Debuting alongside the new King of Shaves Professional (KOS.PRO) next generation salon range of products for men is KOS.EXP – an immersive in-salon experience for men. KOS.EXP was built out of Will King’s feeling of ‘limbo’ whilst having his hair cut and styled during the development of the KOS.PRO range. Whereas women take going to the salon as a way to ‘bare their soul’ to their hair stylist, read magazines, chat, drink coffee and generally enjoy the experience, Will found in observing male clients, that they were often silent, looking anywhere apart from at the mirror and day dreaming or dozing. Sure, a few chatted to their stylist, but for the most part, this seemed to be a ‘dead time’.

DROP IN • SIT DOWN • ZONE OUT
Thinking to one of the quietest times in a man’s day – his time in the bathroom whilst he showers and shaves, Will thought there must be a way to build on this male ‘space’ but make it more relevant, enjoyable and empowering, rather than just ‘sitting there’.

A PIP OF AN IDEA
Whilst travelling in America recently, he was able to experience Virgin America’s new ‘immersive sensory brand experience’ on planes with iPod connectivity, the ability to chat between seats and individual video screens. An idea started to gel...

...and set rock hard in an inspirational meeting with Louise Jorden and Justin Bovington, the husband and wife team behind digital agency, Rivers Run Red (RRR) who have been responsible for hugely impactful virtual experiences including the revolutionary ‘Happiness Factory’ featuring Avril Lavigne for Coca Cola.

In the meeting to talk about how King of Shaves continued to innovate and grow online (having launched shave.com back in 1995) they came up with a way for men to get a whole lot more out of their ‘seat time’ via a specially designed immersive brand experience involving content generated by RRR in conjunction with King of Shaves.

THE CONCEPT
The concept is simple. Each KOS.EXP approved salon has an iPod Video Nano which is pre-loaded with content relevant to men. The stylist gives him his headphones (foam replacements are provided from a health and safety perspective) and he pushes ‘Play’. What follows is a smorgasbord of content relevant to men, which is updated weekly from the kospro.co.uk website or via iTunes. Content features videos, ‘how tos’, music and podcasts on all manner of content relevant to men. Simply put, the man can Sit Down, Switch On and Enjoy whilst the stylist cuts his hair.

It is intended to personalise content on a salon chain basis. KOS.EXP debuted at Salon International 2007, in a series of presentations by Will King himself.