3 Marketing Lessons From 100 Thieves’ NEW Instagram Ads Strategy
And no, you don't need an insane talent roster or millions of dollars of investment to apply these.
Over $500,000 in just ~10 minutes.
That's how much money 100 Thieves makes from their apparel drops, without a dollar spent on ads. Of course, this doesn't mean the demand was all generated free of cost — but I had to hype up the article somehow... we'll discuss more in depth in a second.
Only recently did they kick up their efforts on Instagram paid social. And today, we're going to break down their initial strategy and why I believe they're doing what they're doing.
By the end of this piece, you'll walk away with 3 lessons to apply in your own advertising strategy.
And no, you don't need to have an insane talent roster and investment from Drake or Scooter Braun to apply these lessons. Let's discuss.
An important caveat: The takeaways here are independent of any individual ad in the campaign. It’s not magic, but rather foundational principles to learn. As it’s super early on, they’re still testing different creative and formats based on what I’ve seen in ads library. Even over the course of writing this, they’ve updated creative and killed some ads.
1) Paid media alone isn't enough.
Picture this. You open Instagram. You start scrolling. After 2-3 posts you get hit with an ad for a random apparel company that you've never heard of before.
The pieces look "good," but you don't know the brand. It could be legit. It could be yet another dropshipper trying to make a quick buck. You're torn.
So, you don't buy.
On the other hand, if you get hit with an ad that's from a brand you already recognize and trust, you're more likely to click through and purchase.
Sometimes, that ad even serves as a reminder that causes you to leave the social media platform and go to your web browser to visit the brand's site and purchase.
So how do brands build this trust? Most of the time, content is a primary driver of this relationship.
Well, over the past 3-4 years, 100 Thieves has done exactly that. They've built consumer trust through hours and hours of content, deep relationships with influencers, and previous apparel drops.
Content builds trust through adding value and solving problems that potential customers have. For 100 Thieves, this means entertainment. For you, this may mean educational content, product reviews — the possibilities are endless.
Now, back to 100T. Their new ads are far more likely to be well received because they've already built a massive warm/hot audience through non-paid content.
This isn't to say that paid media can't help with brand building. There are countless examples of brands pushing out top-of-funnel content to reach new potential customers. Most brands should be doing some form of prospecting to a cold audience.
But, building up a flywheel of organic content consumption has unique benefits. It can protect brands like 100 Thieves from potential advertising platform changes. And, the dedicated fans of organic content from the organization are likely more prone to buy than a cold audience being reached through a prospecting campaign.
Key Takeaway: Paid and organic work hand in hand. Organic content builds the brand and initial trust, paid media adds fuel to the fire.
Now, we'll dive a bit deeper into how this relationship between paid and organic works in concept #2.
2) 100 Thieves' new ads are likely retargeting current fans.
Retargeting is what happens when a brand serves ads to consumers that have already interacted with the brand before.
Think about the last time you were shopping for a pair of shoes. You visited the Nike website, viewed a new pair of Air Force 1's, but didn't end up buying right away.
Then, it feels like all you see when you're on social media are ads from Nike selling you shoes.
That isn't an accident. A piece of code in the brand's website called a pixel allows that company to gather your information and retarget you in future ads.
Now, back to 100 Thieves. It's likely that their initial ads are being served to customers who have:
Purchased 100 Thieves apparel in previous drops.
Visited the 100 Thieves website, but did not purchase (like the Nike example above)
Viewed or engaged with organic content on Instagram and Facebook
Their foundation of organic content and previous successful apparel drops have given them valuable consumer data, which they can then use to hit those engaged fans with retargeting ads.
These fans getting retargeted are the warmest section of their audience. In other words, they are the most likely to buy the Foundations apparel collection. Serving this section of fans ads helps 100 Thieves maximize its return on ad spend (ROAS).
Again, their ability to successfully retarget is driven by the years of brand building and data collection done up until this point.
Key takeaway: If you already have an audience that's engaged with your content, the most effective ads you'll create are ones that specifically target this warm group of potential buyers.
Even if you're not ready to run ads yet, start collecting audience data by installing the Facebook (or whatever ad platform you'll use) pixel on your site.
3) 100 Thieves doesn't overcomplicate the copy or creative, because they don't need to.
One mistake that a lot of businesses make when serving ads to a warm audience is overcomplicating it.
If you've done the work up until this point, this subsection of your audience is already inclined to buy. There may be some convincing that needs to be done, but most of the work now is just to remind them about your product or offer.
This idea is why 100 Thieves' ads appear crazy simple.
Most of them consist of still images of their creators in the Foundations apparel collection, and a simple 1-2 lines of copy.
Important note: simple doesn't mean less effective.
Take this ad, for example:
Although it's only 1-2 lines long, it still packs a massive punch. The line that stands out to me is "Join the team."
Joining 100 Thieves as a creator or employee is a life goal for countless fans of the organization. To see what I mean, just look at all the applicants for the new 100 Thieves intern position. That campaign (yes, it’s a marketing campaign) has led to tons of user-generated content and impressions.
The idea of joining such a prestigious organization in esports is a dream for most in the industry.
This 3-word line of copy capitalizes on that exact desire.
No, buying the merch doesn't actually make you a 100 Thieves content creator. But, it does give dedicated fans the feeling of being part of it in some way. It speaks to the human desire for higher status.
For many, that idea of signaling association with the brand is worth the $135 on a jacket, or $35 on a snap back.
For others, they might care more about repping the same merch as their favorite creators. And guess what? The ads tap into that desire, too — both in the copy and the creative.
There might be a fan of Valkyrae that doesn't really care about the larger 100 Thieves brand. And seeing her in a piece of 100 Thieves apparel may be the push that customer needed to buy.
Some of the copy also plays on another core marketing principle: scarcity.
100 Thieves apparel is known to sell out quickly, so the copy in the ad doesn't feel like manufactured scarcity — even though it is in this case, with the Foundations collection being evergreen.
Key takeaway: Simple doesn't mean less effective. Rather, it often leads to better performing ads — and content in general. If you can get your message across in a way that your audience understands, and that resonates with them, your ads will be in a good spot.
Also, be sure to test different angles with your copy and creative. In this example, we saw the use of status symbols, influencers, scarcity, etc. From the outside looking in, it's impossible to tell with ones worked best, but the main takeaway here is the importance of testing multiple options.
TL;DR
A strong organic backbone makes paid media that much easier. 100 Thieves' years of organic content creation, influencer signings, and successful apparel drops have built trust with their core base of customers. These fans are more likely to buy in the future.
Retargeting is a powerful way for brands to reach potential customers that have already expressed interest, and are more likely to buy. While difficult to confirm, it's likely that 100 Thieves are using this approach quite a bit in their initial ads strategy.
Simple copy and creative often gets the job done, especially near the bottom of the funnel. 100 Thieves' current ads only use 1-2 lines of copy, but convey the value of their apparel effectively. Stop rambling, and get concise.
As a final note, it's important to understand that this ads strategy will be ever evolving. At least, I'd hope so. What you should not do is look at exactly what 100T is doing as the holy grail, but instead look to see what concepts you and learn and transfer over to other brands — like your own.
I hope this article helped you accomplish that. If it did, I have 2 quick favors to ask.
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Thanks for reading, and I'll talk to you next week,
Tommy Clark