Hi Beautiful!
Yes, you. And no, we aren’t asking for a favor. We just thought we’d take inspiration from Brad Mondo, who loves to greet his many, many fans with the positive affirmation in each of his new videos.
When it came to building his loyal brand, there was no cutting corners, just cutting hair… and styling it, reacting to beauty trends, and establishing himself as everyone’s favorite hairdresser, right there on people’s devices.
We’ve teased and prepped, now let’s get into the thick of how Brad built Brand Mondo.
How Brad Mondo became a cut above
Brad Mondo – real name Brad Gesimondo – started YouTubing in 2015 and promised to usher in a new generation for hair care and beauty.
With over 8.3 million subscribers on YouTube, more than two million followers on Instagram, and a brand full of best-selling products to his name, it looks like there was an audience waiting for someone just like him.
But who are his follicle-obsessed following and what did he do to sweep them up?
He made the inaccessible… accessible.
Think about it. The beauty industry famously moves on. Fast. One day it’s perms and ponies. The next it’s bobs and bangs. And, don’t come after us with sharpened scissors and steaming curling tongs for saying this, people in the industry have a reputation for being aloof.
Which is why people turn to the internet to find out what’s hot and what’s not, or how to replicate their favorite celebrity’s new style.
Brad was an early advocate of this approach. His videos – a testament to the power of a strong edit, merging captioned instructions, visual guides, and a steady hand to guide you through it all – became a virtual masterclass on the hottest trends and the most timeless beauty looks.
Why fans were dye-ing for more of Brad
The internet is packed full of beauty ‘experts’ – so what made Brad the hair-o people needed?
It wasn’t just that he was quick to putting out helpful videos that were timely and on trend – he became both friend and mentor, guru and gossip.
His consistency meant that he was always ahead of the curve and never chasing trends. And the fact that stars including Vanessa Hudgens and Charli D’Amelio came to him to be styled gave him that glossy sheen that only comes from a celebrity seal of approval. But it was his hilariously unfiltered reaction videos on celebrity red carpet looks and beauty moments that really solidified his position as everyone’s BFF.
Fans would watch and comment along because it felt like a gossip session, and everyone knows that nothing gets the heart rate going quite like a good gossip.
When you come to Brad’s salon, you get to learn everything you need to know, you get to talk about your favorite (or least favorite) celebrities and you can do it all from the comfort of your own home.
Striking while the (curling) iron was hot
After establishing himself as everyone’s beauty industry BFF, 2020 brought Brad his biggest opportunity yet.
As the world dealt with coronavirus, people encountered unprecedented levels of horror. And no, we don’t mean the pandemic itself. There were salon closures. Shop closures. People were suddenly left without their beauty appointments and were forced to maintain their own colors, styles, and hair lengths.
Suddenly, an online salon was the only salon. Everything Brad had been cultivating for years proved a lifesaver for people attempting DIY haircare.
Knowing that he was the last thing standing between many fans and permanent bad hair days, the videos kept coming.
But Brad also branched out. In 2020, his retail brand, XMondo, introduced over 18 products, including shampoo, conditioner, masks and styling items.
If he hadn’t already spent years giving away his expertise, it might have come across as exploitative. But Brad wasn’t taking advantage of his fans, he used the right platform at the right time to take everything to the next level.
