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Proper Youth

Case Study

Proper Youth

Indie RockRising+

5,57924,516monthly listeners

April 2024 - October 2024

Campaign Results Dashboard

Monthly Listeners

Before5,579
After24,516
+339%

Monthly Streams

Before8,924
After78,322
+778%

Spotify Followers

Before12,201
After13,958
+14%

Email Subscribers

Before340
After867
+155%

Monthly Revenue

Before$112
After$3,170.55

Overall Growth: 339% in Monthly Listeners

The Challenge

Proper Youth had spent years chasing playlist placements and blog features that looked impressive on paper. The pattern was always the same: metrics would spike while spending money, then vanish the moment the campaigns stopped. We weren't building a fanbase - we were renting an audience of bots and passive listeners who disappeared as fast as they arrived.

The Strategy

Progressive Campaign Building

Started with playlist.spark and spotify.spark campaigns, then layered in ig.spark and retargeting.

Geographic Targeting Mix

40% US, 30% "green light" countries (CA, UK, AU, NZ), 30% lower-cost engaged markets.

iPhone Content Strategy

One monthly shooting day producing 30+ iPhone-shot performance videos - no expensive productions.

Flywheel Effect

Created compound growth: Instagram → Spotify → Email → Merch, with each channel feeding the next.

Campaign Timeline

Month 1

Foundation with spark campaigns

5,629 → 8,234 listeners

Months 2-3

Added Instagram & scaled winners

8,234 → 11,891 listeners

Months 4-5

Launched retargeting campaigns

11,891 → 18,567 listeners

Months 6-7

Cart campaigns for merch

18,567 → 24,516 listeners

Investment & Return

Service Fee

$4,250

Ad Spend

$13,820

Total Investment

$18,070

Key Results

340% growth in monthly listeners (5,579 → 24,516)

Monthly revenue grew from $112 to $3,170 (2,730% increase)

Cart campaigns achieved 1.85-2.01x ROAS on merch sales

Built email list of 867 engaged fans

iPhone-shot videos drove more engagement than high-production content

"We burned years on playlist pitchers and publicists with nothing real to show for it. Barely's scientific approach - test what works, kill what doesn't - took us from 5K to 24K listeners in 6 months. iPhone videos outperformed expensive productions. Targeting real fans beat playlist schemes. Simple math."

Proper Youth

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