he says. "Spring break is the time of year when we can simply get our name into the marketplace and talk about our store and equipment to get new clients, rather than having to have that irresistible offer to get them in."

Starting with spring break, and for the following three months, Keating does only direct marketing to those clients who already have been in the store but are not currently customers.

"We feel that this time of year is the best time, as far as awareness, to capture our best customers--those who live closest to us and have the right income and age levels," he says. "We do not advertise any sales this time of year. During the off months, we advertise over a much broader area of town and have promotions that either give us the opportunity to convert the customer to a member or up-sell them into higher levels of equipment."

With the influx of tanners comes an even greater opportunity to make money on retail items. It's best to think seasonally. What kind of items do spring breakers want?

Vitelli offers a complete line of outdoor tanning products--every level of SPF sunscreen. "We offer water-resistant sunscreen as well for those for going swimming or engaging in water sports," he says. "We also offer sunburn-relief gels and we sell a lot of outdoor products during spring and into the summer."

With all the competition out there, salons must stay fresh to stand out. "Create an image," Vitelli says. "Every salon must have one. It's what will give it an identity beyond being just another tanning salon. Some cater to bargain hunters, some cater to whimsical theme-type tanners. Some go for the futuristic, cutting-edge, ultra-modern theme with a brushed-metal front desk and so on. What makes my salons stand out is the identity we have created--from our name to our decor to our marketing pieces. In all that we do, our identity is cohesive and consistent."

Keating believes the key to pleasing customers is simple. "Our customers tell us that they come here because there is ample parking, good equipment and the facilities are clean," he says. "I also receive numerous compliments about my courteous staff. Unfriendly/unprofessional staff is the No. 1 reason given to me when I ask customers why they switched from salon X to our salon; so for me, that is the priority that I want all of my employees to concentrate on most."

Beach Bound

While salons aim to lure in tanners before or after they hit the beach, companies such as Emerald Bay, Kava Kava International, John Abat International and Australian Gold are getting involved directly at the epicenter of spring break: the beaches. It's a win-win opportunity because it gives lotion companies a chance to make contact with the end user of their products.

At the large trade shows, companies probably mingle with about 1,500 salon operators, but at Daytona Beach and Panama City Beach they have the opportunity to make contact with more than 200,000 tanners.

"The majority of spring breakers are college-age men and women who love to tan," says Sabrina Little, Emerald Bay's director of communications. "Spring break is an excellent time to educate young people about smart tanning practices and the importance of taking care of their skin."

Emerald Bay had a very successful spring break last year with its model contest at Panama City Beach, Fla., and the company is bringing it back this year.

"We kicked off the 2nd Annual Emerald Bay Model Contest in June of 2002," Little says. "We were very pleased with the positive response the model search created last year and want to continue to offer salons a preseason promotion. The contest was popular because I think salons recognize the great opportunities spring break can create. People should tan before hitting the beach in the spring, and the best place to do that is in a professional tanning salon. In addition, salons can reach many clients who are college-age through salon promotions, and hopefully turn them into loyal, long-term customers."

The company expects the modeling contest will be bigger this year. It already has received an increase in salons interested in participating and has sent out hundreds of applications, Little says. The only significant change this year is that the potential $7,500 prize (retail value) that salons can win for representing the winning finalists isn't limited to Emerald Bay products. The prize now can include a combination of Emerald Bay, California Tan, Matahari and CAL CARE products.

"We also will hand out several thousand samples at Panama City Beach, mostly on the beach and at the pool of the Holiday Inn," Little says. "Classmate USA, the sponsor we work with for both the model contest and sampling, does a great job of getting our product into the spring breakers' hands. Classmate USA also will hand out Emerald Bay T-shirts and help create excitement for Emerald Bay through beach games, contests, etc."

Dave Beaudin, Kava Kava's vice president of sales, always refers to spring break as a national tanning convention for the industry's future customers.

"Turning spring break into a national type of convention makes sense if you honestly look at the demographics of people attending spring break," he says. "Women 18 to 24, in college, pursuing an education and guys 18 to 26--this cross section of potential future long-term indoor tanners is very moldable."

This season, Kava Kava will have a big presence at the Daytona 500 NASCAR weekend, Beaudin says, which is Feb. 15 and 16. "In March we also will be on the American Powerboat Association Race circuit with our world and national champion Kava Kava boat. Our other focus will be to gain a presence in Panama City in March, which is basically the pulse of spring break. Our vision is to promote people having fun with Kava Kava. We estimate that we will encourage beach goers to receive more than 5,000 Kava accelerating samples."

John Abat International also participates at various spring-break locations throughout the country with its JA Cooperative Promotional Program. The company made a few improvements this year that will better support JA retailers.

"Our goal is to incorporate revisions that will provide a more customizable promotional package to each salon owner based on his or her particular promotional event and the level of investment," says Al Lugo, JA's creative marketing director. "In addition, the improvements will increase the salon owners' involvement in determining the JA products and promotional items that they feel would attract a greater response from their community to ensure a successful event for them."

The company believes the program's success can be attributed to the fact that from the beginning, it was designed with the salon owner in mind. As a salon owner himself, John Abat has firsthand experience in the marketing of a tanning salon. As a lotion manufacturer, he sees JA's necessity to actively support JA retailers by offering various programs that assist salon owners in promoting their salons to achieve their vision of success, Lugo says. There has been a tremendous increase each year in the number of salons that participate in the JA Promotional Program since its introduction.

"Salon owners recognize the advantages of promoting their salons during spring break, and our promotional program provides a fantastic opportunity to assist the salon owner with this type of event," Lugo says. "Participating salon owners are provided with a generous array of JA sample products, as well as such JA promotional items as JA apparel, posters, banners, etc., that the salon owner can use as giveaways for gifts and prizes."

JA encourages all interested salon owners near spring break sites to promote their salon during spring-break activities, and to contact JA to request its promotional package. Each year there has been an increase of young consumers interested in skincare and indoor tanning, Lugo says. People are increasingly aware of the importance of daily skincare maintenance and have begun to look for products that contain today's technically advanced ingredients that provide effective skincare results and improve skin condition and appearance, he continues.

"John Abat, as always, offers premium products, which not only produce exceptional tanning, but superior skincare results," he adds. "Spring break is an ideal opportunity in which to introduce the tanning and skincare benefits of products to a new audience of young, up-and-coming customers."

Australian Gold is sponsoring a model search that will be conducted in Panama City, March 4-12. The Australian Gold Tan Man will appear at live radio remotes at numerous spring-break locations passing out Australian Gold samples. The company also will host various promotions such as volleyball tournaments, nightclub events, bikini contests and concerts at various locations.

There are few, if any, spring breakers who want to hit their first day at the beach without at least a base tan, and salons can take advantage. Also, companies such as Emerald Bay, Kava Kava, John Abat and Australian Gold can captivate them while they are on the beach. It's a nice two-pronged promotion that benefits the entire industry.

"Spring break is another way to help salons think outside of the box," Little says. "Through public relations and promotions, tanning salons can really increase their profits and their customer base. Spring break-related promotions can run throughout the fall and winter, therefore salons are reaching customers for a longer period of time and during a time that may typically be slower for them.