Background

PureMan is a male concept store that opened in 2006 in Brisbane City and has its sights firmly set to be a barber shop like no other! Offering more than just premium cuts and shaves, PureMan delivers quality grooming and skincare products by Headblade, American Crew, Sharps, Baxters of California and Men-u. PureMan came to Brio Group to help launch their new brand to the market. 

Objectives

To be a barber shop like no other. To build a brand that is more than just haircuts and shaves, to become a culture. Brio Group were appointed to craft a unique identity for PureMan that had the right seeds to grow into a cult brand. In addition to the corporate identity, PureMan required a series of launch materials instore as well as retail merchandise and items like service menus, bags and business cards to get them started. The brand also wanted to create an online presence that was an extension of their unique brand to talk direct to their male audience and, like their services, offer something extra for their online visitor. Another important venture for PureMan was to create a marketing channel for their premium product range that is exclusive in the Australian market. 

Strategic Approach

The idea behind the PureMan brand was it had to scream “bloke”. Therefore we ensured to include elements of fun and once applied to the shop it had to be a place a man would love to come and feel comfortable. The creative was to account for the tastes of every image-conscience man from their late teens to early 50’s - the solution: iconic male images in retro styling were conceptualised and the client was ecstatic.The corporate mark developed is clean, with simple but strong typography teamed with natural colours of brown and ochre. The cross hairs represent ‘focus’ and reflects the attention clients will receive as part of the grooming service. The Tagline – “Strength and Honour” conjures an image of mateship and camaraderie.

Results

Brio Group created an enormous 4.5m wide by 2.6m high mural, that dominates the entire salon. It’s a collage that’s designed to create attention by incorporating all-time great men and iconic man images, including Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry, Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in Scarface, Mohammed Ali, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and Evil Knievel. During the early construction days, we planned a series of posters for the front windows to create interest from the busy pedestrian traffic passing daily. 

Visually, in store the PureMan brand came alive, and online we created the same effect. The primary aim of the website was to generate leads and sell product. We created an additional marketing channel for a line of exclusive products to be sold via an online retail shop. The website has been planned to increase the visitation time (stickiness) with Grooming Tips and amusing articles on manly activities, including ‘the one inch punch’, ‘how to fight off a shark’, ‘how to escape from a bad date’ and many more. These strategic elements all support and reflect the “blokiness” of the store, with the added benefits of quality products allowing PureMan to be more than just a salon, but a service experience and the beginning of a “culture”.