Marketing Outside the Box

Putting the WOW! in Work Out World

WOW! Work Out World, based in Brick, N.J., is known for thinking outside that marketing box, be it with 3-D glasses or monkeys. WOW!, ready to launch a new monthly membership rate, looked for a unique marketing tool to help get its message out to the community. Its "over the top" marketing campaign was based on using car toppers - the mini billboard sign that sits atop a car. Car toppers, usually associated with cab companies and pizza parlors, have now crossed over into the world of fitness via WOW!'s new marketing message. The car toppers were personalized with the new WOW! monthly membership rate, along with the company's logo, its slogan of "Fun Fitness, Silly Price," and its toll-free phone number.

"We have a monthly budget of about $30,000 for marketing and advertising, and try to leverage that to project our brand and look for ideas that are silly and fun," says Steve Roma, chief executive at WOW! Work Out World. "Some of the ideas may not sell a membership directly, but things like the car toppers have a minimal cost and provide a 24-hour-a-day ad that spends time in our employees' driveways, stuck in traffic and all around town."

Bucking tradition

While not every idea has to be as extreme as those used by WOW!, the fitness industry may want to look outside of itself for marketing ideas. "Most club operators don't know what to do differently to help boost their marketing," says Conrad. "The system isn't set up for non-traditional marketing, and most [managers] certainly don't have the time to put together a plan that is outside of what they have normally done."

Paying attention to what works in other industries can be a great starting point for your fitness center. "There are plenty of ideas out there that other companies are using that can be applied to our industry," says Conrad. "Look at how AOL built its brand by giving away free hours on CD-ROM. I recently saw a great marketing promotion utilizing socks with a message. … These kinds of guerrilla marketing campaigns are out there; you just have to keep an eye out for them."

According to Jay Conrad Levinson of the Guerrilla Marketing Association, and widely recognized as the father of guerrilla marketing, these kinds of ideas can work well for most businesses. Best of all, they don't have to add much to a fitness center's marketing budget. "There are so many free and low-cost ways to approach guerrilla marketing because of their simplicity, common sense and record of being proven in action," says Levinson. "One of the main reasons that businesses fail is lack of marketing insight. To not take marketing to the street level and build a brand that resonates with people is corporate suicide in today's competitive environment."

Conrad agrees that operators tend to undervalue marketing plans when they should spend on them. Some, she says, may even be surprised by the return on investment. "Many of these guerrilla marketing tools are so low-cost that, if you get two members a month, they pay for themselves," Conrad says. "Many club owners will spend $7,000 on a treadmill that really doesn't do anything to bring in a new member. Yet, that same owner won't spend a few hundred dollars for a graphic designer and copywriter to put out a great marketing piece, or on a cost-effective guerrilla marketing campaign - that can be as easy as speaking in front of a group or using lead boxes effectively."

Going guerrilla

A guerrilla marketing approach is just part of your marketing plan, according to Conrad. It's one that should pull from what she calls the "five pillars" of marketing (see Casey Conrad's Five Pillars of Success). "It is important to build a plan on a monthly basis that draws from external marketing, internal marketing, guerrilla marketing, corporate marketing and community outreach," says Conrad. "We … have seen that if you run an ad, you get a certain response rate; but, if you run a synergistic campaign, those response rates climb considerably."

Mixing and matching your marketing plan is a key to a successful campaign, be it traditional, guerrilla or a mix of both. "The real key to marketing today is that ads, websites, Val-Packs, guerrilla tactics, etc., don't work when you try them as a single-weapon approach," says Levinson. "You really need to work all the angles to get your name in front of as many people as possible so when they are thinking of getting fit or joining a health club, your's will be the one they think of - that is the true value of a quality marketing campaign."

Despite its penchant for creative, out-of-the-box marketing, WOW!'s Roma says that the company uses various marketing avenues to help promote the company's brand. "We do all the traditional things, as well, such as newspaper ads, direct mail, etc., but that isn't our passion," says Roma. "Our passion is in finding the fun things to do like the car toppers or utilizing a Segway [a motorized scooter] to promote a new club. I think it is a passion that sets us apart from much of the competition we face."

Roma says he also capitalizes on his staff 's enthusiasm and acceptance of the WOW! image to help some of these campaigns become a success. Prior to ordering the car toppers, WOW! management asked the sales staff if they would like to participate in a unique marketing promotion to help launch the new monthly membership rate. Initially, WOW! ordered 20 car toppers based on the response from the sales department. However, WOW! management could not have anticipated the response from all other staff members. As other employees saw the car toppers, they wanted to know how they could get a car topper, too. There were so many requests that a waiting list was created, and an additional order of car toppers was placed. In total, there are now 45 car toppers (i.e., mini-marketing machines) in transit, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

"It really starts at the hiring level for us, and my son Steven Jr. gets all the credit for getting a staff that promotes our culture and that wants to get involved with building WOW!," Roma says. "Staffing is a part of a business that many business people - regardless of the industry - don't realize is also a part of the business' branding and marketing effort."

Stay focused

Regardless of the method of reaching out to perspective members, Levinson says that one of the basic rules of marketing remains in effect: "You must keep track of the programs you have in place, starting with asking every prospect, 'How did you hear about us?' If you are marketing correctly, you may have as many as six or 10 campaigns going on at once, and you must know what is working and what isn't, or else you may be throwing money away - and that is just bad business."

Ideas abound that may help a business build its brand and stay ahead of the competition - all for less money than you may imagine. The key is to keep an eye out for a good idea, and market outside the box.