How Did Dude Perfect Start?

We are big fans of Dude Perfect. But we have found there are many misconceptions about how did Dude Perfect start.

The main consensus is through videos that went viral. Youtube has been awesome, waved its online magic and now people (just like us) now have (of 2024) the 74th most watched sports channel on Youtube (higher than TNT Sports and FC Barcelona).

It even explains this in their documentary:

What we have found is that there are a few steps that actually are missed.

How did Dude Perfect Start...its a multi-step process

We have to explain first that Dude Perfect came online at the right moment. Actually, there isn't a right moment. There is an opportune moment and Dude Perfect found this. The main moment was this:

very limited to no trick shot videos around.

Now we have tons, but they are all related to Dude Perfect and are going to be (rightly or wrongly) associated with the "Dude Perfect effect".

So, through research they found no videos. They found a gap in the market. That gap can also be filled with:

people who like sports and can actually do what is suggested
realise that not all trick shots can be done on first go, so they have resilience to compete and keep at it
enjoy what they do and for that to come off well on camera
a very videorific (our term) activity that does really well on video. Trick shots can not be blogged as well as being shown.

This is what created their first video.

So now you have a video, who cares. A video is just a video if no-one is going to see it.

The starting step to viral success

Now we have something that adds fuel to the fire. You have a good video, now what? You introduce that video to viewers. If you can do it for free, that is a bonus.

Each member for Dude Perfect have friends (and because they are at college, those friends are probably the same age and into similar activities). Similar to how Facebook started- through college campuses with like minded individuals.

Dude Perfect then went to post on Facebook. And that is where the virility of the video came from.

Facebook promoted the video through pass along marketing. Each friend passed onto someone else which then kicked in Youtube noting a highly watched video which then went onto the front page of Youtube. This kickstarted more people to view and subscribe.

So just for thought. If each Dude Perfect member had 5 friends and those friends had 5 friends and so on...you can see how quickly views can escalate.

New agencies started to pick up the video and were trying to figure out how they did the shot- was this phenomena a trick in itself? This brought curiosity and more fans, more links and more credibility.

Trick shots...then what? The second part of how did Dude Perfect start

The trick shot videos came and came with average 2-3 million views each time. But now what. How do you parlour that into something bigger- or should you.

Well, there's 2 things that happened.

Ty's dad became their business manager. And it is through this that they became sponsor laden
The videos changed to more higher quality and the "stereotype" videos were launched which then saw a bump in views.

But these couldn't have gone forward without consistent videos. The Brand of Dude Perfect was being born and that is what other brands like to see. Can you be professional, relevent and consistent?

Even the stint on Jimmy Kimmel still didn't bump up their numbers drastically on views (2.5 million views, video after this? 3.1 million) . But what that did was create credibility- someone took a chance on them. Then they got the Dallas Cowboys stadium trick shot 2.7 million, but after that 6-12 million view videos.

But the sponsorship between Nerf is where you get the bump- 117 million views.

We also now start to move over into other related videos. So now we get Stereotypes starting with Pickup Basketball Stereotypes at 128 million views. Then we get 80, 60, 109 million views.

So it was the switch over to something new but keeping within the sport niche seemed to be the key. But it took 4-5 years to do. Also, if you notice after the stereotype videos there is a drop in views.

But as Dude Perfect start to add in videos that are related to something the views pick up.

So we have:

guest trick shots
real life trick shots (which have been a huge success)
specific celebrities joining in with the videos
then we have certain sports related to the time- so ping pong, Super Bowl, All Sports
Then we get the genius Overtimes.
A tour

So it isnt just trick shots

Trick shots is what brought you in. It showed what Dude Perfect could do. Like a showcase reel. But after a while they turn from a Purple Cow to just a cow.

Seth Godin suggests that all companies should be looking for a purple cow. You drive a long a road, see tons of cows in field. Cool, but after a while it gets boring to see. But how about if one was purple? Well then you would sit up and notice. But after a while that purple cow becomes boring. So the purple cow is not a one off thing, it is something different each time.

This is what Dude Perfect has shown, and with great effect. Their initial purple cow was the trick shots. But after a while, subconsciously, people thing, cool, but what else? So you have to keep on reinventing, but tweaking. You have to be grounded in your original idea. Dude Perfect is all about different sports. Then it is fun with sports. Then it was fun with a group of fun people.

So now we have the brand of Dude Perfect which is actually the group of people. We have got to know them a little and it is fun to see their interactions. This is especially demonstrated with Cory Cotton and his common appearance with the Wheel of Misfortune.

But now we have this:

An Overtime segment 2 years ago bringing in 12 million views. Their videos are hovering around that number.

So what is the cause?

Viewer fatigue
misalignment with what people are expecting
too many items
too focused on one character
rushed?

All could be contenders and you find that decline occurs not because of one issue but multiple issues that accumulate. When you read the reviews of OT 32 you find people love the Overtime segment but, it is losing its original appeal.

When we watch OT we feel that there is a slight rushed feeling. Also, some characters are being overly used (like Ned). We feel that the original competitiveness, laughing at peoples attempts and punishing the loser (in a fun way) has been lost. Also, the group dynamic seemingly is being lost. It seems like (rightly or wrongly) that Ty is centre and the others are watching. Almost most of the videos have him front and centre.

The original dynamic is perceived to be going.

What should they do?

It is hard because they must have a plan, and that plan seems to be Dude Perfect World (which is difficult to pull off that doesn't get boring), tours and buying soccer teams? they might be finding that direction the way to go. Who knows of the data that they are bringing in. But for the videos it would be nice to see other Youtubers (new and more established) being in their videos especially competitively. You would then fuel new people into your videos and build back up interest in your brand.

As per always we wish Dude Perfect all the best

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