Influencer
From Pitch To Personalized Content: Manmade’s Success Story Post-Dragon’s Den
Creator brands are often created as a byproduct of fame and personal branding, yet it is not often that you read about entrepreneurs turned creators.
In today’s interview, we sit down with Co-founder Anthony Ciavirella to learn more about how content creation and a personalized approach to social media became one of their most effective strategies for scaling their business.
Featured on CBC TV network’s popular series Dragon’s Den in 2022, the four co-founders of Manmade delivered an impressive performance and secured a funding deal crucial for their current growth.
Read along to learn more about how content creation played a pivotal role in the brand’s success, and discover a unique relatable social media approach.
What is Manmade?
Manmade is a Montreal-based underwear brand developed by four best friends who left their careers in the financial industry to find a solution for bad underwear days.
Anthony tells us, “We’re the most comfortable men’s underwear brand out there, and we’re a content creation-focused brand that’s highly engaged with their audience.”
Tell Us About How It All Started
“Manmade was born out of necessity and to solve a problem,” says Anthony. “I started Manmade with my three partners, Roberto Rebelo, Philip Santagata, and Robert Marzin because we all shared a common goal.”
“We were four friends with an entrepreneurial spirit, relatable bad experiences with uncomfortable underwear, and the determination to build a brand that would last generations to come.”
“And that’s exactly what led to the creation of Manmade. We spent three days brainstorming. It was a humid day in June, and one of us was complaining about the humidity and how uncomfortable it was when wearing the wrong boxer briefs.”
“So that became the topic of discussion for a few minutes, throwing around questions like what type of brand each one of us wears, what’s the best option out there now for men’s underwear, and just like that the initial idea for the brand was born.”
Coming Up with the Product
“We did some research on the different options in today’s market and realized that there are three main fabrics manufacturers use, and the best of them is Modal fabric a fairly expensive option to buy.”
Anthony explains, “Through doing our research, we found that suppliers have to hike prices to offer variety, and so we found a way to eliminate all the fluff and unwanted excess print and design to focus on comfort.”
He elaborates, “We came to the conclusion that we had to make it simple and create something that all men need, without all the BS and promotional features.”
How Did You Guys Find That Content Creation Is An Essential Strategy?
“We tried so many different marketing strategies, and many of them worked, but diving deeper into the buyer’s reasoning, we started to contact buyers asking them why they made their purchase.”
“Most customers we contacted told us that they made their purchase because of the story; they said that they love what we did and how we went all in on the project.”
“It resonated with people that a group of friends quit their jobs to pursue something so meaningful for the rest of men out there.”
“So it became clear that our story is what we needed to focus on when advertising, and what better way to do that than to create direct-to-consumer content.”
How Far Do You Guys Plan on Taking Things?
“The furthest we can go. We aim to make the brand a billion-dollar brand, expanding to global markets, with the American market now being one of our main target markets.”
Anthony explains that by communicating the brand’s story on a larger scale, this goal is easily
attainable. It’s simply a matter of time until Manmade becomes a household name globally renowned as the most comfortable men’s underwear money can buy.
He adds, “We started with four employees, and are now 25, and numbers have proven this goal possible as we’ve been growing at a 350% rate year over year with this year projected to be higher.”
Wrapping up his answer, he tells us, “If we keep following this same strategy, and continue to communicate the story rather than the project, reaching a billion dollars in sales is inevitable.”
What Does the Creative Process Look Like for You as a Corporation?
“We have a content schedule for the time being. We found what type of strategies and content formats work best, and have them on rotation to maximize impact.”
“So there are specific days of the week where we all have to get together and block off all other tasks to film group content, and other times content creation is a rotation between the faces of the brand.”
Anthony also explains that although everything is systemized to be as efficient as possible, there still remains a high level of creative freedom among the team for new and innovative ideas.
What Sets Manmade Apart From Similar Brands on Social Media?
The Story
“Our story is relatable to many and resonates with viewers emotionally compared to a brand that is selling boxer briefs as an extension of their line, or is simply profit-oriented.”
The Engagement
“We believe in keeping the ‘social’ in social media, meaning that we regularly have one-on-one conversations with our followers, never leave any inquiry unread, and reply to each and every comment we get on our posts.”
The Personalized Approach To Content
“Giving everyone on the founding team the opportunity to share insights from their world is a personalized approach we took with content creation, and goes a long way in adding a deeper connection with the consumer compared to the typical promotional formats.”
This also makes it easier from a creative perspective and introduces variety, so it’s not just a single take on narrative or format.”
Customer Service
“If you were a customer that wanted to order through the phone, or had any issue with the ordering process, we instantly reply and help you out, and it’s the founding team that does all that.”
What’s Next for Manmade’s Marketing?
“Anthony explains that by focusing over 80% of marketing efforts on social media and content creation, the team is working to test out new strategies of social media marketing like streaming while constantly experimenting out new formats of content.”
