editor’s letter
Cover image Photographer: Ben Gold, Sport Relief
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february 2012 © cybertrek 2012 The sport of fi tness
When a major corporation shines a spotlight on your industry, it suggests you’ve come of age. So the announcement that Reebok is launching a new global brand strategy to position itself as the world’s leading fitness brand is a boost for our sector, highlighting both its relevance today and a widespread belief in its future potential. The strategy – supported by a marketing campaign with the
strapline ‘The Sport of Fitness Has Arrived’ – is designed to “change the way people perceive, define and experience fitness” and “bring fitness to the world”. Particularly coming from Reebok – with its aspirational image, consumer credibility and the sort of adspend that can genuinely help shift perceptions – this represents a significant opportunity for the fitness sector. But it’s not just about the potential impact on the consumer; there is also opportunity in the way
the concept encourages the fitness industry to think differently about itself. Reebok president Uli Becker explains: “There is a shift happening today in the fitness world that is born from the idea that fitness can be a sport, with all the elements that we love about traditional sport.” Indeed, the Reebok campaign will focus on an exercise modality that meets exactly that brief – functional training-based CrossFit (see HCM Jan 11, p40) – with pop-up CrossFit gyms planned for iconic locations such as London Bridge and the Empire State building. The ‘sport of fitness’ idea is particularly
‘The sport of fi tness’ idea is particularly interesting in an Olympic year, giving our industry a clear, ownable positioning that connects us to the Games just as we debate the shape of our Legacy
interesting in an Olympic year, and is something the fitness sector could latch on to – a clear, ownable positioning that connects us to the Games just as we debate the shape of our Legacy. While not everyone is motivated
by sport, it’s an attention-grabbing concept that will speak loudly to those who are. Provided it’s leveraged as part of an improved approach to member segmentation, it could be a powerful message. So how should we use this opportunity? Attitude is key: we need to recreate the buzz and camaraderie
of sport for those who are motivated by this. If, rather than the excitement they’ve been led to expect – not just by this campaign but by all the other sport and fitness-related marketing in this Olympic year – prospects are instead faced with apathetic staff and a traditional gym floor full of rows of machines and solo exercisers when they walk through our doors, their disappointment will be all the greater. But there’s no need to reinvent the wheel, as many aspects of our offering already deliver just this
sort of sporting vibrancy: in-house triathlon clubs (see HCM Jan 12, p50), group activities in functional zones, race nights on ‘virtual reality’ bikes, gym challenges and events whereby members train towards specific goals. Added to that are activities such as boxing, outdoor offerings such as Nordic walking, gyms’ own running clubs, BMF – and of course the fast-growing CrossFit. However, although all these elements exist in isolation, a next step might be to package them together
more creatively in line with the ‘sport of fitness’ notion. Indeed, the Reebok campaign’s biggest influence might turn out to be our sector’s reaction to the concept, including our approach to segmentation: encouraging us to identify themes within our offering, and to package programming and communications around these as a way of targeting the different motivations that exist among members and prospects.
Kate Cracknell, editor
katecracknell@leisuremedia.com
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INTERVIEW
SPORT RELIEF
EMBRACING BRITAIN’S FASTEST-GROWING SPORT
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