Gym brand refocuses for results and resolutions
The start of a new year brings with it resolutions and, thus an exponential increase in gym memberships. For UK challenger brand the Gym Group, differentiation was key to achieving cut-through.
The organisation, alongside Manchester-based communications agency Dinosaur, launched a new look late last year that has been complemented with a January campaign. The Gym Group stands by its offer of a low-cost, flexible alternative to the traditional gyms that proliferate in Britain’s urban centres. Dinosaur has accentuated this by focusing on accessibility, normal people pursuing normal fitness goals and the supportive environment offered by the Gym Group.
The branding is simple, cheerful and injects a bit of humour into a results-driven sector. Among many straplines in the brand launch is ‘The even more flexible than a roomful of yoga instructors gym,’ a sarcastic, light-hearted message that encapsulate’s the brand’s attitude.
Mark Beaumont, executive director at Dinosaur, says, “Value for money will never cease to be a defining factor of The Gym’s offer, but we quickly established that alone was no longer going to be enough to keep them ahead of the pack – we needed to give people reason to emotionally connect with the brand.Holding a mirror up to the drivers which real people have for exercising allowed us to connect at that deeper level, and avoid the usual sector cliches of body-perfect models, which are unobtainable to most people, and therefore fail to motivate.”
Through this approach, Dinosaur hopes to reposition the long-standing budget gym into a place that connects with normal people through recognisable, motivational campaigns and achievable goals.
