Mad Rabbit cofounder and chief executive officer Oliver Zak shared how the young brand has succeeded by harnessing community through social media and ambassadors. But first off he had to explain what exactly Mad Rabbit does.
“Simply we make skin care for tattooed people,” Zak told the audience.
The brand sells a range of products, including its hero Tattoo Balm, $20, to brighten and nourish inked skin, and its latest New Tattoo Repair Patches, $25, to heal and soothe fresh tattoos. While it may seem like a niche market, the nationwide stats would suggest otherwise. According to the brand, approximately 45 percent of Americans under the age of 50 have at least one tattoo. And this number gets larger as you look at younger adults specifically, according to the Pew Research Center.
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It’s these sorts of statistics that have led to Mad Rabbit’s success. In March, the brand announced a $10 million Series A with participation from Mark Cuban who had previously invested when Zak and his cofounder Selom Agbitor pitched on “Shark Tank.” After this raise in March, the brand was valued at $56 million.
Following this, the brand inked its largest retail deal to date: It entered into 2,000 Walmart doors. It is also available at GNC and Urban Outfitters, as well as several online retailers.
Aside from the amount of people who have tattoos and the efficacy of the brand’s products, Zak attributes Mad Rabbit’s continued success to its strategy and targeted demographic marketing. As tattoos are increasingly more common among younger generations, the brand is targeting this demo, most notably with social media and brand ambassadors to create a sense of community.
“Every modern brand has multiple touch points with their consumer at this point, so what value are you adding to them? At Mad Rabbit, they know that they can scroll our social media ahead of their tattoo appointment to get inspiration ideas for their next tattoo,” Zak said. “They also know that they can check out our blogs and our videos to better understand how to take care of a new tattoo.”
With this the brand has also developed a discord server where thousands of members discuss everything from tattoo care to their favorite recipes, further emphasizing the importance of community.
To further expand this sense of community, Mad Rabbit has also tapped 6,000 tattoo artists to be a part of its ambassador program. Not only does it reinforce the brand image, but also sales. The brand amasses about $500,000 in affiliate sales per year. Zak explained younger generations are increasingly wary of traditional influencer campaigns, making their expert-driven approach successful, especially in introducing the brand to new users.
“Tattoo artists the professional who is putting needles in your skin for hours,” he said. “You’re really going to trust their recommendation, so that’s just about the strongest influencer that I could ask for.”