V Shred

Fellow marketing nerds,

Inceptly has some groundbreaking news to share with you.

Yep, we’re to break down some and share some BIG insights that will surely help you make it big on YouTube.

We’re even going to reveal the secret strategy behind one of the most prolific, influential, and successful direct-response marketers' successes on YouTube.

Now, here's the not-so-great news: there are no shortcuts or quick wins on YouTube. 

However, the good news is that we'll provide you with a tried and tested blueprint for success, which lies at the core of Inceptly's approach.

So get ready because we're about to dive into the world of V Shred and uncover the secret strategy behind their incredible $50 million success.

Now, before we get started, for anyone not aware of who or what V Shred is, well... 

They say they’re the fastest-growing fitness, nutrition, and supplement brand on the PLANET.

And you’ve probably seen Vince Gant  (the face and co-founder of V Shred) popping up on your socials in one of their ads that went viral…

Like THIS.

But the truth is… All you really need to know is that V Shred is one of… if not THE biggest Direct Response brand on YouTube, and they spend over a millions bucks on advertising per year.

And the stats on their website are equally as impressive:

So without further ado…let's delve into the numbers that showcase the monumental scale of V Shred's advertising efforts and analyze the graphs below.

With a total of 1883 ads, their content has been viewed an astonishing 819 million times. 

Estimating the average cost per view (CPV) at $0.05, we can deduce that V Shred has invested approximately $41 million in YouTube advertising.

However, what's truly fascinating is the breakdown of how these ads have performed… even more so when we look at how the ‘average’ V Shred ad performs.

Because shockingly, out of 1883 ads, a mindblowing 83% of them failed.

Yes, you heard that right!

83% of ads tallied up less than 100k views… and around only $5,000 in ad spend.

We can draw conclusions here with the Pareto principle in action, where 20% of  efforts (in this case the videos and budgets) yield 80% of the results (views and sales).

So it’s clear that V Shred encountered the same struggles as most advertisers in their quest for success.

So what made them succeed where so many others fail?

It’s simple: commitment, patience and dedication to testing.

Now, it gets interesting… because after testing close to 2000 ads… only a few turned out to be winners.

And the probability of achieving true success is low…  let's break it down further.

If we look at the graphs below, we can see that the chances of finding a partial winner (calculated by having over 1 million views and $50k in ad spend) are as low as one in 20... Or 5%... 

And the probability of finding a real big winner drops down even further to a measly 1%.

Armed with this info, one could dismiss V Shred on the basis of the 1000 or so videos that simply did not work.

Or believe that spending $1.4 million in ad spend on these failed videos was a waste.

But when we look at the bigger picture, we can see that, in actual fact, these initial numbers are largely irrelevant. 

And the graphs provide us with valuable insights into the allocation of resources and expenditures.

While a significant 83% of their videos fall into the category of under 100k views, it is important to consider the distribution of spending across the remaining three columns. 

Despite the lower number of videos in each subsequent category, the expenditure progressively increases.

In essence, the initial investment of $1.4 million in a multitude of videos can be seen as a calculated exploration of creative possibilities. 

This comprehensive testing approach allows V Shred to identify the few exceptional videos that rise above the rest. 

Once such a winner is discovered, V Shred can then confidently invest tens of millions of dollars into its promotion, generating a positive return on investment (ROI).

And this is the key -  as you can see on the graph above, these winning ads are attributed to a huge percentage of overall ad spend.

And the videos with more than 1M views, which are less than 10% of all videos produced, have spent more than 35M dollars combined!

Slamming the idea that $1.4 million spent on the failed videos was a waste…

And instead, revealing it as an essential part of V Shred's strategic approach, leading them to uncover remarkable successes. 

By leveraging these triumphs, V Shred demonstrates their ability to allocate substantial resources and achieve remarkable ROI.

So we have to remember that success does not happen overnight - you need the right creative skills, patience, and commitment to find substantial success on platforms like YouTube.

Because as Media Buying becomes more automated, it’s safe to say that great content is the real driver of success.

And no one demonstrates this better than V Shred.

They are constantly adding fresh elements to existing videos… a quick, simple, cost-effective solution to ensure a steady stream of fresh creatives to test on the search for the next big winner.

Proving that if you have the right skill set, patience, and determination, you do not have to spend loads to create a winning ad.

Now,  let's look at the graphs below and take a deeper dive into V Shred's testing efforts. 

In their most successful year, 2020, they launched 249 ads.

Then as they faced challenges with cracking the YouTube algorithm and adapted to the post-pandemic landscape, V Shred intensified their testing efforts. 

We can also see that even winning ads have a limited lifespan.

Even those with over 10 million views tend to burn out and stop working within a year.

Further proving the point that if you want to gain and maintain success on YouTube, you have to continually invest your time and effort into testing and experimentation.

Moreover, we see a direct correlation between publish date and estimated spend. 

In other words, a video was more likely to spend more if it had been released in 2020. 

As you can see in the graphs... 

the duration of a video's lifespan varies.

But we can see, for instance, that videos with over 10 million views tend to work for about a year, while those with around 5 million views typically have a lifespan of around six months.

Plus, the data shows us that there's ALWAYS more than one video in scaling.

However, the most important takeaway is that even a winning video will die.

And if we circle back to our previous point, the good news is that it really doesn't need to cost the earth to create a steady flow of new videos to test.

And here’s the really juicy part…

Because all you really need is a new ‘hook’, ‘thumb stopper,’’ or ‘intro’ to give your ad a fresh look and beat creative fatigue.

This could be anything from 1-60 seconds you attach to your ‘winner.’

And with this strategy, you lessen the workload and cost of creating a brand-new ad to test.

You could literally do something as inexpensive as using AI to create a new 5-second hook…instead of expensive high-budget full ads, which can cut the cost of video production significantly.

This is something V Shred has done time and time again, and we can prove just how successful it can be in their ads below.

First, look at their best-performing ad, displaying an incredible 75.9 million views and 3.795 million dollars in ad spend! Click here to watch it.

Now take a look at their second-best performer coming in hot with 36.1 million views and 1.805 million in ad spend. Here it is.

Notice anything similar?

Because if you compare the two, you’ll notice that their best-ever performing ad… is simply a 17-second intro hook… a self-filmed UGC clip attached to their second-best performer featuring Vince Grant.

Genius, right?

Proving that it really can be that simple and inexpensive to create a brand-new winner.

Further confirmed when analyzing the quality and production of the ads.

As you can see, you will need the skill set, patience, and commitment to keep testing, creating, and experimenting to maintain your success… 

BECAUSE, once you find this rare winner, you can spend millions of dollars on it! …and generate many multiples of that as revenue as a result.

V Shred's journey exemplifies how initial investments in numerous videos pave the way for uncovering exceptional winners that warrant the significant promotional expenditure. 

By adopting a similar approach and understanding the power of strategic testing, marketers can unlock the potential for their own triumphant YouTube campaigns.

And this is what lies at the heart of Inceptly’s philosophy. Testing, experimentation, and patience are absolutely necessary if you want to find a winning campaign that drives long-lasting success and results.

At Inceptly, we have helped countless brands scale their YouTube presence and achieve substantial success.

We have the expertise, experience, and skill set to guide you on your journey to long-term success.

So, if you want to take your YouTube game to the next level - it’s time to get in touch.

See if you qualify for a free brainstorming call with our Inceptly team, responsible for over $900M in direct response revenue: https://inceptly.com/vs-brainstorm

The Inceptly team