Exploring the cultural cost of Black business acquisitions
Article by Wil Shelton
When we rise, do we fall? That is the question facing Black-owned businesses. Here are several factors dwelling on the cultural cost of corporate acquisitions of Black-founded businesses.
Paradox of progress
In the grand tapestry of Black economic empowerment, a profound paradox emerges: As Black-owned businesses ascend to the pinnacles of corporate success, do they risk severing the roots that nurtured their rise?
When We Rise, Do We Fall? Exploring the Cultural Cost of Black Business Acquisitions
In the grand tapestry of Black economic empowerment, a profound paradox emerges: As Black-owned businesses ascend to the pinnacles of corporate success, do they risk severing the roots that nurtured their rise? This question resonates deeply within the Black haircare industry, where mergers with multinational conglomerates are not mere fiscal transactions but pivotal moments that test the ethical stewardship and communal allegiance of these brands.
The Silent Agreement Between Black-Owned Businesses and the Communities That Built Them
Adweek Article by Wil Shelton
There is an unspoken, yet ever-present cultural contract between Black-owned businesses and the Black communities that built them. It’s an invisible agreement that is rarely talked about but always understood; a relationship rooted in shared struggle, history, and identity. READ MORE ON ADWEEK...
Black Barbershops and Salons Are a Marketing Opportunity Hiding in Plain Sight
When he owned a salon and was a stylist in the early and mid-’90s, Wil Shelton, founder of Wil Power Integrated Marketing (WPIM), noticed that there was some fertile brand ground to cultivate. The epiphany came from seeing all manner of product discovery around entertainment and that he was inadvertently helping companies—especially record labels and studios—promote their wares.
Paramount offers free hair services to celebrate new series, "Lawmen Bass Reeves"
Free hair services were being offered to people including at the Main Attraction Unisex Salon in Overbrook. Read more...
Saddle Up for a Shape Up: ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’ Sponsors Free Services at Local Salons and Barbershops
After debuting with back-to-back episodes to a viewership of over 3 million people, the new Paramount+ Taylor Sheridan-produced drama “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” is celebrating with some good cheer during the holiday season. Read more....
Paramount footing haircut bills this weekend to promote ‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’
The streaming service has teamed up with six barbershops and salons to provide free hair services on Saturday, Nov. 18, even allowing fans to replicate the signature mustache of the show's title character. Read more...
Finally, a Mainstream TV Series That Revolves Around the Beauty of Black Hair
As a Black woman, I like to experiment with my hair. I enjoy box braids, faux locs, Senegalese twists, fulani braids, and my most worn hairstyle: textured pixies. Unfortunately, like many other Black women, I am often falsely judged on my appearance based on my hair — especially in the workforce. Former bosses and colleagues have directly (and indirectly) referred to my Afro or braided hair as loud, untidy, or rebellious and seldom see it as professional.
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Black Men and Women Have for Centuries Put Themselves in Social Quarantine
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Why Cristal Franklin, Aretha's Niece, Partnered With 100K+ Salons to Promote the Respect Film
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School of Hollywood: Film Marketing: Wil Shelton, founder of Wil Power talks about the movie promotion campaign, the significance of reaching the communities through their network of over 100,000 salons and barbershops, and more.
Wil Power, a multicultural marketing company, has teamed up with Cristal Franklin, niece to Aretha Franklin, the studio (MGM/United Artist's) and beauty shops to promote the upcoming biopic Respect.
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Barber Shops | More than just a place to get your hair cut
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Wil Shelton sets sights on better Black barbershops
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How Wil Shelton’s network of Black barbers, salons shape culture one haircut at a time
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How This Campaign Can Help Black Communities Rise Above Covid-19
Barbershop and salon marketing plays a crucial role in building trust in clinical trials for treatments.
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In Support Of Coming 2 America, Wil Power Owner Talks The Importance Of Black Barbershops
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VOYAGELA MAGAZINE
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
"The road has not been smooth. But I know that all of the tests and trials that I’ve had to overcome have helped make us who we’ve become. We’ve had to go through the challenges of diversifying our client base and breaking into other industries outside of our core clients which were the entertainment industry. When we first got started we had no track record so we had to pitch our capabilities to companies that never heard of us. Once we landed our first client it became easier to get the next, but it was a project by project build. Another one of our struggles was building a solid team on the ground to penetrate into marketplace."
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QUINTESSENTIAL GENTLEMAN
"Because we service so many types of salons and barbershop, we have been able to hyper-focus our campaigns to better suit the needs of the client. For instance, we are able to target facilities where more women or men are the clientele and even target based on the age demographics. Either way, we are able to scale and guarantee visibility for a host of major brands ..."
"Everyone in this world has a unique talent and when that talent is discovered, nurtured and put to use in the proper ways, it becomes a niche."
"The African American community is not hard to reach, however it's important that companies reach us where we are."
100 MILLION CUSTOMERS
For its impressive brand activations, Wil Power Entertainment has an unexpected advantage: its vast network of over 100,000 independent salons and barbershops across the country. And this strategy seems to be paying off. The Cypress, Calif.-based creative shop claims it connects with more than 100 million customers annually.
ROLLING OUT MAG
“ It’s been a blind spot for global brands because they didn’t understand the power in the cultural capital that existed in the shops. The shops are where conversations are started and everybody’s talking about different things. So, I think that companies never recognized the power that was in the cultural capital that existed. I think that it was just an overlooked environment.” I began to realize that clients would come in and be there for two or three hours. We’d listen to music, gossip, talk about movies and TV. When a client would leave, they would tell me they were going to go buy an album [we had just talked about], or they would say, “That’s a good movie recommendation.” Then, they’d go see the movie and come back and tell me about it. That’s when I began to realize that I was helping the entertainment companies organically promote their projects through the salon.
ESHE MAGAZINE
“ The opportunities that arise in life often times come out of the blue and out of nowhere. Wil Shelton, CEO of Will Power Integrated Marketing has changed the world in the aspect of how the hair care industry has impacted the world of marketing, branding, and entertainment. As a salon owner, Shelton understood the impact that his clients had on various sectors of spending and it was then that he conceptualized his company that would bridge the consumers with the companies which they were spending their money. "