Building an In-House Creative Engine — Markforged
Storytelling Systems at Scale
Context
Markforged, was about to go public (and 3D print their own stock exchange bell out of stainless steel…) and needed to level up their brand voice. They were paying for 96% of their views and needed a complete overhaul. The CEO wanted to “Go Big!” with content that could organically catch-fire. Again and again.
As a Boston-based industrial 3D printing company with outfits all over the globe, they needed to modernize their content while cutting costly reliance on outside agencies. To date, the marketing team created a hodge-podge of application spotlights and webinars, but with little traction and zero consistency. Their goal: build a premium, scalable in-house creative operation from scratch, develop a voice, and control their own content destiny.
Insight
Customers realized massive transformation from using Markforged tech, often saving days of time and loads of money waiting around for rugged custom parts when they could simply 3D print them onsite now. Markforged needed a system to amplify these real business transformations across every industry.
But tech brands often communicate complexity instead of clarity. And Markforged didn’t just need production, they needed story architecture: a system for translating advanced engineering into emotionally resonant, audience-friendly narratives that would resonate on every channel and platform. And they needed it to be turnkey.
I felt uniquely suited to for this mission — I’d done this at Uproxx with a small team over years. The question was: could I do this by myself, in an unfamiliar B2B industry, and while living 3000 miles away?
After a deep audit, inventory of resources and competitive analysis, it was clear: Markforged had an incredible product, trusted by companies like Google, Cadillac, and NASA, but their content didn’t reflect the power or precision of their technology. The storytelling was scattered, unstrategic, and disconnected from the brand’s massive potential.
I envisioned a strategic roadmap of scalable programming designed to inspire prospects with applications, innovation and business transformation. We co-created audience personas and targeted each with specific content on every platform, from the homepage, to Youtube, to tradeshows and social.
From there, I built a full creative operation: from designing a dedicated soundstage, investing in hardware and equipment, and hiring, training and managing the team of editors, producers graphic designers, social media manager, coordinator and art director. We seamlessly integrated the team’s processes into marketing to better support blog articles, white paper content, sales collateral and quarterly earnings reports.
When onscreen talent was needed, I created guidelines and training for in-house engineers to become effective storytellers and communicators. The machine hummed — we created product launches, customer documentaries, tradeshow displays, sales collateral, internal culture builders, mechanisms for UGC intake and more — all under one cohesive narrative vision.
And all while I lived on the other side of the country in Los Angeles.
Solution
Produced exponentially more content — at a fraction of the cost — saving $500K+ annually in agency fees.
148% organic YouTube growth, 193% viewership increase and higher audience growth than any competitor
Unified the brand voice and aesthetic to match the sleek and sophisticated tech, ushering a successful IPO
Award-winning content (TCT Awards, 3D Natives)
Built a responsive, in-house content engine that delivered fast-turn storytelling for launches, customer highlights, and internal culture
Impact
The Strategic Roadmap
The Markforged Studio operated as both an internal agency serving the needs of the company — from localizations, webinars, tradeshows, blogs to product launches — but also original programming that could make Markforged part of the cultural conversation. The above is just a small amount of the strategic planning and foresight involved in cross-coordinating our massive effort to serve our global channel partners, all set to targets over a five year plan.
Designing a Content Studio
To bring content creation in-house and elevate production quality, I spearheaded the development of a fully-equipped studio built for speed, flexibility, and scale. Our needs were vast, and would require tall space to accommodate large product shoots and enough power supplies to run not just lights and production equipment, but several industrial printers in real-time.
I hired a team of creative specialists, including award-winning cinematographers and production designers — to help design a smart, cost-effective setup that could support everything from high-end brand storytelling to quick-turn product explainers.
The result was a turnkey content hub tailored to Markforged’s evolving needs — complete with lighting grid, soundstage, edit bays, shared-storage system, and remote-ready infrastructure. But that’s just the hardware. I also personally interviewed, hired and trained a damn talented team of local creators — from editors, producers, graphic designers, art director and more to carry out the vision.
We made it easy to create a lot without sacrificing quality. It gave the company creative independence, operational efficiency, and the infrastructure to scale storytelling across every channel.
“I was blown away by Matt’s ability to make complicated things easy, but never banal. His vision and direction was key for us to increase our brand awareness in Europe, too. He possesses a winning combination of creative marketing skills and business sense. I learned a great deal from him.”
Lisa Bettin, EMEA Marketing Manager - Markforged
The Content
When I arrived, the YouTube channel was underperforming and disjointed. We completely rebuilt it — new creative strategy, SEO-forward titling, thumbnail systems, and a clear audience strategy.
Ads & Brand Anthems
Customer Stories
Localizations
Original Series & Product Overviews
“Matt built a world-class video team and program at Markforged. He dove deep into the details of 3D printing to understand the technology and people, then applied his storytelling skills on top of that foundation to produce compelling video content that built brand awareness (even getting picked up by TV news) and supported sales. Matt helped us crack the code on YouTube, figuring out the right ingredients to promote rapid viewership growth.”
Andrew Hally, CMO - Markforged
Social media that actually worked
We rebuilt the social strategy from the ground up, developing platform-specific creative, user personas, and content buckets rooted in audience insight. This wasn't just cross-posting, it was celebrating the infinite possibilities of printing industrial materials. And the best part: it generated leads.
Internal Culture
One of the things I’m proudest of at Markforged was how we turned the camera inward — using our in-house studio to spotlight the people, rituals, and curiosity that made the company special. We brought internal culture to life through stories that celebrated engineering play, team spirit, and personal stories. The result? More than engagement — these authentic videos sparked real recruiting momentum, with applicants citing them as the reason they wanted to work at Markforged.
Tensilemania
What happens when you challenge engineers to 3D print the strongest part? At Markforged, it turned into a livestreamed, bracket-style showdown where randomly assigned teams of Markforged employees competed under identical design constraints. Bonus points were awarded for flair, creativity, and entertainment value. And boy, teams got into it — we’re talking hype videos, bedazzled parts and spandex.
Rooted in Markforged’s core promise of strength, the event quickly evolved into a beloved annual tradition — part engineering olympics, part internal hype machine. Employees had a blast working with colleagues from all departments and immersing themselves in the tech. With over 100K impressions, Tensilemania became a culture-driving spectacle that proved nerdy can be unforgettable.
Part of the Week
What started as a casual Friday meeting became a key pillar of internal storytelling. Every other week, engineers showcased their favorite 3D-printed parts — from Settlers of Cattan pieces to mission-critical components — in a company-wide friendly competition known as Part of the Week.
We transformed this ritual into a video series that celebrated ingenuity, learning, and the weird, wonderful things you can make with Markforged printers. It boosted visibility across teams, showcased technical creativity, and made engineering feel both fun and shareable.
Origins: Before they were Markforged
How did we discover our passion? This is the question Origins explored — a short-form video series spotlighting employees’ personal and professional journeys.
The series humanized the brand, fostered deeper cross-team connection, and became a powerful recruiting tool — giving candidates a window into the people and passions behind the product.
“While Marketing is often thought of as an external-facing function, great marketers have the ability to give employees purpose and make them viscerally feel the excitement of launching new ideas in the world. Matt did this in spades.”
Michael Papish, VP Marketing - Markforged
“Matt is a terrific partner and a wonderful professional & leader who listens to the needs of the customer and then brings it to life in the most creative ways I’ve ever seen at work.
I’m humbled by his talent and a big believer that having someone like this on the team brings lots of value to the company, its brand and everything it stands for. I cherish my partnership with him.”
Dorit Lieberman, CHRO - Markforged