Ernie Manansala Associates
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Services · EMA

Build the brand.
Create demand.
Turn it into growth.

Positioning, creative and paid acquisition run as one system — by the operator who signs off on the numbers. Ecommerce brands are scored on ROAS. Service businesses are scored on cost per qualified lead. Everything here exists to move one of those two figures.

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Ernie Manansala
Operator-led

One accountable operator on strategy, creative direction, campaign management and reporting — not a rotating account team.

Three practices

  • 01 · Ecommerce & DTC
  • 02 · Lead Generation
  • 03 · Brand & Retail
§ 01 · How we work

Brand is the reason it works. Paid is how it scales.

Two decades of consumer brand work — automotive, beverage, CPG, healthcare and multi-location retail — in operator, fractional CMO and agency seats. That background means the positioning, the creative and the media plan get decided in the same room, by the same person who reports on the result.

Nothing here is a media-buying desk. We write the target down before launch, build the offer and creative to hit it, and report against it every month using platform data you can audit yourself. Media spend stays on your own card, in accounts you own.

§ 02 · Capabilities

What we run

01

Ecommerce & DTC

Scale paid without torching margin

Related work: Giant Bicycles — US and Global social and paid, expanded budget year over year.

  • Paid Acquisition

    Meta, Google, TikTok and YouTube run as one funnel, creative-first.

  • Creative Testing

    Concept to motion, iterated against ROAS instead of opinion.

  • Lifecycle & CRM

    Email and SMS flows segmented to behavior, not vibes.

  • Marketplace

    Amazon listings, storefront and PPC managed with the same numbers.

02

Lead Generation

Lower cost per qualified lead

Related work: K1 Speed — paid acquisition for new racers across 25+ centers.

  • Demand Capture

    High-intent search plus Meta lead forms and messaging paths.

  • Landing Pages

    Offer-specific pages built for the one action that matters.

  • AI Follow-Up

    Assisted qualification and speed-to-lead workflows.

  • Lead Quality Review

    Monthly review of what actually closed, not just what filled in.

03

Brand & Retail

Win the shelf and the feed

Related work: Garrett Motion and PANDAN Rum — positioning, identity direction and campaign systems.

  • Positioning

    Naming, message architecture and price tier that survive a buyer meeting.

  • Retail Media

    Amazon, Instacart and retailer networks run alongside paid social.

  • Shopper & Field

    Activation calendars, POS, sampling and velocity tracking.

  • Reporting

    Attribution and dashboards that survive diligence.

Brand identity & positioning

Brand identity direction, positioning, naming and message architecture sit inside Brand & Retail — the same work behind Garrett Motion, IHI Turbo and PANDAN Rum. Photo and video production and full website builds remain separately scoped projects, and media spend is always separate.

§ 03 · Awarded creative

Creative that has been recognized.

Recognition

Telly Award winning creative.

Telly Award–winning creative across two decades of consumer brand work. The broader list of programs appears on Ernie.life.

Recognition listed on Ernie.life →
Telly Award recognition for creative work led by Ernie
Programs listed on Ernie.life
  • Telly Awards
  • Cannes Lions
  • Clio Awards
  • The One Show
  • D&AD Awards
  • Effie Awards
  • ADDY / AAF
  • Webby Awards
  • Shorty Awards
  • Communicator Awards
  • MUSE Creative Awards
  • AVA Digital Awards
Creative award program marks listed on Ernie.life
§ 04 · Selected work led by Ernie

Brands built, repositioned and scaled.

Garrett Motion performance brand campaign imageryGarrett Motion logo
Brand & creative · Multi-year agency partner

Garrett Motion

Global performance technology

Challenge
A legacy performance technology brand needed to read as modern and consumer-facing in a category driven by tuners, builders and creators.
Action
Modernized the brand through brand language and positioning, then ran ongoing creative campaigns across global performance markets.
Outcome
Multi-year retained relationship across global performance markets.
Read the Garrett Motion case →
K1 Speed indoor kart racing campaign imageryK1 Speed logo
National social & digital retainer

K1 Speed

Motorsports entertainment · 25+ centers

Challenge
More than 25 indoor kart racing centers with no dedicated social specialist and inconsistent content between corporate and local pages.
Action
Built a corporate and local content system and managed paid acquisition aimed at new racers.
Outcome
Engagement and new-racer acquisition improvements; scope expanded nationally plus select global pages.
Read the K1 Speed case →
Giant Bicycles brand campaign imageryGiant Bicycles logo
US + Global social and paid

Giant Bicycles

Cycling · Global consumer brand

Challenge
Giant was shifting mix toward social and paid digital across US and Global accounts without internal capacity to execute.
Action
Strategic channel consulting paired with hands-on execution across both account groups.
Outcome
Expanded pages, responsibility and advertising budget year over year.
Read the Giant Bicycles case →
IHI Turbo brand and SEMA launch imageryIHI Turbo logo
Brand positioning, creative & website overhaul

IHI Turbo · SEMA

Automotive performance aftermarket

Challenge
A SEMA commitment with no cohesive brand, no positioning and no usable web presence.
Action
Delivered brand positioning, creative and a complete website overhaul inside 90 days for the show.
Outcome
Brand, web and show presence launched on the event timeline.
Read the IHI Turbo · SEMA case →
PANDAN Rum brand and packaging imagery
Fractional CMO · Brand strategy

PANDAN Rum

Spirits · On/off-premise + DTC

Challenge
A spirits brand needed positioning and a go-to-market plan that held up across tasting room, on-premise and direct channels.
Action
Set positioning and identity direction, then built a GTM plan linking creative, channel mix and on/off-premise strategy.
Outcome
Brand system shipped and commercial program in market, supporting tasting room, on-premise and DTC channels.
Read the PANDAN Rum case →
AMF and AdzLabz performance creative imagery
Strategic oversight & brand approval

AMF / AdzLabz

AI-assisted performance creative

Challenge
An AI-assisted creative slate needed brand judgement before anything reached a live funnel.
Action
Reviewed the creative slate, validated the A/B-selected creatives and approved the launch funnel.
Outcome
Selected ad set approved and launched.
Read the AMF / AdzLabz case →

Selected work led by Ernie across operator, fractional CMO and agency roles. Explore the full stories on Ernie.life.

§ 05 · The process

Five steps, no mystery

  1. 01

    Audit & target

    Offers, margin, account history and tracking. The target ROAS or cost per lead gets written down.

  2. 02

    Position & message

    The claim, the proof and the offer architecture the creative has to carry.

  3. 03

    Build

    Creative concepts, campaign structure, landing or messaging paths.

  4. 04

    Launch & test

    Live inside 7 to 10 days with a defined test structure, not a guess.

  5. 05

    Report & scale

    Spend, results and cost per result from platform data you can audit.

§ 06 · Being clear

What we don't do

  • Media spend — paid directly to Meta and Google on your own card
  • Photo and video production — quoted separately as a one-time project
  • Guaranteed lead counts, order counts, or revenue
  • Full website builds, unless scoped as a separate project

Ready to scope it?

Pick a tier, complete the company profile, grant Meta access and we start on the same day the fee clears. Live in 7 to 10 days.

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