Manner Production is a local entertainment brand which mainly focuses on comedy video promotion on social media platforms. One of the founders, Luk Chi Ho (Six Cents), who is also the CEO of Manner, came to UM on October 11 and shared his entrepreneurial story.

 

"The founding of Manner started from a bigger dream," Luk said. In his perspective, children always have unbound probability and creativity, which becomes limited gradually when they grow up. He used himself as an example, "I wanted to become a superman or a scientist when I was young. Even though I realized it was impossible when I grew up, I still have a dream of being different." On his way to follow the dream, he produced the music video "Those were the days" which was the first video broadcast on Manner's YouTube channel. It earned about 100,000 clicks in several days after its release as it brought up a common childhood memory in Macao people's mind. Recently, since Manner has achieved a success not only in the Macao market but also Great China and Southeast Asian markets, Luk has a bigger dream to build a Chinese entertainment brand.

 

High-quality content that caters to the target audience is the foundation of Manner. From 2013, when Manner was founded, to now, Manner has grown from just two founders to five departments; Manner's business was broadened to not only video production but also marketing, artist management, cultural performance, manner music, activity design and other peripheral products; Manner's audience grew  in multiple social networks, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Weibo, WeChat, Meipai, and Miaopai. However, their aspiration to create more high-quality content, has never changed. It is a pleasant discovery that its nine-second-long short video about "Ice-cream in hand" was spread widely. Even the audience from South Korea and Australia gave appreciation comments which inspire the Manner team. "High-quality content is universal," Luk summarized.

 

The entrepreneurs' story can never be an easy ride. Manner is also facing several challenges from many aspects like the high labor cost in Macao, and the limited market of local culture. However, Luk held that worrying about failure can kill the creativity. "When we explored our business in HK, I was shocked by peers there. The mature industry, the experienced peers, especially their executive ability, all of these aspects are better than ours. So, the only advantage of Manner is the creativity. And I believe it is sufficient to sustain us to go further," said Luk. Unlike many We-media initiators, Luk believed that creativity is not the patent which belongs only to talents. It is hidden in everyone's mind and the value depends on how to explore it. "Manner pays attention to the field we have a mania for. No matter how hard it will be in the future, I will always be honest with myself," he added.