CLIENT — ELEMENT MMA • NEWARK, CA
60 Leads in a Month for $10/day
How we built a Meta ads funnel for a brand new martial arts gym in the Newark/Fremont area, generating leads at nearly half the industry average cost.
60
LEADS FIRST TWO WEEKS
4.73%
CTR (INDUSTRY AVG: 1–2%)
$10
/day
DAILY BUDGET
JOJO • MARKETING LEAD, ELEMENT MMA
OVERVIEW
CLIENT
ELEMENT MMA
BUILDING MEMBERSHIP FOR A NEW MARTIAL ARTS GYM IN NEWARK, CA
Element MMA is a martial arts gym located in Newark, CA, right on the border of Fremont. They offer Muay Thai, Boxing, No-Gi Jiu Jitsu, and MMA classes for all levels, coached by active competitors in combat sports. When they came to Creation Peak Studios, they had just opened their doors and were ready to start building their membership base.
SERVICES
Meta Ads
Ad Creative
Meta Pixel Setup and Tracking
Meta Business Suite
Video/Reel Creation
Copywriting
THE CHALLENGE
Breaking Through the Organic Ceiling
Element MMA had strong traction from day one. Memberships were growing, Google reviews were coming in, and word of mouth was working. The product was proven. The challenge was breaking out of their immediate network and reaching the broader Fremont and Newark community before growth naturally plateaued.
Organic reach has a ceiling. Reviews and referrals bring in people already looking. Paid ads reach the people who aren't looking yet but would join if they knew Element MMA existed. That was the opportunity.
On top of the growth challenge, there were a few hurdles to clear before anything could launch:
01
No Paid Advertising Infrastructure
Element MMA had never run paid ads before. No campaigns, no pixel, no business suite setup. Everything needed to be built from scratch before a single dollar could be spent.
02
Inconsistent Lead Flow
New members were coming in but not predictably. Some weeks were strong, others were quiet. Lead volume was tied entirely to word of mouth timing and algorithm luck.
03
A Growing Market With Local Competition
The Newark and Fremont area has a strong martial arts community. Building a paid advertising presence early is a real competitive advantage.
04
Low Awareness in the Fremont Market
Most of their early members came through personal connections and local word of mouth in Newark. The broader Fremont market had litte awareness of the gym's existance.
THE WORK - AD CREATIVE
Scroll-Stopping Video Built From Existing Content
We built a 20 to 30 second video reel using content pulled directly from Element MMA's Instagram page. The hook led with local identity, speaking directly to the Fremont and Newark community. The creative showcases the gym's energy, programs, and coaching credentials. The ad closed with a clear call to action tied to their 3-day paid trial offer at $49.
THE WORK - META BUSINESS SUITE SETUP
Getting the Foundation Right
Before any campaign could launch, we needed to get their Meta Business Suite properly configured. This included resolving the Facebook account issues, setting up their business page correctly, getting pixel access, and creating the ad account; all from scratch.
Most agencies skip this step or hand it off to the client, but we walked Element MMA through every part of it.
THE WORK - META PIXEL SETUP
Tracking Every Lead Back to the Ad
We installed the Meta Pixel on their GymDesk website by injecting the base code into the site's header scripts. From there we configured a custom Lead event on every form on the site. This includes the trial form, homepage forms, and contact forms, so that every submission was tracked and reported back to Meta. This gave the algorithm the conversion signal it needed to optimize delivery toward people most likely to fill out a form.
THE WORK - META PIXEL SETUP
Reaching the Right People at the Right Time
With the creative and tracking in place, we built and launched the campaign with one goal: put Element MMA in front of the right people in the Newark and Fremont area. We identified the right demographics based on age, location, and behavioral signals, and selected placements where local audiences were most likely to engage. From there we let Meta's algorithm do its job, optimizing delivery toward people most likely to take action.
THE WORK - CONVERSION FUNNEL
A Complete Funnel Built from Scratch
Rather than just "running ads," we built the entire system — from creative, page, tracking, and campaign — so every dollar had a place to go and every lead had a path to conversion.
THE RESULTS
Numbers that Actually Moved the Business
We started with a simple goal: prove the funnel could generate real trial leads at a low test budget. In the first two weeks, the system did exactly that and beyond.
$5.47
Cost Per Lead
The average cost per lead for fitness and gym campaigns on Meta runs between $8 and $15.
THE IMPACT
60 Leads. One Ad. One Month.
WHAT'S NEXT
Building on a Strong Foundation
The adult campaign proved the funnel works. The next phase focuses on expanding reach and targeting new audience segments:
A dedicated kids program campaign once footage from classes is available, targeting parents in the Newark/Fremont area.
A general brand campaign capturing the full family-oriented environment of the gym
Increased budget to run multiple campaigns simultaneously as the gym scales into their new location
Retargeting campaign for people who visited the site but didn't fill out the form
