Aussie startup scores a knockout after betting entire budget on UFC fighter Holly Holm
MMA fighter Holly Holm
Aussie startup fashion brand Grrrl plunged it’s entire marketing budget to sponsor UFC fighter Holly Holm on the weekend and is now celebrating a massive boost in awareness on the back of Holm’s shock knockout of world champion Rhonda Rousey.
Grrrl, founded by martial artist Kortney Olsen, told Mumbrella she decided to sink her entire remaining marketing budget on a platinum sponsorship of the underdog fighter on an instinct.
“You have to take risks,” Olsen told Mumbrella.
She said Grrrl had been created as strong, assertive fashion brand that women could relate to, but it was still in startup stage.
The brand was the only Australian company to sponsor Holm, who came into the fight ranked number nine in world against Rousey.
The sponsorship put Grrrl center stage at Etihad Stadium in front of a global pay per view audience and catapulted the brand into the winner’s circle when Holme unexpectedly despatched Rousey with a vicious roundhouse kick to the head.
Olsen, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu state champion and Australia’s first female arm wrestling champion, said she was trying to create a sisterhood with the Grrrl brnd.
“I started thinking about sponsoring Holly in the beginning of September and I thought ‘this is going to be tight’, I meditated on it and I thought there is no stopping this, so I embraced it.”
Since the win Holm’s Facebook following has leapt from 150,000 to more than half a million and the Grrrl brand has been “front and centre.”
“The last photo she posted before the fight was in our gear – I’m so excited.”
UFC set a new attendance record for Etihad stadium with the matchup which took place on Sunday morning for the benefit of US audiences.
Simon Canning
Good on her. So happy to see someone doing well.
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Grrrl could take a leaf out of other marketing techniques. I can’t even find them on google.
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I thought you meant they’d backed her to win on a betting site. I wonder what would have given the greater return?
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Nice. But now just think what she could have done had she bet her entire marketing budget on Holm to win. It was paying out around $10!
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Should have put the marketing budget on a ticket at the bookmakers instead.. Holly Holm was paying $18 at one stage a few weeks ago!
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I thought the title meant she had gambled her marketing budget on Holm winning. That would have been awesome – she would have quadrupled her marketing budget easily.
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No surprise here. Kortney Olsen is an inspirational person willing to take the road less traveled to succeed. It does remind me of a time when her equally inspirational partner sponsored a particular tennis player and that player unexpectantly went deep into the Australian Open. Perhaps the decision to sponsor Holly was less reckless and far more calculated than what we might all imagine.
Good on them, but would have been prudent to leave money to make the most of the flash of awarness. SEM might be a good start.
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Who knows what their marketing budget was. But, googling grrrl and Holly Holm, they appear to have achieved one tweet.
Well done.
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Yanks aren’t as familiar with bookies like the wild outbackers. besides you have no idea what numbers we’re talking about. Google makes enough money as it is. A women’s intuition never lies. Mark my words: we’re changing the game.
Ken- you’re such a stud. I look to my ‘controversial’ partner as my role model. GRRRL is about equality- not bowing down and not being supreme. Just like Holly, we are painted in humility.
Simon great write up. And if any of you blokes wanna arm wrestling match, bring it! Loser has to go door to door with flyers promoting winners brand.
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Steve… did you know that google doesn’t do a great job of searching social #justsaying.
We added over 20,000 instagram followers, nearly 6,000 FB followers, in under 72 hours.
We had thousands of grrrls all over the world register for our launch sale. and sold to thousands of women in over 50 countries on our launch day.
We showed you ours. wanna show us yours?
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Ah ha. Nice.
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Great to hear,
The active wear industry is very crowded so this is a mass achievement
Congrats.
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Google returned the site as the first sponsored result – well worth a look. A masterclass in how to brand well IMHO, albeit to a fairly niche audience. Muscly Kortney on the site were a little intimidating to the girls in the office, but perhaps they’re not quite the target audience.
These grrrls will do very well and kick alot of arse along the way – great to see.
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http://grrrl.com/
Matt, maybe go back to tech school you fossil ..
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Disgusted at the prominence this vile “sport” is getting right now – as are many others, if social media and newspaper commentary are anything to go by.
Won’t be buying anything from anyone associated with it.
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