Gracie Barra is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu powerhouse. With more than 1000 schools across the globe, this international brand is arguably the most recognisable in the world of martial arts. Gracie Barra Shellharbour (GBS) was looking for digital marketing agency to increase and diversify their membership base in Shellharbour and the Illawarra. Beans worked closely with Gracie Barra Shellharbour to elevate their marketing presence and activate their brand across a number of digital marketing campaigns.
Behind any success is a plan, and that’s where Beans always begins. Prior to producing any creative collateral, it was vital we identified the target markets relevant to Gracie Barra’s goals. Our extensive customer research was used to form digital marketing content that focused on the confidence and resilience members find as they progress at Gracie Barra Shellharbour.
Firstly, Beans sought to update the content and messaging across the Gracie Barra's digital marketing channels, including their website and social media. Content was created to attract new members, improving the enquiry of women and parents while maintaining strong enquiry from males.
This was achieved by building out the landing pages for each of these target markets, along with supporting print and social media marketing.
As a full service marketing agency, Beans also developed a strategy and marketing for schools, allowing Gracie Barra Shellharbour to approach educators and explain the benefits of BJJ for kids.
Anti-bullying event
Beans and Gracie Barra Shellharbour developed a range of traditional and digital marketing campaigns targeting parents and their children. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu helps people develop self-defence skills and promotes anti-bullying, both of which are incredibly important for children. In light of Australia’s 2022 National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence, Gracie Barra Shellharbour ran a special one-time anti-bullying event which would take children through the very basics of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for self-defence while providing them with valuable anti-bullying principles. The event booked out prior to the day and generated a swell of new memberships.
School holidays camp
The next campaign aimed to capture the school holidays market with a camp spanning multiple days. The school camp ran over multiple days and using a range of marketing channels and content, was fully booked before the end of the campaign.
Back to school
Naturally, following the School Camp campaign came the Back to School campaign. Beans developed digital marketing content to promote memberships to the School Camp attendees explaining the wide-ranging benefits of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in developing strong and resilient kids.
Tiny Champions
Another marketing campaign Beans built was the launch of a new class, Tiny Champions. Open to three and four year olds, Gracie Barra Shellharbour started the class due to the overwhelming demand from current and potential members. As with the School Camp campaign, Beans put together a cohesive communications plan utilising email, SMS marketing, and social media channels in addition to building the registration platform and designing internal signage. The campaign was extremely effective, with registrations totalling upwards of 40 people for the debut class.
Gracie Barra Shellharbour member Cobi Jones is a talented grappler. The young athlete was invited to compete at the World Championships held in America during the 2022 competitive season. To attract media attention to shine light on Cobi’s achievements and show what GBS can offer aspiring grapplers, Beans ran a local PR campaign, which was picked up by the Illawarra Mercury and local radio station, i98fm.