From Fan to Partner: How Great Clips Turned Kirk Cousins’ Brand Love into Cultural Moments that Drove Business Impact

ABOUT THIS ENTRY

Great Clips partnered with NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins to transform an authentic customer story into a creative national marketing campaign. After Cousins revealed on the Netflix series Quarterback that he regularly gets his hair cut at Great Clips, the brand turned the organic moment into a multi-moment partnership.

Rather than a traditional endorsement, the collaboration leaned into Cousins’ real fandom to spotlight Great Clips’ key benefits: convenience, value, and nationwide accessibility. The partnership came to life through earned media, social content, national television advertising, in-salon experiences, and cultural sports moments including the College Football Playoff and Super Bowl.

By turning a genuine brand fan into a creative campaign platform, the effort delivered strong cultural relevance, national visibility, and measurable business impact.

How does this represent "Excellence in Engagement"?

This partnership set a new benchmark for fan engagement by transforming an athlete endorsement into a real-world fan reward system. Rather than simply featuring NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins in advertising, Great Clips created the Hall of Fade—a VIP card that allowed Cousins to gift free haircuts to every customer in the salon during his visits. The idea turned everyday salon moments into shareable experiences where fans could directly benefit from the partnership.

The concept resonated because it was rooted in authenticity. After Cousins revealed on Netflix’s Quarterback that he regularly gets his hair cut at Great Clips, the brand amplified a real behavior rather than manufacturing a celebrity endorsement. Fans didn’t just see the partnership—they participated in it.

The campaign also blended physical and digital engagement. Free haircuts in salons created memorable fan interactions, while social media and national media coverage amplified those moments to millions of football fans during key cultural events like the College Football Playoff and Super Bowl.

By turning an athlete’s authentic brand loyalty into a fan-first experience, the partnership demonstrated how brands can move beyond traditional sponsorships to create engagement that is participatory, culturally relevant, and rewarding for everyday fans.

Objective

Any brand can partner with an athlete to appeal to football and college football obsessed fans. For Great Clips, the brand is consistently looking for new and unexpected ways to not only standout to its key customer target audience of 18 – 44 year old males but build positive sentiment for the brand while also driving customers and prospective customers to visit their local Great Clips salon for an affordable, convenient and quality haircut. 

In 2025, Great Clips’ Marketing and Communications departments were charged with identifying an authentic brand fan that Great Clips could leverage across its marketing efforts to appeal to customers and help drive traffic to salons. 

Our objectives were:

- Partner with an authentic Great Clips customer and brand fan that would resonate with current and prospective customers.

- Create multiple touchpoints to bring the partnership to life and use moments on the sports calendar to deliver key brand attributes.

- Generate widespread media coverage and positive social conversation and engagement. 

- Drive traffic to Great Clips salons via coupon offers

Strategy & Execution

The strategy centered on transforming an authentic cultural moment into a fan-first athlete partnership. After NFL QB Kirk Cousins revealed on Netflix’s Quarterback that he regularly gets his hair cut at Great Clips, the brand recognized a rare opportunity: build a partnership rooted in genuine fandom rather than a scripted endorsement.

The creative idea became the Hall of Fade - a VIP card given to Cousins that allowed him to gift free haircuts to every customer in the salon during his visits. The concept turned a simple haircut routine into a shareable, fan-rewarding experience that could spark conversation both in salons and online.

Execution focused on amplifying the partnership across cultural football moments and multiple fan touchpoints. The collaboration launched alongside the debut of Quarterback, generating immediate earned media and social conversation. The campaign then expanded during the College Football Playoff through an integrated marketing push featuring Cousins and ESPN analyst Jesse Palmer across national television advertising, a national coupon offer, social content, digital media, and in-salon promotion.

Finally, the partnership extended to the Super Bowl, where Cousins participated in national interviews that reinforced the brand’s core benefits - convenience, consistency, accessibility - while continuing to reward fans through real-world salon experiences.

Organizations

• Great Clips

• FleishmanHillard
• Hunt Adkins
• Tombras

Links

•   Website

Featured

• Kirk Cousins

Credits

Steve Hickok
SVP & Partner
FleishmanHillard

Erica Lippitt
SVP
FleishmanHillard

Heather Leiferman
Director of Communications
Great Clips, Inc

Brittany Trangsrud
External Communications Manager
Great Clips, Inc