Jake Paul and KSI went viral last year. As unsurprising as this statement is, the reason for their most recent spotlight goes beyond another popular youtube video or unprecedented boxing match. Last year, they put their headsets and boxing gloves away (temporarily) to launch the now highly sought after energy drink Prime.

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Since its launch last year, the viral sensation has not only sold out rapidly across online stores and supermarkets, demand has seen Prime make appearances on the black market, and has forced some schools to ban sales of the drink due to hiked prices across playgrounds in the UK. With $250 million in sales reported at the end of 2022, it’s safe to say it’s been an instant success.

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But there are just as many people lining up to try Prime as there are questioning the reasons for its popularity and cult following. So how have Jake Paul and KSI done it?

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⚡Big brands with a sure fire strategy

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Before launching Prime, co-founders KSI and Logan Paul had both developed a long-time social media following. With a combined YouTube following of over 40 million people, both content creators have had a loyal audience for several years.

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KSI and Logan Paul’s collective brands are particularly important because they have spent years developing an understanding of what their audience wants, as well as how to communicate it to them.

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The power of the brand was clear when Lucy worked with KSI on an influencer campaign in 2017. All it took was a straight-forward brand mention and shout out to join him on a different platform that drove 25,000 of his fans straight to the product. This worked out to be a mere 50p Cost Per Download, a lot less than the CPA of any other traditional media channel.

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Originally posting the launch of Prime at the start of 2022 on his Instagram live, the announcement from Logan Paul resulted in Prime selling out in a matter of hours. This was then followed by several campaigns by both Logan and KSI on Instagram and TikTok to boost popularity, which they did successfully, and continue to do.

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Another reason for its increasing popularity is also its use of popular brand names to endorse the energy drink. Prime is currently the official beverage partner of Arsenal football club and UFC. This means that they are able to take advantage of the visibility and audiences gained from Arsenal’s brand therefore extending their audience further.

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⚡A strong understanding of their audience

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With their customer base being largely people under 25, they’ve been crowned the go-to energy drink brand for GenZers.

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This is largely due to their ability to tap into their following as their key demographic. With 77% of Gen Z still using Youtube and TikTok, KSI and Logan Paul have been able to tap into their personal channels to build the Prime brand’s popularity. Marketed as a healthy lifestyle brand catering to more active people, they’re able to tap into something their key demographic aligns with.

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Beyond this, the drink itself comes in different flavours to cater to different athletes, and as a result adds value, which is also something that has helped establish Prime as a trusted choice.  

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(P.S: We’ve got brilliant article here to help you hone in on your audiences)

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⚡The FOMO factor…

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For Prime, this is where the bulk of their success lies. Their marketing strategy rests on the same approach of the likes of Travis Scott and Nike’s collaboration and many others; supply vs demand. Many, especially within the influencer space when developing personal brands have recently adopted the approach of limiting supply as a way to create demand.

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For Prime, selling on a limited supply creates exclusivity leaving customers with loss aversion, better known as FOMO. As a result, with every restock they are met with similar levels of demand. This is because of how quickly consumer behaviour can change when people think items will run out.

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However, lower levels of supply have recently acted as a double-edged sword to the pair. The overwhelming demand has meant scalpers are listing Prime drinks on the black market for prices reaching as high as £15 per bottle from the original price of £1.99 . So although demand has worked well to their benefit, it has also created the problem

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One key lesson we can take away from the meteoric rise from Prime is the power of the brand . As we shift further into a social media dominated marketing era, KSI and Logan Paul are a reminder of the importance of the influencer, and the loyalty and the demand that comes with a cult-like online community to build a loyal customer base on.

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