How does the True Classic marketing strategy work?

The True Classic marketing strategy puts ad money behind creator videos and posts that already took off, then runs small tests on site and after checkout.

Dennis Ksendzov

Founder · November 10, 2026 · 3 min read

Hand-drawn sketch of True Classic marketing: Organic post to Viral moment to Paid boost

The True Classic marketing strategy puts ad money behind creator videos and behind posts that already took off, and it runs new post purchase tests every week. (Marketing Operators)

True Classic is named the best recent example of moving fast into new categories off one hero product. (Marketing Operators)

How does True Classic treat its influencers?

Treat creators as partners and spend behind their videos

True Classic's marketing lead says influencer marketing as one-off paid posts is dying, replaced by affiliate creators treated as partners who win together with the brand.

True Classic spent into one creator's videos until he earned so much commission that he quit his job to do it full time.

Write commission into your next creator deal, then spend behind the videos that sell.

What did True Classic do with its UFC and sports deals?

Let the post go viral, then come in with paid

The UFC, the Clippers and the Rams were a major growth focus for True Classic. (Bryan Cano)
True Classic's CEO says sports sponsorships are almost impossible to track except through a post purchase survey.
True Classic could not turn its UFC and other sports partnership content into a direct response ad. What worked was taking the content that did so well organically and boosting it. Bryan Cano, who led marketing at True Classic, would let the post have its viral moment and come in with paid after about a week. (Statusphere, Ben Heath)
A boosted post will not show a ROAS in Ads Manager that tells you to keep spending, so judge it on other metrics, as True Classic did.
True Classic also spent $50,000 to $100,000 on single productions, the Jim Nantz style ads. (Bryan Cano)

Before the next big bet, run a small test this month.

What can you copy from True Classic's marketing?

Run small tests in person, on site and after checkout

Make one small, cheap token with a custom code on it, the way True Classic's founder hands out a poker chip.
"So what I would do with these Uber Eats drivers that come every day, I would give them a chip. Within a week, they would come back and they'd be wearing all True Classic." True Classic's founder, on Open Residency, 20:15.
True Classic's Pac-Man game on site gives the top 10 scores $50 in store credit, with $500 going out in a 24 hour window. (Marketing Operators)
An ad read says True Classic sees 30 to 70 cents of lift per order from showing other brands' offers on the thank you page. (Eric Seufert)
Before scaling spend another 30% on Black Friday, state what revenue should do, a tactic credited to True Classic's Ben. (Marketing Operators)

Pick one of these tests and run it before your next ad push.

More on this:

Who can run all of this for my brand?

All of this needs an owner every week, which is what brands hire us for.

Far more creator content to test as paid ads. Budget goes to the proven winners, and the rest are cut fast. Influencer grows into a channel big enough to sit next to Meta. A new audience almost right away, from the creator's handle. New-customer costs 20% to 30% lower when the creator gets a cut of the spend. Every creator deal can become an ad, because the rights are already signed.

If you have some of the steps in place, we audit what's missing in each and how to take it further.