NEW YORK, March 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- European Wax Center (EWC) is a brand that empowers confident women every day. EWC first launched its #AxThePinkTax campaign in 2018 to raise awareness surrounding the often-overlooked Pink Tax: the extra amount of money women are charged for everyday products and services throughout their lives. The "tax" is present everywhere from baby bottles and personal care products to clothes, canes, and more. As the Clio award-winning campaign enters its second year this April, EWC will take the campaign to the next level by not only continuing to raise awareness through education but also by providing people with tools to take action and ignite a movement. The Pink Tax is absurd, and EWC is taking action.
"As multiple studies have confirmed, The Pink Tax is real. It affects not only the millions of women who come to our centers, those who work at EWC locations, but all women, everywhere," says Sherry Baker, President of Marketing and Product Development for European Wax Center. "Due to The Pink Tax, the average woman is charged an extra $1,351 each year for basic goods and services, which is money women will never get a say in how to spend and money that will never get invested, donated, or used to fund a passion project or business. We know that women know their worth, and we are going to help them claim it."
In addition to the 2015 landmark New York study: From Cradle to Cane: The Cost of Being a Female Consumer*, a new 2018 study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office** on gender-related price differences revealed that while they acknowledge that the Pink Tax exists, not enough people speak up about it because the price differences are difficult for consumers to identify and therefore, many of them continue to be unaware that it exists. As a result, the government has assumed a status quo stance with no plans to take action. With this insight, EWC will amplify its efforts to raise awareness about this unfair pricing practice to help create a consumer outcry to inspire change.
The #AxThePinkTax campaign will kick off its second year with a new look and feel, calling out the absurdity of The Pink Tax with eye-catching and overtly strong visual assets. From the AxThePinkTax landing page, to Instagram, to print ads in magazines and on digital media, the campaign will reflect a new bold and fierce look. EWC will engage women and men throughout the U.S. this April with a robust 360 campaign that includes media partnerships, live events & activations, street art & wild postings, Starter P.AX (digital toolkits to help people take action), in-center visual takeover and programming, social media, an Influencer program, and an updated website.
The multi-faceted campaign includes:
Media Partnerships: EWC will partner with Popsugar on a custom content series and Bustle Digital Group on an Instagram story/ad series. The message will also be spread through advertising on Hulu with a comedian video, and in Marie Claire magazine's "Power Your Purpose" April edition, as well as podcast reads.
Live Events & Activations: The #AxThePinkTax campaign will hit the road in April to reach different audiences across the country. EWC will partner with fashion and lifestyle website, Man Repeller for a three-city comedy tour, to highlight the absurdity of the Pink Tax in New York City, Chicago and Houston. And, in partnership with Ladies Get Paid and the Ellevate Network, both organizations that help to close the pay and leadership gap for women through career development, EWC will host panel discussions focused on education and how to "Ax The Pink Tax." The Ladies Get Paid panels will take place in Atlanta, D.C. and Boston, while the Ellevate Network's panel event will be in New York City, moderated by Sherry Baker, and livestreamed through the Ellevate Network.
Street Art, Out of Home & Wild Postings: Female street artists have been commissioned to create #AxThePinkTax murals in highly trafficked areas around Miami, L.A., and Houston. Each mural will depict a set of pink and blue wings, with a price disparity, highlighting the price differences in men's and women's products to create must-share Instagrammable moments. To further level the playing field, in addition to their quoted rates, each female artist will be compensated an extra $1,351 for the money that they have lost due to The Pink Tax in 2019. Inspired wild postings will be seen around New York City as well.
Starter P.AX: Packaged as a digital kit called a "Starter P.AX" for download on AxThePinkTax.com, the packs include information on how to post proof on social media, pre-written e-cards, shareable graphics, and more.
EWC Centers: Throughout April, each EWC center in the U.S. will echo the messaging, look, and feel of the national campaign with #AxThePinkTax window clings, lobby posts, front desk and product wall assets, suite signage, mirror clings, shopping bags and Pink Tax buttons that associates will wear. Guests will have the opportunity to win Pink Tax swag, service and product discounts, and loyalty points with percentages all related to The Pink Tax, through EWC's "Wax On, Tax off" peel-off cards. EWC will also provide "Pink Tax Free" window clings for all EWC locations and will offer the clings to other businesses that demonstrate Pink Tax-free practices.
Social Media & Influencers: EWC social media content will bring attention to the Pink Tax through videos and other content that displays the absurdity of gender-related price differences and #AxThePinkTax giphy stickers will be accessible through Instagram to help followers show their frustration. A curated group of Influencers will leverage their voices to bring awareness to this cause and urge their followers to take action.
AxThePinkTax.com: AxThePinkTax.com provides educational resources and tips on how to take action on The Pink Tax including the 2015 and 2018 gender pricing studies, a calculator tool to learn how much women have lost in their lifetimes to The Pink Tax, downloadable Starter P.AX, EWC's philanthropic partnerships, and more.
European Wax Center (EWC), a leading beauty lifestyle brand franchise founded in 2004 by the Coba brothers, offers guests a full suite of waxing services, as well as a proprietary line of beauty products in the skincare, body, and brow categories. EWC provides guests with a modern environment for a comfortable and luxurious experiences, which is focused on EWC's vision of Revealing Beautiful Skin™, through exceptional services by professionally trained and certified waxing experts. So confident in the EWC experience, the first wax is always complimentary (brows, underarms, bikini line for women, and nose, ears, and brows for men). The company operates a unique franchise business model, and its network now includes over 700 centers across the U.S.
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