NEXT time you're at the barber for a haircut or at the salon getting the full treatment there may be a new type of entertainment to compete with the usual small-talk and glossy magazines.
NEXT time you're at the barber for a haircut or at the salon getting the full treatment there may be a new type of entertainment to compete with the usual small-talk and glossy magazines.
Less than 12 months ago, Perth brothers Kane and Jake Robinson started a hair and beauty salon entertainment company as an alternative to traditional media.
They set about installing plasma and LCD TVs in salons across the country, displaying news and entertainment programs along with specifically tailored advertisements for salon clients to enjoy while being pampered.
Bentley-based LaVish Channel hit the market in April last year after developing the new advertising medium, which uses narrowcast technology as opposed to the traditional broadcast technology usually associated with free-to-air television programming, to deliver site specific information into salons.
As co-founders of LaVish Channel, the Robinsons undertook extensive research into digital signage and recognised the need for this salon exclusive entertainment.
They are now able to deliver streaming entertainment to salon patrons, who are essentially a captive audience, via an expansive private network of plasma and LCD screens.
While customers are entertained by this infotainment, revenue is generated through a combination of 15- second or 30-second on-screen advertisements during programming and static advertising banners on-screen which rotate every minute.
There are also opportunities for salon owners to customise advertising packages to include a salon's own product lines, thereby enhancing their own revenue, build brand presence and help educate their staff.
LaVish Channel chief executive Kane Robinson said the value of the product was its ability to tailor content specifically to suit its advertisers' target demographic.
Targeted at top-end salons, including Maxeem Hair and Maurice Meade, advertisers can choose the salon locations that best target their intended audience.
"We invested more than $2 million into research and product development, and by installing LaVish Channel into selected salons we were able to quickly build the brand and a salon base," Mr Robinson told WA Business News.
"From the beginning it was important to instil confidence in the new narrowcasting technology and we have had very positive feedback from our advertisers, which include those from the retail, health and beauty, automotive, entertainment and finance industries."
Mr Robinson cites educating the market, in particular the salons with which he has now established relationships, as the greatest challenge in launching and building the business.
"Businesses, being salons, needed the message communicated to them that ultimately we improve their bottom line," Mr Robinson said.
LaVish Channel can now be found in 113 salons across Australia, with 50 in Western Australia, 57 in New South Wales, four in the ACT and one each in Victoria and Queensland.
Mr Robinson said the company was expanding rapidly and he hoped to be in more than 250 salons by the end of 2009, with several lucrative international markets already interested.
"We've been approached by various companies and shareholders in New Zealand and Singapore who are interested in our idea," Mr Robinson said.
"Even as far as France there's been interest, and looking to North America there's definitely potential there."