First things first, what is Prime Hydration? Prime is a (relatively) new energy drink that is trying to disrupt and break through the current sports energy drink hegemony. It consists of 10% coconut water, antioxidants and electrolytes, available in 8 flavours. It claims to be a healthier, tastier and cheaper alternative to other hydration drinks on the market (but we’ll let you be the judge if you think it’s tasty or not).

Prime is YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul’s brainchild and it became an immediate internet sensation. On Kyle and Jackie O’s podcast in January, Paul said that Prime made $250 million in retail sales and grossed $110 million internally, despite only launching one year before. The star also confirmed that it made an additional $45 million in January 2023 alone. Huge, huge numbers.

Let’s take a deep dive into Prime’s brand and marketing strategy.

KSI and Logan Paul’s influence

KSI and Logan Paul are two of the most influential and relevant internet personalities in the world, with around 40 million subscribers between them on their main channels alone.

They have built huge online presences over the last 10 years, have both been involved in public family dramas, diss track battles (against each other). It’s safe to say that both of their fans find their videos incredibly entertaining. KSI makes music and has made appearances on numerous TV shows, while Logan hosts a successful podcast.

Both of them have also been heavily involved in boxing, inside and outside of YouTube - which has generated a lot of hype and engagement. All of this has enabled both KSI and Paul to keep their names trending, stay relevant and build an extremely strong and loyal fan base of followers over the years, who are more than willing to buy their products.

Creating hype and visibility through social media

KSI and Paul are social media savants using their channels, connections and influence to build hype around Prime Hydration and create a customer base before Prime even launched.

They announced and built hype around the business venture on Youtube, Twitter and Instagram, generating millions of views and likes and a serious amount of engagement. When Prime eventually dropped, KSI and Paul continued to post videos hyping the product and answering fan questions.

Logan has invited numerous famous people, such as Youtuber Markiplier who has 30 million subscribers, onto his podcast to try Prime, hooking in viewers with click-baitey titles.

KSI is part of a well-known Youtube posse called ‘The Sidemen’ and members of this group have also done videos on Prime to help promote their friends’ business - for example, Simon Minter, known on Youtube as ‘Miniminter’ made a video called “BRUTALLY RATING PRIME FROM KSI AND LOGAN” which amassed 4.5 million views.

Not only do these videos bring exposure to Prime and help build hype, but they also tease YouTube’s recommendation algorithm to be in Paul and KSI’s favour. Viewers who watch a Prime Hydration-related video, whether that’s on KSI, Paul’s or another Youtuber’s channel will be recommended more similar content.

A vicious cycle of Prime.

Supply and demand

When Prime launched in January 2022, it was sold exclusively in Asda and on the official website, with limited stock available. By keeping demand high and supply low, in a similar way to Supreme’s business model, KSI and Paul have made their product an object of desire. This helps to create an air of exclusivity around the product, which only made fans more desperate to get their hands on it.

KSI and Paul’s audience is largely made up of children and teenagers - a demographic that is typically more impressionable - so their desire to fit in and tap into trends is easily exploited. As a result, this “fear-of-missing-out” strategy works perfectly.

Strategic Sport Sponsorship

Through strategic sponsorships and partnerships, KSI and Paul have massively increased their credibility and exposure. In July 2022, Prime Hydration partnered with Arsenal FC, which was a huge (and genius) move.

Not only does this partnership massively help boost the brand’s visibility and get the product in front of their target audience, but it also adds to the brand’s credibility - being backed by a world-renowned football team means that Prime will now be viewed as a trusted and effective sports hydration drink, putting it in with the likes of Lucozade or Powerade, rather than just another influencer project. It also provides Prime with another cult following, Arsenal’s loyal supporters, who will be able to purchase Prime at home games.

But 2023 was arguably a bigger year for them in terms of sponsorship exposure. In January 2023 UFC announced a global marketing partnership with the Prime pairing, raising awareness for the brand by images of the bottle being printed on the floor of the Octagon. What could be better for a brand than 2 fighters scrapping for a sip of prime on the famous octagon floor?

But in all seriousness, the awareness this brings is immense. UFC estimate that this would put prime on 900 million sports fans TVs across the 175 countries. If you want athletes to drink Prime, then what better audience could you ask for?

In April of 2023 Prime also brought their sponsorship to the MLB as Prime becomes the sports drink of the LA Dodgers, one of the most popular major league baseball teams in the US.

What more does 2023 have in store for Prime?

Fan hype

User-generated content has helped to keep Prime Hydration relevant and boost hype. Since its launch, social media has been rife with videos of shoppers fighting over the drink, with one video resulting in over 9 million views on TikTok.

Seeing people rushing to get Prime while paying a premium for it only feeds curiosity and makes you want to find some to see what all the fuss is about.

Other Youtubers and TikTokers have made videos of them trying Prime and giving their opinions on the different flavours because it was the ‘in trend’ thing, which is just free promo.

One TikToker in particular who has helped keep Prime relevant is the convenience store owner known as “Wakey Wines”. He takes advantage of the limited access to Prime, stocks his shop with them and makes videos of him selling the drink to customers at much higher prices. These videos have gone viral for one reason mainly is the sheer absurdity and outrage at the price he was charging for them. In some cases, it was £100 a bottle.

Was he just trying to stir controversy or do you think he actually sold a single bottle of Prime for £100?

Publicity stunts

The Youtube duo has been clever and creative at promoting Prime and keeping the fire burning. Logan Paul appeared on WWE walking out into the ring with a bottle of Prime shortly after their USA launch, which was instantly picked up on social media. Over 1.3 million people watched his entrance and the stunt reportedly resulted in 740 searches for “Prime Logan Paul'' per hour and #LoganPaul trending on Twitter.

This wasn’t the only time Prime has made an appearance in the WWE. During one edition of Wrestlemania we see Paul bodyslam KSI through a table (while he’s wearing a huge bottle of prime of course). Stunts like these at a place like WWE are a great marketing paly, as as one could argue that the wrestling fan base aligns with Prime Hydration’s.

Prime even ran an ad during the Super Bowl pregame, one of the biggest Sports events in the world. This was the first creator-owned Big Game commercial ever, and of course, it allowed KSI and Paul to get Prime in front of a key audience of sports fans.

Final Thoughts...

KSI and Logan Paul have proven to marketing companies just how effective a social media presence, knowing your target demographic and clever strategies are. By combining their huge internet presence and influence with smart marketing tactics and partnerships, the duo have been able to catapult their shared business venture to huge success. Judging by its rapid growth and huge sales, would it be too absurd to think we might see Prime as a household name anytime soon?

Do you think Prime’s success will continue, or do you think the hype will die down and it’ll tail off like other influencer brands?

If you run a e-commerce brand and need help with your marketing strategy - book a free call with Joe, Dom, or Freddie today to learn more about how we can help you today!

Written by:

Fiona Western - Retention Account Manager