For very valid marketing reasons, salons, spas, barbershops and Grooming Lounge’s get sent a bunch of free magazines. Many are ones we’re interested in and are excited to be able to read and offer to our guests for their perusing (i.e., GQ, Maxim, Men’s Health), while quite a few are head scratchers that make you wonder just why they think a place like ours would be interested in such publications (Crafts Monthly, Stamp Collector, Allergy Prevention).
But there is one particular magazine we get that falls somewhere in between these two categories. It’s a magazine that as guys, we can’t deny an interest in, but as men and business owners, we also can’t show an interest in in the workplace or even read. It’s Playboy and while a staple at standard barbershops around the world, we don’t have it out at our shops as it’s not really appropriate for us. No, there’s nothing wrong with Playboy, it’s just that most barbershops are all male affairs, while Grooming Lounge employs a staff of both men and women. We wouldn’t want anyone to be made to feel uncomfortable by the pics.
Anyway, giving you waaaayyyy too much info here to just arrive at the following point. The Grooming Lounge’s products are featured in this month’s issue of Playboy. And this whole thought process about reading Playboy at work came up when our complimentary issue arrived on the Grooming Guys’ desks today. Sure, we wanted to see our great products in there, but how do you flip through those pages at the office without potentially attracting a passerby who sees what you’re reading and I.D.’s you as a first-rate creep.
The solution? Bring the magazine to the center of the office and announce to all:
“HEY, WE”RE IN THIS ISSUE OF PLAYBOY AND NOW WE”RE GOING TO FLIP THROUGH IT TO FIND JUST WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT US”
That’s what we did and here is what Heff’s crew had to say about us:
“We’ll take well executed simplicity over snobby complexity any day. Grooming Lounge (groominglounge.com) has made a name for itself over the past few years with products that dispense with lapidary jargon. Try The Best Shampoo ($20), Mug Cleaner Face Wash ($18), Some Hair Goop ($18), Some Hair Stuff ($18) and Beard Master Shave Oil ($25) and enjoy the peace that comes from thinking less about your grooming options.”
