From enemies to allies, YouTube sensations KSI and Logan Paul released the widely popular energy drink PRIME earlier this year, and it has been announced that it will now be sponsoring football team Arsenal.
With KSI’s progressive career since he started out releasing YouTube videos, the success of his recent business venture comes as no surprise, and in light of this we’d like to take a look at the partnership with Arsenal, KSI’s career, and why YouTube influencer marketing is often a success.
Prime x Arsenal
The PRIME Hydration drink has earned great success, becoming one of the most widely sought-after sports drinks available. After launching on the January 4 this year, within hours it had sold out.
With millions of bottles sold, it had secured shelf space in 2,000 Target stores around the US and has since branched into the UK market. It comes in various flavours, including blue raspberry, tropical punch, and grape, and contains vitamins, antioxidants, and electrolytes.
The success of PRIME drinks is undeniable, and the news of partnering with Arsenal is extremely reflective of the popularity of PRIME, as well as of KSI and Logan Paul, the PRIME Hydration owners.
Influencer Matchmaker had the honour of working with Arsenal for a campaign focussed around promoting the first #RwandaChampionsChallenge.
With their brief of wanting to work with an influencer who was facially recognisable with a good following, we thought of no better match than UK rapper Lethal Bizzle.
Bizzle hosted challenges between three fans and three Arsenal first-team players, and posted video content of the day to his Instagram feed, Instagram story and Twitter feed, perfectly fulfilling the requirements of the partnership.
Like this match, the partnership between Arsenal and PRIME proves to be a strong deal, particularly since KSI is known to be a lifelong supporter of the team!
Image source: Instagram
Who is KSI: Arsenal sponsor, YouTube sensation, and entrepreneur
KSI, who also goes by the nickname “JJ” which stems from his name Olajide Olayinka Williams, is a multi-talented YouTube star with a global following. He first started YouTube in 2008, playing popular video games like FIFA and Call of Duty, and his career has skyrocketed.
With millions of YouTube subscribers, he is still one of the most popular gaming influencers on YouTube, and he has earned further success from co-founding the group Sidemen, which is made up of seven YouTube creators who post videos of challenges, sketches, and videogame compilations.
KSI has also entered the music industry, allowing his passion for rap to flourish. He has released his own singles and albums, with songs like “Lamborghini” and “Keep Up” earning a place in the charts.
Another profession that KSI has explored is boxing, starting out with his amateur boxing debut in 2018 against content creator Joe Weller, to entering his most famous boxing battle against then rival, now business partner, Logan Paul.
This fuelled immense coverage with millions of YouTube views and social media traffic, with the first fight ending in a majority draw and then second being a professional fight with KSI declared the winner.
KSI’s career doesn’t stop there, as not only has he dabbled in acting and released his own books, but he is also an entrepreneur with various business projects. He has co-founded XIX Vodka and Sides, a chain of fast food restaurants, and now, of course, has co-founded PRIME Hydration drinks.
KSI is truly a force to be reckoned with, particularly with expanding his audience so widely across different industries and career paths. From as his early YouTube fans to his sporting and music fans, KSI is incredibly popular amongst various target audiences, proving what an influential and well-known celebrity his is, as well as how beneficial YouTube influencer marketing can be.
Image source: Instagram
Is YouTube influencer marketing worth it?
When deciding what type of campaign or influencer is most suitable for your brand, YouTube influencer marketing should not be overlooked.
With KSI and Logan Paul being such well-known and influential YouTubers, their ability to create video content that is tailored to their audience, as well as being of a high standard, shows how it can be the ideal route for your brand.
Not only is YouTube the second most popular platform for influencer marketing, but it’s also the second most popular website in the world, with over 2 billion users each year.
Being creative with influencer video content is always beneficial, which Logan Paul has demonstrated perfectly with his promotional videos for PRIME Hydration drinks.
His video of him in a helicopter pouring PRIME onto his friend who was doing a parachute jump and shouting “Drink PRIME” stunned viewers, as did his video showing a monkey stealing his PRIME drink out of his bag.
The engagement these videos earned due to their creative and shocking nature shows how innovative video content can be, and as YouTube marketing influencer examples go, their originality is through the roof!
Of course, using YouTube means you are limited to video content only, whereas other platforms can post still images and stories. However, video content can be more visual, engaging, and memorable – perfect for your brand campaign!
It should be noted that more traditional videos such as unboxing videos, tutorials, and hauls still prove to be popular across YouTube, and would be very reliable for your influencer marketing campaign.
With KSI’s career continuing to thrive and showing how successful YouTube influencer marketing can be, as well as how successful brand partnerships can be with the news of PRIME sponsoring Arsenal, now is the time to think about how you will approach the marketing for your own brand!
If you would like to find the best suited influencer for your brand campaign, or would particularly like to discuss YouTube influencer marketing, get in touch with us and we can help!
