How Contura benefits from UGC | Case Study

This case study highlights how Contura leverages Flowbox to streamline its content strategy and collaborate effectively with content creators.

By replacing manual management with features like whitelisting and rights requests, the team can efficiently handle submissions and ensure their galleries stay fresh and relevant. This ongoing approach has made it simple for Contura to maintain a steady flow of authentic images across their website and social channels.

UGC is now a major part of their communication strategy, with the majority of UGC coming directly from customers rather than big influencers. The brand has whitelisted over 45 creator accounts who regularly contribute high-quality content, which is integrated into website galleries. As a result, Contura achieved a 15.51% engagement rate on its website flows over the past year.

The Numbers

The Story

Contura is one of Scandinavia’s largest stove manufacturers, with customers spread across Europe. The brand is known for combining Scandinavian design with practical efficiency, and its stoves have become a common choice for homeowners looking to upgrade their living spaces.

The company’s commitment to sustainable manufacturing and strict Nordic environmental standards further solidifies its position as a trusted leader in the fireplace industry.

The Challenge

Before Flowbox, collecting and managing UGC was slow and time-consuming. Rights requests often dragged on for weeks, especially when dealing with bigger creator accounts that didn’t always see or respond to messages.

That delay made it difficult for Contura to keep their galleries fresh or act quickly when good content appeared. The team needed a way to speed up the process while keeping content consistent with Contura’s brand values and high standards.

The company has worked with Flowbox for several years and now uses user-generated content as a natural part of how it communicates online. Customer photos appear on their website and across channels like Meta and Pinterest, giving people a clearer idea of how the stoves look in real homes.

“Flowbox is a very good tool to both find the content that exists and get it in an ethical way, because you can request the rights. It makes it easy for us to share customer content across our channels, from the website to Meta and Pinterest.”

Jack Gustafsson, Webmaster at Contura

For Contura, UGC makes their products easier to relate to and builds a stronger sense of trust with potential buyers.

The Solution

Flowbox has made it much easier for Contura to collect and publish UGC. Rights requests can be handled in just a few clicks, and trusted contributors with signed agreements are whitelisted so their content can be reused with no need to keep asking for permission.

“The whitelisted feature saves time. Sometimes you have to wait a very long time for the creator to reply and get their permission to use their images, especially if it’s a bigger channel. They can’t see every comment and so on. It’s just easier and saves time.” Jack Gustafsson, Webmaster at Contura

This means that once a whitelisted user publishes content mentioning the brand, this piece can be approved and distributed to the galleries whenever it’s relevant, without unnecessary delays.

“The flows are very easy to work with. You can just click a few buttons and then they show up on both the product page and the inspiration gallery.”Jack Gustafsson, Webmaster at Contura

Whitelisting has become one of the most useful features for the team. It works both for past collaborators with existing agreements and for enthusiastic everyday customers who regularly share their stoves online.

“The users that we have whitelisted are mostly users that share content regularly.”Jack Gustafsson, Webmaster at Contura

The team emphasises that they keep clear standards for who gets whitelisted. Content has to be high-quality, relevant, and in line with the brand’s values.

“We just want nice images from creators aligned with the brand. It couldn’t be any user. It has to be someone whose content is suitable for everyone to see alongside the rest of our posts. ”Jack Gustafsson, Webmaster at Contura

By building their galleries around real customer photos, Contura has made it easier for shoppers to picture how a stove could look in their own home.

“The images are very appreciated. We use them on our inspirational page and product pages, which gives users a real feeling of how our product can be in their home.”Jack Gustafsson, Webmaster at Contura

Rights requests and whitelisting also free up valuable time for the team, so they can focus less on administration and more on engaging with their audience.

The Flowbox Experience