Strike first. Strike hard. No mercy.
A spinoff of The Karate Kid saga, Cobra Kai played on the fandom and nostalgia of OG Karate Kid fans, while appealing to a younger generation with a fresh approach. In 2017, YouTube hired Brand Knew to launch and own social media execution for season one.
We effectively achieved a breakthrough launch of @cobrakaiseries handles and amassed an organic following of 107K in just nine weeks. This was possible by rolling out several key marketing activations, including a partnership with ThinkModo to create a viral stunt video, which earned 14M views. The nine-tile social launch map of the San Fernando Valley featured a series of video carousels that sparked the largest 24-hour follower growth on the @cobrakaiseries Instagram to date.
After season two, Cobra Kai was acquired by Netflix and has since been renewed for its sixth and final season. The long-term success of Cobra Kai can be directly attributed to the combined success of the work we accomplished on season one.
WHAT I DID:
Audience creation
Social media strategy
Social media calendar management
Copywriting
Social media execution
Content capture & set footage
Reporting
TITLE: STRATEGIST, MARKETING
AGENCY: BRAND KNEW
Brand Knew Case Study
Launching YouTube as a force in original content.
In the Fall of 2017, YouTube secured the rights to create and distribute a continuation series of the 1984 film The Karate Kid, starring members of the original cast, Ralph Macchio and William Zabka. With over 1M mentions on social media between October 2016 and October 2017 alone, The Karate Kid remains an iconic film and a relevant fixture of cultural discussion, even 34 years after its release.
IMAGES SHOT BY ME