Happy Sunday everyone,
Today's edition of Tommy Talks Marketing covers perhaps the most highly requested topic I've written about in the past few months. No pressure, right?
Today at a glance:
The rise of JHBTeam as a content creator for esports organization, 100 Thieves, is a marketing masterclass. Today we'll examine what's made JHB so successful, and what 100T is getting out of catalyzing his growth. We'll also make sure you walk away with some concepts to apply in your own marketing strategy.
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The Marketing Masterclass Behind JHBTeam's Meteoric Rise
Alright, I feel the need to clarify something before getting into the next few paragraphs of gassing up JHB: despite what you may think, he did not sponsor this newsletter. Though, if he wanted to, I would have happily added a section about his 13 girlfriends.
Now that we've gotten the legal stuff out of the way, let's discuss the marketing.
First, who is JHB? Well, he started off as an editor for The Mob — a notable content creation group that has since broken up.
Through the Mob, James was introduced to Nadeshot and 100 Thieves — and was ultimately brought on as an intern in April 2020. Though, this wasn't your typical esports internship spent editing Twitch clips and fetching coffee. From the start, 100T began developing James' character as a content creator — which leads us into....
TBH with JHB
Most notably, James starred in his own content series on the 100T YouTube channel, TBH with JHB. This is how I first got introduced to him as a creator, and I can assume the same for many current fans of his. Speaking from personal experience, it's one of the few content series that I actually watch on a regular basis.
The series is an interview-style show, where James interviews top content creators. Examples of guests include Nadeshot, CourageJD, Valkyrae, and more.
But, there are countless interview shows in the content creation world. How does TBH with JHB stand out?
Well... there's one differentiating factor: James' social awkwardness.
As an anonymous YouTube commenter so succinctly put it: "This show is like watching a car crash in slow motion. Every fiber of my being is telling me to look away but I can't."
Even before his time at 100 Thieves, this was a core aspect of James' personality as a creator. For example, one of the ways that James rose in popularity prior to signing with 100 Thieves was his YouTube videos of awkward Omegle conversations.
TBH with JHB leaned into the cringe in the best way possible. From the questions, to the mannerisms, to the editing, awkwardness pervades the entire show — and that's why people love it.
We all feel socially awkward at times. We all feel uncomfortable during conversations at times. We've all had girl issues at times (sorry James). We've all blurted out weird things, made weird body language, etc.
If anything, James' character as a content creator displays the extreme version of all of these traits. So, James' behavior on the show and on Twitter (we'll get to that in a second), is hyper relatable. I believe that's one of the reasons why fans are so drawn to him. Whether they'd like to admit it or not, they see themselves in him.
Rather than taking the approach of many content creators — trying to portray themselves the best in what they do — James portrays himself as awkwardness incarnated. The best part? His audience can't even tell if he's acting or not:
Like I said before, this was the case even before James joined 100 Thieves and got his own show.
That said, it isn't just the lovable cringe factor that's driving support for JHB.
James has become a personality that people want to root for. Whether it's him joining 100 Thieves, him hosting his own show, him attempting (but failing several times) to get verified on Twitter — his audience has become invested in his growth because he's so authentic.
He's also spent time actively engaging with his audience on the platform, deepening that relationship even further. This is something that so many content creators neglect, yet it's such a huge opportunity. A simple "like" or reply on a Tweet can make a fan's day, and make them want to support you that much more. James gets that.
And of course, 100 Thieves has done a fantastic job of leaning into this side of James' personality through their content and marketing strategy with him.
The narrative around James is constantly being developed on other social platforms like Twitter, by his own content and interactions with other content creators. They're constantly giving fans more of the story to follow, and keeping them invested in James' progression.
Take James' journey to Twitter verification as an example.
We all know that he should technically be verified. But instead, he and 100T and opted to create a narrative around his failed attempts to secure the blue check.
I would guess that if (big emphasis on "if") James ever does get verified, there's going to be some sort of marketing initiative around it for 100 Thieves.
They've built up so much hype and tension around James' struggle with the verification process that the payoff when it does finally happen would be huge.
Key Takeaway: First, when thinking about your content strategy, there needs to be a differentiating factor. Why should someone watch your content over someone else?
Often, one of your differentiating factors as a creator is your personality. This doesn't mean to steal JHB's flow bar-for-bar and create your own socially awkward interview show. It means to be authentic to yourself, your interests, and how you relate to your audience.
A practical way to think about this is to identify things you’re good at and things you enjoy. In James’ case, he’s really good at entertaining is audience in a unique way.
In my own content, I don’t just make case studies on “marketing” in general. I make case studies around marketing in gaming & esports. This adds a layer of uniqueness to the content that helps it to stand out to a specific audience.
Think about how you can take a similar approach in your own work.
Now, let's talk about what happened on Twitter last week....
JHB's 100T Twitter Takeover, Explained.
As we've established, James's awkwardness isn't an accident. His 100 Thieves Twitter account take over is a perfect example of this marketing strategy in action.
During his tenure as interim social media manager, just about everything that could go wrong did — with the climax being him losing the account's verification status in an attempt to change the username to "@100JHBs."
But, one thing did go right — the 100 Thieves Twitter account surpassed 1,000,000 followers.
Now, I'm not completely certain this was the plan — but I'm fairly confident in the assumption that the JHB takeover was meant as 100T's final push to 1M followers.
Upon hitting the milestone, 100 Thieves pushed out several apparel giveaways over the course of the week to drive even more attention and engagement on the Twitter account. They created attention and capitalized on it — good marketing fundamentals.
This activation worked because it felt real. It didn't feel overly scripted or forced, just like James' personality didn't ever feel scripted or forced. We're all accustomed to James' awkwardness, and his character had been developed through months and months of Twitter banter and YouTube interviews.
So, the barrage of "bad" tweets and account blunders during his takeover felt like something that would actually happen — not a cheesy marketing gimmick.
I'm willing to bet that there was a least a percentage of the 100T audience that legitimately thought what happened was real. And even those of us that new it wasn't still enjoyed it, because of how organic it felt.
The manufactured Twitter fiasco also served as a transition for James as he was promoted from "Senior Intern" to "Full Time Employee" at the organization. It's as if one arc was coming to a close, and another was being initiated — further reinforcing the idea that a story is being built around James' character and his progression in the 100 Thieves organization.
What does 100T get for developing JHB into a star?
Now, besides a bump in Twitter followers and engagement, what does 100 Thieves really get out of helping to develop James into a generational talent (I swear, James didn't pay me)?
Well, James' development into a star content creator highlights 100T's ability to effectively identify and develop talent — and it makes the organization a more appealing place to be for aspiring content creators.
Most businesses have case studies to demonstrate the efficacy of their strategies. JHB's rise to success as a 100T content creator can serve that purpose. Simply put, JHB's success helps 100T market more effectively to creators that they are pursuing.
Think about it. As an aspiring creator, the primary reason to join an org is to accelerate your growth. Joining the right organization can provide you with the network, resources, and strategy that you need to take your career to the moon.
100 Thieves have not only done this with JHB, but also with creators like Valkyrae, Courage, etc.
Now, with James' promotion to full-time employee, 100 Thieves have opened up the application process for their next intern. And it's no surprise that countless hopeful applicants are entering with the hopes of accelerating their growth by joining such a prestigious organization.
By proving their ability to catalyze the growth of several creators' careers, 100 Thieves have positioned themselves as the ideal organization for an aspiring creator. They've become a lighthouse for new talent.
Key Takeaway: Most businesses, esports organization or not, should take note. Give your employees a launch pad to grow their careers, and you'll be rewarded for it down the line.
TL;DR
In summary:
JHB is uncomfortably socially awkward, and we all love him for it because we relate to it more than we'd like to admit. Relatability is incredibly important when it comes to your business.
100 Thieves has used great storytelling to develop this character through YouTube content, and interactions on Twitter.
JHB's rise to success serves as a case study supporting 100 Thieves' ability to effectively identify and develop talent from the ground up. If you run a business, helping your employees grow is one of the best ways to build an endless pipeline of new talent.
Pull up a seat, stay a while
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Until next Sunday at 9am PST,
Tommy
PS - JHB, if you’re reading this. Feel free to use this as one of the articles you need to get verified :)