Strategy April 24, 2018
Branded Nail Art Is Trending
The logo manicure is the new it accessory, with many women more than willing to flaunt their favorite brands on their fingertips. Vogue traces the trend back to the fall of 2017, when French fashion house Balenciaga sent models down the runway with its iconic B painted on their nails. It’s a style that seems to keep picking up steam, thanks in part to frequent sharing of nail art on social media.
According to Sarah Heering of NailSnaps (asi/72797), nails are one of the top five search terms on Instagram and Pinterest. Pair that with people’s love of customization and brand loyalty, and you’ve got a winning recipe – one that promotional products distributors can tap into. “People wear their heart on their nails,” Heering says. “It’s a small, but mighty canvas.”
Custom nail wraps and decals are an affordable way to latch onto the trend. For one, the peel-and-stick products allow for uniformity and consistency of branding and logo colors. “Small details and lettering can be applied that would otherwise be difficult with regular nail polish,” says Lisa Antinelli, vice president of Diamond Cosmetics (asi/49640).
Another benefit is the ease of both use and removal. Women can give their nails a new look in a matter of minutes, without having to wait for polish to dry. All they need to do to finish the look is clip or file away any excess from the nail tip. It also takes a matter of seconds to remove the wraps, and most are designed not to leave any sticky residue on nails. “Our data shows that people only want to wear the nail art for a short period of time, hours to maybe a full day and then be able to remove it easily,” says Peter Beveridge, CEO of EyeBlack Branding and Spirit Products (asi/53428).
Nail wraps and decals work for all ages, Heering says. The important thing is to cater the logo and look to the event and demographic being targeted. For instance, NailSnaps created Smurf-themed nail wraps for its licensing partner Sony to target a younger audience. The wraps feature full-color images of the iconic blue cartoon characters.
But, when it was commissioned to create something to promote the movie Bad Moms, NailSnaps went for a more understated look: black nails bearing the movie logo in narrow letters. NBC Universal packaged the Bad Moms wraps with snacks and bottles of wine, calling it a mom’s-night-in kit, and sending the baskets to influencers, Heering says.
Nail wraps are also great for events, especially when you pair them with a free manicure, Heering says. Her company will set up popup manicure party experiences, with a manicurist on-hand for some on-the-spot pampering.
Though the trend in the promotional industry has often been toward gender-neutral products, Beveridge believes that’s the wrong approach. “Then the products tend to skew more to what a man might wear,” he says. Another turnoff is when companies take a generic product, like a golf ball or pen, make it pink and label it "for her," Heering says. For the right venue and market, however, gender-specific promos, like custom nail wraps, could be the perfect fit.
Eyeblack offers both full-size nail wraps and smaller decals that can go over an existing manicure, without damaging the polish when they are removed.
These bold nail wraps were created by Diamond Cosmetics.
Metallic nail wraps, like these from NailSnaps, are popular right now.