A gym shark that goes by the name Ben Francis, who implemented one of the most effective influencer marketing campaigns I have seen with my two eyes.
Realizing Papa Johns wasn’t looking to hire and the $8/hr wasn’t cracking it, Ben looked to build his own brand.
An avid gym goer, Ben and his friend Lewis Morgan began buying supplements in bulk and selling them on their own website, Gymshark. Doing Ecom before Ecom was cool.
Talk about an origin story. I mean, you saw the intro, Ben is a billionaire, so how did he go from parent’s garage to business mogul shark? Influencer Marketing.
In its infancy Gymshark relied heavily on its word of mouth success. One of Gymshark’s first strategic moves was setting up a booth at a BodyPower Expo event (the UK’s #1 fitness event). At this event Ben made it a point to talk to as many people as possible.
Casting a wide net at the event, getting his product in the hands of influencers, and building connections at scale. This initial buzz from the event led Gymshark to sell out their first drop in 30 minutes, but that was just the beginning.
Whether they had 100k or 10k followers, if they were speaking to Gymshark’s target audience, they were sent product to wear head-to-toe. This had a tandem effect on the brand. One, if influencers were creating content in Gymshark clothing, the brand was being advertised in front of a new audience.
Boom, easy money for Marketers. Two, Gymshark was a small business, but putting product into hands of influencers at scale gave the appearance of a well-established brand, immediately building credibility. Boom, we love this as Marketers.
Gymshark uncovered the loyalty and authority that influencers with a smaller following have.
The trust between a microinfluencer and their audience is unprecedented, something we don’t often see with larger creators. And I’ve said it 100 times before, trust is EVERYTHING in Marketing.
Well not in the traditional sense, but Gymshark graduated from Ben’s parents garage to a gorgeous headquarters in Solihull, England.
This is when Gymshark really reached maturity. Introducing a Gymshark ambassador program that brought the business to new heights.
Gymshark prioritized building mutually beneficial relationships that see both the business grow and the athletes following grow.
Relationships, aligning values, and investing in “David” (trying to make a David and Goliath reference here LOL) is what led Gymshark to success. Don’t ever forget the fundamentals, Marketing Bestie.
