How TMPL Achieved a 1,770% ROI in 90 Days With Zero Ad Spend
Discover how TMPL Clubs shifted from paid ads to organic creator content through Storytime, achieving a 1,770% ROI in just 3 months.
About TMPL Clubs
TMPL Clubs is a luxury fitness and wellness brand redefining what a modern gym experience feels like. With a strong focus on both performance and recovery, TMPL blends advanced strength-training equipment, innovative wellness services, and a deeply rooted sense of local community. Unlike traditional gym chains, no two TMPL locations are the same, each club is intentionally designed to reflect the personality, lifestyle, and needs of its neighborhood.
Their core demographic consists of 20–40-year-old New Yorkers who value high-quality fitness experiences, recovery offerings, and elevated spaces that feel inviting and community-driven. Members don’t just come to work out, they come to belong.
TMPL’s newest location, and the first to launch on Storytime, represents the brand’s most exclusive concept yet. With premium amenities, cutting-edge recovery tools, and a strong internal community culture, this club sets a new benchmark for what upscale fitness in New York City can look like.
Why TMPL Cut Paid Ads and Grew Faster Through Organic Creator Marketing
TMPL has always operated with the agility of a startup, relying on a mix of prospecting, SEO-driven marketing, Facebook and Google ads, and strong word-of-mouth within its local neighborhoods. But as fitness discovery began shifting toward organic, creator-led channels, TMPL noticed that traditional paid advertising was delivering diminishing returns. People today have total transparency, they can instantly look something up on Google or even ask ChatGPT. They know when something is a paid ad, and that awareness often pushes them away instead of pulling them in. The new way to attract members is by tapping into numerous niche communities and letting real people tell real stories. And that’s exactly what TMPL did through Storytime.
Members are discovering gyms through TikTok, Instagram, and local community experiences far more than through ads. Recognizing this shift, TMPL reoriented its entire marketing strategy toward organic social growth, prioritizing platforms that showcase authenticity: real workouts, real creators, real community.
Since partnering with Storytime, TMPL has seen consistent weekly growth in daily passes from people trying out the gym and increased gym tours, 85% of whom converted directly into memberships. This momentum is fueled by a steady stream of creator content, on-site posts, and hyperlocal visibility. Storytime quickly became their strongest-performing channel. Their leadership team loves how visual and transparent the platform is: they can see every story posted, every view, every local interaction, all in one place. It’s a fully visual, trackable, and cost-efficient alternative to paid ads.
Instead of spending heavily on digital campaigns, TMPL now benefits from hundreds of creator posts and clear metrics they can monitor in real time through the Storytime dashboard. The shift to organic creator marketing hasn’t just reduced acquisition costs, it’s become the most effective way new members discover TMPL Clubs today.
The platform is seamless, the team is incredibly responsive, and every collaboration has been effortless. The influencers we’ve worked with have been professional, creative, and perfectly aligned with our brand. We’re thrilled with the results!
Before Storytime: TMPL’s Influencer Journey and Key Challenges
One of TMPL’s biggest challenges was creating content that truly resonated online. While the brand has always been well-known locally, they struggled to produce the type of viral, high-engagement content needed to reach new audiences and drive consistent foot traffic. Storytime filled that gap by bringing in creators who not only produce
on-brand content but also help TMPL reach hyperlocal viewers who live, work, and train in the neighborhood.
Their decision to join Storytime actually started from within the team. Sam Granaroli, Director of Operations at TMPL, used Storytime as a creator and immediately loved the experience. Seeing the app from the influencer side and discovering new places she had never heard of, watching the organic nature of the content, and experiencing how seamless the process was, made her realize how powerful it could be for TMPL. It felt natural, not forced. That authenticity, combined with how user-friendly the platform is, convinced her it would be a far more effective marketing channel than traditional ads.
What TMPL appreciates most about Storytime creators is the genuine passion they bring. Every creator who visits the clubs is respectful, enthusiastic, and truly grateful to be there. They consistently go above and beyond, crafting thoughtful, elevated content without expecting anything in return. TMPL’s team feels that Storytime has done an exceptional job curating creators who align perfectly with the brand. The content has been beautifully on-brand, and seeing the reach, engagement, and quality from their side has been incredibly exciting.
Measurable Impact
Since launching on Storytime, TMPL has seen a meaningful lift across every metric tied to discovery, engagement, and local visibility. In just 3 months, creators generated over 200 posts and reached over half a million views. This consistent flow of organic, hyperlocal content directly translated into real-world outcomes: a steady increase in daily pass redemptions, more first-time visitors walking through the door, and a noticeable rise of 80% in membership conversions. TMPL’s content volume also grew significantly, growing by 81% month-over-month, followed by another 30% increase, resulting in a 135% total growth in creator activity. What once required paid ads and heavy digital spend is now happening organically, powered entirely by Storytime creators and their communities.