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How we built the entire digital infrastructure for Australia's first professional team grappling league — website, ads, SEO, social media, CRM automation, and growth mechanics — in under 5 weeks.
Apex Submission League set out to create something that didn't exist yet — Australia's first professional team-based submission grappling league. A 4v4, submission-only format with a $5,000+ prize pool, professional production, and a vision to “Raise the Standard” of the sport.
The problem? They had 5 weeks, zero digital presence, and a niche community that had never seen anything like this. No website. No social media. No email list. No ticket infrastructure. No brand identity system. No advertising accounts. Nothing.
They needed the entire go-to-market machine built from scratch — and it all had to be live, optimised, and selling tickets before the mats hit the floor on April 11.
“We had the vision, the venue, and the athletes. What we didn't have was any way to reach the thousands of grapplers who'd want to be there. We needed everything — and we needed it yesterday.”
ASL needed more than a website. They needed a complete digital ecosystem that could:
In short: launch an entire sports brand in 35 days.
A 13-page custom website built with React and TypeScript, deployed on enterprise-grade hosting with a global CDN. Every page was purpose-built to drive ticket sales, build credibility, and support the full marketing funnel.
10-section landing page with video modal, countdown timer, and lead capture
Season schedule with venue teaser, countdown, and embedded CRM forms
Tiered pricing (GA, VIP, Tables) with 3-phase automated pricing transitions
Competition divisions, format breakdown, and team pathway visualisation
Format rules, medical protocols, and downloadable PDF resources
Sponsorship tiers (Title, Presenting, Supporting, Partner) with media kit
Rankings, points system, and live leaderboard
Founder bios, mission, values, and origin story
Gym affiliate program with commission structure and application form
Referee certification, training modules, and cornerman track
Brand assets, press kit, and media accreditation form
Dynamic inquiry form with URL parameter handling
Custom link-in-bio page replacing Linktree (noindex)
3-phase automated pricing with timezone-aware transitions. Early Bird ($39 GA / $99 VIP) automatically shifts to Standard, then Final Release — no manual intervention needed.
Custom design system with championship gold (#D4AF37) and black (#050505) palette. Bebas Neue + Barlow typography. High-contrast, cinematic aesthetic across every page.
Purpose-built /links page replacing Linktree — keeping all traffic on-domain, maintaining brand consistency, and capturing analytics data that third-party tools miss.
Full measurement infrastructure deployed from day one — because you can't optimise what you can't measure. 24 tags across 4 platforms, all managed through a single container.
Page views, scroll depth (25/50/75/90%), CTA clicks, ticket funnel tracking, form submissions, and purchase events with SPA routing support.
PageView, ViewContent, InitiateCheckout, Lead, and Purchase events. Installed across /tickets, /events, /sponsors with thank-you page conversion tracking.
Session recordings, heatmap analysis, and user behaviour tracking to identify friction points in the ticket purchase flow.
Ticket page views, funnel clicks, form submissions, affiliate sign-ups, sponsor inquiries, and CRM funnel conversions — all feeding back into ad optimisation.
A 10-phase SEO and AI Engine Optimisation strategy implemented across all 13 pages:
A $3,500 Meta Ads campaign architected across 3 campaigns with 8 unique ad creatives — designed to move a niche audience from awareness to ticket purchase in under 3 weeks.
Warm audiences — video viewers (50%+), website visitors, ticket page non-converters, email list.
$1,200 allocation
Cold audiences — BJJ, MMA, Combat Sports, Grappling interests. Age 18-44, Australia-wide.
$1,240 allocation
Modelled audiences from warm visitors, video viewers, and email subscribers. Age 18-44, Australia-wide.
$560 allocation
Countdown to price increase with carousel showing price jump
Venue capacity constraint — "Legacy Gym holds 250 max"
Gym owners and community validation montage
What makes ASL different — submission-only, 4v4, $5K prize pool
VIP $99 vs a night out — value comparison
Gym owners and corporate buyers — "Bring your gym"
"Every sport has a beginning. This is Australian grappling's."
Professional lighting, broadcast cameras, commentary — trust through polish
We crafted 3 custom photography prompts for AI image generation — each designed to evoke a specific emotional response:
Intimate gym venue, nearly full, warm golden spotlights — “last-chance” exclusivity
Professional setup, clean mats, LED lighting rig — “this looks legit”
Mat-level crowd shot, ringside tables packed, golden light — “proximity to action”
A complete multi-platform content strategy covering Instagram (primary), TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter — built around 5 content pillars with a 5-week execution calendar.
Brand authority, production quality, founder vision, and format education
Athlete spotlights, team reveals, training footage, and fight card breakdowns
Gym shoutouts, community stories, UGC reposts, polls, and grassroots engagement
Ticket sales, venue announcements, early bird deadlines, VIP experience, and FOMO
Behind-the-scenes setup, camera rigs, commentator reveals, and merch previews
Establish legitimacy, introduce the league, set premium tone with brand anthem and format education
Athlete spotlights, training footage, coach perspectives — build emotional investment before matchups
Team reveals, matchup breakdowns, venue announcement, fight card graphic — peak hype
Early bird countdown, pricing transition, retargeting push, event logistics guide
Final ticket push, sponsor thank-yous, live event day Stories and real-time match coverage
4-5 feed posts + 3-4 Reels + daily Stories (5-10 slides)
5-7 videos/week with trending sounds and native content
3-4 posts/week + Event page + BJJ Group engagement
1 long-form video + 2-3 Shorts per week
Ticket sales don't just happen from ads. We built viral loops, community distribution, and referral mechanics into every touchpoint.
Every ticket buyer receives a unique referral link post-purchase. For every 3 friends who buy, the referrer gets a free VIP upgrade or $20 merch credit.
Post-purchase share kit includes pre-written messages for Instagram Stories, Facebook, WhatsApp, plus branded share cards in 1080x1080 and 1080x1920.
Display A3 poster + share 1 post
$5 per ticket sold via link
Active promotion, link sharing, newsletter
Commission per sale + logo at event
Deep integration, co-branded content, team entered
Premium branding + VIP table + higher commission
90%+ open rates vs. 20-30% for email. 2-3 messages per week with fight card reveals, early bird reminders, and sold-out warnings.
Opt-in via website link: “Join the ASL WhatsApp list for first access to fight cards and ticket drops.”
30 A3 posters with QR codes distributed to partner gyms — front desk, bathrooms, change rooms. 5 weeks of passive exposure = 10-15 impressions per gym member.
Budget: $100-$150 for printing. Each poster links to the gym's unique affiliate URL for commission tracking.
Four automated sequences running 24/7 — turning every website visitor, ticket buyer, and gym partner into an active part of the sales engine.
Trigger: Ticket purchase completed
Confirmation email with unique referral link + share cards. 3 friend purchases = free VIP upgrade.
Trigger: Affiliate signup
Welcome email with partner pack, weekly leaderboard updates, top-referring gym wins free Ringside Table.
Trigger: Email capture (10s on site or 50% scroll)
7-email sequence over 14 days: vision video, format explainer, fight card preview, ticket breakdown, scarcity close.
Trigger: Opt-in via website
2-3 messages/week with fight card reveals, early bird reminders, sold-out warnings. 90%+ open rates.
The benchmarks we set for the campaign — designed to prove the model works and build a repeatable playbook for ASL 2 and beyond.
| Deliverable | Detail |
|---|---|
| Website | 13-page custom-built site with dynamic pricing, countdown timers, and CRM integration |
| Design System | Full UI/UX audit with premium black & gold branding across all pages |
| Analytics | 24 GTM tags — GA4, Meta Pixel, Microsoft Clarity with SPA tracking |
| SEO & AEO | 10-phase implementation: schema markup, sitemap, meta tags, entity definitions |
| Meta Ads Strategy | 3 campaigns, 8 creatives, $3,500 budget allocation with A/B testing plan |
| Social Media | 5-week content calendar, 5 pillars, multi-platform strategy across 6 channels |
| CRM Automation | Post-purchase referral, lead nurture, gym partner sequences, SMS broadcasts |
| Growth Mechanics | Referral program, gym partnership tiers, WhatsApp broadcasts, social sharing prompts |
| Ticket Funnel | 3-phase automated pricing, conversion-optimised checkout, order bumps |
| Content Production | Video scripts, graphic specs, print assets, AI image prompts for ad creative |
Most agencies would tell you a project this size takes 3-6 months. We delivered the entire go-to-market stack — website, ads, SEO, social media, CRM automation, growth mechanics, and analytics — in 35 days.
This wasn't about cutting corners. It was about having the systems, the team, and the AI-augmented workflow to move at the speed the opportunity demanded. Every page was purpose-built. Every tag was tested. Every ad creative was strategically mapped to a funnel stage.
The result? A brand-new sports league with the digital infrastructure of an organisation that's been running for years — ready to sell tickets, grow a community, and scale to ASL 2 and beyond.
See how we help events & sports brands growWhether it's a sports league, an event, or a brand-new business — we build the entire digital engine so you can focus on what you do best.