“Some Organisations And Teams Get Our Brand, But Others Aren’t Ready To Embrace It”
July 29, 2020
Last month, the San Francisco 49ers unveiled a highly unique partnership, a ‘below the waist grooming partner’, spawning from a new partnership agreement with MANSCAPED. In light of this, we spoke to Ryan Fiore, VP of Marketing at MANSCAPED about their new high-profile partner and how much hesitancy they receive from some areas about combining with the brand.
It must be fantastic for you to be associated with such a huge worldwide sporting name such as the 49ers, how did you make the partnership work?
We’re thrilled and honoured to partner with such an iconic team. The 49ers players, and everyone at the 49ers we have worked with, are top-notch in their crafts. We knew that we wanted to explore the NFL in order to elevate our brand and further reach our target audience in a unique and authentic way.
“Some organisations and teams get our brand, but others aren’t ready to embrace it.”
From day one of discussions, the 49ers were open, willing, and excited about the opportunity to work with us. It’s a true testament to the forward-thinking and inclusive vision that the team upholds and shares with MANSCAPED™.
Have you experienced any teams or organisations being hesitant to join forces with a brand like Manscaped, does that add something different to the partnership with alternative promotional opportunities considering it’s quite a unique product?
We have seen hesitation since, frankly, we are a disruptive brand. Some organisations and teams get our brand, but others aren’t ready to embrace it. We strongly feel that we bring something different to every one of our partnerships so it’s important that we align with organisations within a mutually beneficial partnership.
What is the main objective of utilising sports for your brand, does it offer the easiest access to your target market?
Our brand has a mass audience appeal of men from the age of 18 to 65+, as well as women, but our sweet spot resides within the millennial and generation Z audience. Unique audience reach is important so that we can place the MANSCAPED™ brand in front of new eyes for the first time. This is a distinct driver behind our commitment to strategic partnerships in the sports segment.
“As far as athletes, we want every partner to be authentically enthusiastic about our brand”
Another notable partner you are involved with in the sporting world is UFC, so when picking organisations and athletes to combine with what do you look for?
First and foremost, we are looking for brands that align with our goals, vision, and target audience. UFC checks all the boxes. As far as athletes, we want every partner to be authentically enthusiastic about our brand, while staying true to their fans through their content and representation of MANSCAPED™.
How big of a role sports plays in your marketing and how do you focus on tracking the success of these partnerships?
We have a significant focus on sports within our marketing strategy. We measure success through earned media value, number of press hits, social media mentions, positive brand sentiment scores, website traffic, broadcast features, customer surveys, promotional code uses, and revenue generated. Like any form of attribution, it’s about piecing together a “picture” of the relative value and ROI.
