Phorest data reveals co-branded, service-led campaigns drive strong client engagement

New data from Phorest suggests that service-led, co-branded marketing campaigns are outperforming more traditional salon email activity, giving salons and professional brands a clearer picture of what is cutting through to clients in 2026.

According to the salon software company, analysis from its On Behalf Marketing (OBM) programme found that campaigns tied to bookable services and clear client benefits consistently generated stronger engagement than more product-led messaging alone.

The programme, which launched last year, allows professional brands to run co-branded email campaigns through participating salons. Phorest said that across 2025, campaigns achieved open rates of up to 49%, significantly above the 29% average typically seen for marketing campaigns created and managed independently by Phorest salons, clinics and spas. 

Click-to-book performance was also strong, with an average 7.75% conversion rate, meaning around one in 13 recipients went on to book after engaging with a campaign.

Phorest said that the findings point to a growing opportunity for salons, clinics and spas to work more closely with their chosen professional brands on marketing that feels relevant and commercially useful, rather than purely promotional.

More than 530 salon, spa and clinic businesses took part in OBM campaigns globally
in 2025, with over four million consumer emails sent.

According to Phorest, the strongest-performing activity shared several common traits, including service-led messaging, behaviour-based targeting, concise creative, personalisation, and a clear call to action linked directly to a treatment or appointment.

“The relationship salons have with their clients is incredibly powerful, and these results show that when marketing is relevant and tied to a service clients can book, engagement is far stronger,” said Avril Kealy, global partnerships content manager at Phorest.

“It also shows the value of brands and salons working together in a way that
feels useful and authentic to the client.”