While savvy marketers may tell you image is everything, the folks at Excel Fitness Center have a word to say about substance. After being in business for nearly two decades, the club has developed a true respect for its clients and a commitment to impacting the way they live their lives. The club’s motto seems to be, “It’s not how many people you get through the door, but what you do with them once they are there.”
Along with this pledge to customer service is a commitment to continuing to redefine itself as a successful business. After 17 years serving the Anderson, Ind., area, the club decided it was time to celebrate its growth and share the results with its members. Through its “Magic of Transition” promotion, Excel crafted a new image for itself while keenly educating its customers about the mission of the facility. This education took place against the backdrop of a “Grand Opening” ceremony in which the club’s 8,000 members were invited to witness the physical, as well as philosophical, transition that had taken place at the facility.
In designing the promotions for the event, Lisa Lynn, president of Pro-Fit Services, a consulting and management division of Excel, says three symbols stood out as being most important: longevity, magic and the club’s architectural pillars. “We took the idea and ran all the way back to the Greeks who had great philosophies on fitness and life,” Lynn says. “Our goal was to incorporate similar philosophies and reintroduce our logo and the new facility under the ‘Magic of Transition.’”
All promotional materials, including a direct-mail piece, featured Greek symbols such as the Acropolis in Athens and a structure with four pillars resembling the Parthenon.
“When dealing with the deconditioned market, many times our industry focuses solely on keeping prices low and giving people deals…,” Lynn says. “Our innovation was different because we wanted to educate people on health and prevention, not just get them through the door.” The approach worked. A total of 3,500 members attended the three-day event.