AirTime Gymnastics Training Center was founded in 2004 in Springville, Utah and has since expanded its programs and facilities. It currently has 36 staff members and offers recreational and competitive gymnastics, trampoline, tumbling, and cheer programs. The document discusses AirTime's target market, competition, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It also summarizes a survey of AirTime customers which found that coaching is the most important factor and word-of-mouth is the primary way customers hear about the gym. The proposed solution is a promotional campaign emphasizing the experienced coaches and encouraging customer referrals across social media platforms using the slogan "Fly Higher."

1. AirTime Gymnastics Training Center
Advertising Strategy
Cedric Huntington, Daniel Goodrich, Kezlie Pollmann, Tyman Weiler

2. Background
Overview
AirTime Gymnastics Training Center was founded and established in October 2004 in Springville, Utah by
Leslie Howell and Heidi Hadley. Together, their goal has been to “[offer] quality gymnastics instruction
in the safest environment” and to “encourage lifelong physical activity”
(www.airtimetrainingcenter.com). They began by offering both recreational and competitive
gymnastics courses. AirTime quickly grew and expanded its course offerings to include competitive and
recreational trampoline and tumbling courses in January 2005. Later that year, they incorporated a
program for an academic preschool. Three years later they began the first of two renovation projects to
increase the gym’s capacity and functionality to meet their demand. Since the renovations, foam pits,
children’s gyms, and an all-star cheer program have been added. AirTime currently operates with 36
staff members--two office staff members and 34 coaches.
AirTime’s current customers are parents who desire for their children to have an active lifestyle. Due to
the location of the facilities, the vast majority of their target market is in the surrounding area near
Springville, Utah--Spanish Fork, Mapleton, and Springville itself. By enrolling their kids in a gymnastics
program, these parents desire that their children improve and progress physically, mentally, and
socially. This market is of parents that are concerned about their children’s health, and want them to be
active to maintain a progressive lifestyle. Similarly, they want them to be socially active and experience
competitive team environments. In addition to the more leisurely gymnastics parents, there is also a
niche group of parents whose main goal is for their children to compete competitively in gymnastics
competitions. AirTime caters to each of these groups by offering classes with varying competitive levels.
Competition
Gymnastics gyms are not a dime a dozen. AirTime’s primary competitor in the gymnastics training sector
is All American Gymnastics, located in Lindon, Utah. The two gyms are just over 15 miles from each
other--a 20-minute drive on I-15. All American offers very similar programs to AirTime and competes in
the same competitions. All American’s calling card is their aggressiveness and competitive drive, which
contrasts with AirTime’s more community and family-centered culture.
Despite being the most similar offering, All American does not represent the largest competition to
AirTime. When it comes to gymnastics, most parents choose the gym in close proximity to their home.
Because of this, most people seeking gymnastics near Springville will choose AirTime and those near
Lindon will choose All American. Broadening our view on our frame of reference, AirTime fills two major
need categories. First, AirTime provides an opportunity for parents to provide their children with
constructive activities to help them stay active and involved with social groups. Second, AirTime also
provides a place for those looking to compete in a team sport. With this mindset, the real competition
lies within the city of Springville. AirTime competes with soccer, football, baseball, and other
competitive sports offered in the city. Utah County in particular is known for its active and highly
developed youth recreational and competitive sports programs. Another hurdle for AirTime is the cost
of gymnastics, which is high when compared to most other sports. Low visibility of the professional
levels of gymnastics also creates difficulty in creating the needed value to justify the cost. Media

3. exposure received by the USA women’s gymnastics team in the recent 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio De
Janeiro, Brazil has provided an opportunity for the gymnastics training field. Simone Biles, currently the
most famous name in gymnastics, started her training at age eight, which could represent a target
market for AirTime. However, these opportunities stemming from the Olympics arise only once every
eight years. The competition for AirTime is stiff.
Competitive Landscape
Strengths
Coaches influence the lives of athletes. From our survey, we learned that AirTime athletes and families
rank coaching as the most important aspect they consider for a team sport. In addition, athletes and
parents often praise the coaches at AirTime for their character and patience. The gym excels in their
ability to teach and train skills for gymnastics and life. Through coaching, AirTime creates an atmosphere
that is safe for learning and exploring in the world of gymnastics.
Weaknesses
AirTime is overspending every month on marketing strategies online and in print advertisements. These
ad spends are financially unwise and essentially unprofitable according to our survey results. From the
survey, current consumers also consider the gym’s pricing and cleanliness to be their two biggest
weaknesses.
Opportunity
The opportunities and weaknesses of AirTime directly coincide. Management at AirTime is currently
spending $300 per month on a Yelp subscription. Additionally, another few hundred is being spent on a
spot in the HomeTown Values magazine. This monthly cost depends on the size of ad they can afford
that month. Shifting this budget to a media vehicle with more targeting possibilities has the potential to
generate noticeable improvements. AirTime currently has no real social media presence. They currently
only have a Facebook profile page, not even a business page, which limits their ability to run ad
campaigns. Due to the high engagement rates of our target market on social media, even low levels of
ad spend on these social media outlets would translate to a large increase in social word of mouth.
Threats
The two largest threats to AirTime are local sports teams and All American Gymnastics. For those
desiring to participate in gymnastics who live in close proximity to both gyms, All American poses a
threat to stealing market share. For families simply wanting their children to participate in a competitive
athletic activity, recreational sporting teams in the Springville area pose a major threat by offering easily
substitutable sports like soccer, baseball, football, and basketball.
The Problem
AirTime’s lacks a consistent promotional strategy. Their main promotional activity is through the local
city magazine, HomeTown Values, where they can only afford a small quarter-to-half-page
advertisement. Additionally, they are spending $300 dollars per month ($3,600 per year) on a Yelp

4. subscription. Yelp is most typically used for restaurants, not gymnastics facilities. AirTime needs to
create a consistent and professional online presence that current AirTime clients would feel comfortable
sharing with their friends. This type of online presence will also attract inward looking potential clients
who are in their target market. We plan to accomplish this through improving their current Facebook
page, and creating Instagram and YouTube pages. After this, we will implement a strategy to deploy
targeted online advertisements through Facebook and Instagram. We will also develop a variety of other
promotional materials, like print ads, that will contribute to an overall theme that is consistent with the
characteristics that AirTime customers indicated to be most influential to them.
Survey
In order to fully understand the needs, feelings, and experiences of current AirTime customers, we
created an in-depth survey. The goal of this survey was to find what was most important to AirTime
customers and how well AirTime was performing in meeting their expectations. In addition, we were
seeking insights regarding how AirTime could improve their advertising strategies in order to address
the needs of the current customers, as well as potential customers.
Once we created the survey, we used the AirTime data base on JackRabbit and sent out our survey to all
the parents of the athletes. In total, we sent the survey to 675 individuals and we had 228 respondents.
With a whopping 33.7% response rate, we feel that the results from this survey are an excellent
representation of the AirTime customers as whole. The major insights from the survey will be further
examined in the following paragraphs.
First, the data from the survey shows that AirTime is performing very well in the areas of coaching and
maintaining a family-friendly atmosphere. When customers were asked in the survey to rank six
different attributes in terms of importance, an outstanding 73.5% of all customers ranked coaches as
the most important aspect of a good gymnastics facility. Furthermore, when asked to rank AirTime’s
performance on a scale of 1-10, customers gave AirTime’s coaches an overall ranking of 8.54, which was
the highest ranking of any measured attribute. This is a great insight for AirTime because their greatest
strength is also the customer’s greatest need. Being in this position is a huge strength for AirTime and
we recommend that AirTime capitalizes on this as their main point of difference. In addition to these
statistics, customers who have attended a different gym previously reported that the coaches and the
atmosphere at AirTime are much better than they were in their previous gym.
Our second major insight from the survey is that the majority of current AirTime customers first heard
about AirTime because a friend referred them to the gym. This is fairly normal for a gymnastics facility
because most people hear about gymnastics through word of mouth. We also found that 67.86% of
AirTime customers live in either Springville or Spanish Fork. Our final insight is that 37.76% of current
customers have only been enrolled in the gym for less than 6 months. This goes to show that AirTime
Training Center is either growing at a healthy rate or is not retaining its customers for a very long time.

5. Creative Brief
Advertisement Objective
Increase number of students by 10% by May 2017.
Target
Jan is a mother of three children, two boys and one girl, whose ages range between 4 and 12. She is
hyper-sensitive about her children’s physical and social health. Jan is becoming increasingly concerned
that her children haven’t found their niche in any athletic activities or friend groups. Because her
children are relatively small, and she doesn't want them involved in contact sports, activities like
basketball and football are not an option. Because Jan was heavily involved on a competitive dance
team in her youth, she feels that her children could greatly benefit from being involved with an
organized group. She continues to value involvement in groups as she has recently joined the local PTA
and is the administrator of her neighborhood Facebook page.
Insight
I want my children to be physically and socially active on a sports team where they can learn valuable
skills from experienced coaches who are focused on individual progress.
Promise
For parents of children seeking a hobby, AirTime Training Center is a team-based facility with coaches
whose goal is to instill confidence and teach gymnastics skills to youth.
Support
● Experienced coaching staff
● Small class sizes
● Experienced and encouraging staff members
● Competitive and recreational classes
● Family-friendly culture
Tone
Energetic, welcoming, optimistic, spirited
Assignment
● Merge current Facebook page to Facebook for business page to run ad campaigns
● Create an Instagram page to run ad campaigns
● Create a YouTube channel to create shareable content
● Rear car window decals
● Improve HomeTown Values ad
● Referral program
● Outdoor gymnastics with colored chalk to showcase coaching abilities (guerilla tactic)

6. Execution
Big Idea: AirTime’s largest problem is the lack of a consistent promotional strategy. In order to address
this problem, we created an advertising campaign that and emphasizes the talent of AirTime’s
experienced coaches and encourages current customers to share AirTime with their friends. By focusing
on the expertise of the coaches, the advertising campaign will be more consistent throughout each
medium. The slogan of the big idea is “Fly Higher” and we will emphasize that athletes at AirTime “Fly
Higher” because of their experienced coaches.
Facebook and Instagram Pages
AirTime must improve their social media presence. AirTime is currently operating with only one social
media account, a Facebook profile page. This page is listed as a person, with the first name “AirTime”
and the last name “Training Center.” Big problem. We will begin by transitioning this profile to a
Facebook Business profile. Next, the “friends” of their previous profile will need to be switched over to
“followers” of their new business page. By making this transition, we can then begin to run micro
targeted Facebook ads to small segments of people in their niche market. This transition also allows
AirTime to receive reviews, which will help fuel their online reputation and generate new business.
Facebook has automatically created a business page for AirTime, so management simply needs to claim
the page and begin posting content.
With this new page, AirTime can shift their current marketing budget from their Yelp account to
Facebook and Instagram ads. We recommend a geographically targeted audience that incorporates
Facebook’s generated profiles of “fit and involved mothers with children.” By excluding AirTime’s
current customer email list from this audience, we will increase profitability of the ads by avoiding ad
spend on current membership. Alternatively, friends of those connected to the AirTime page could be
targeted to capitalize on the social proof of their current members. Due to this targeted reach, we feel
that for a fraction of the current budget, AirTime could generate many more sign-ups than through their
current media vehicles.
In our Facebook and Instagram ads, we focus on coaching quality. From our survey, we found that this is
our highest rated category in both importance and performance. Maintaining the tone indicated on our
creative brief, we used an attention-grabbing, energy-filled image paired with ad copy that relates the
quality coaches and student-focus of the gym (as shown in Image 1 and 2). These promoted posts would
drive traffic to a landing page where potential customers could sign up for a free trial class which
generates promising leads for AirTime.
In addition to running targeted Facebook advertising campaigns, AirTime should also generate shareable
and useful social media content. This content should focus on the needs of their target market--Moms.
Eighty percent of AirTime’s posts should consist of sharing “how-to” articles, useful lists, and gymnastics
related material. By doing so, AirTime will create their own online social currency. The remaining 20%
of their posts should be “asks” and promotional materials which can promote their referral program,
open gym Saturdays, discounts, competition results, etc. By engaging with their customer, AirTime will

7. have more valuable interactions with their clients than a fake person with the first name “AirTime” and
the last name “Training Center.”
YouTube Channel
To complement the Facebook and Instagram pages, AirTime should create and maintain a YouTube
channel. The YouTube channel should be called “AirTime Training Center” (as shown in Image 3). Videos
should be posted once a week in order to maintain interest. The majority of the videos should be quick
tutorials on different gymnastic moves featuring different gymnasts and coaches from AirTime. In
addition, the videos should always mention how viewers can receive more instruction and coaching at
the AirTime facility. This will maintain the focus on their main point of difference that is the AirTime
coaching staff.
Another category of videos that AirTime can post is more promotional based. These would be videos
that can be posted on the Facebook and Instagram pages as well as the YouTube page. The key to these
videos is to make them shareable. By producing shareable online content, AirTime will improve their
following and in turn their sign-ups. For example, they could demonstrate skills that gymnasts have
learned at AirTime with the help of their coaches, followed by a call to action to come learn similar skills.
According to our survey, 46% of current customers learned about AirTime through a friend. Creating a
shareable promotional video will make it easier for current athletes and families to spread the word
about AirTime.
We created a mockup of a promotional based video to be used with the purpose of having something
that consumers can share with family and friends. There are a few key reasons why our specific mockup
has the potential to go viral. First, it has an interesting and engaging beginning. The video starts with a
“pump-up” song and a close up of the hands of an athlete on the pommel horse. This creates interest
since the pommel horse is an iconic gymnastic event and to see a young boy do it is both inspiring and
interesting. Second, the video creates an emotional rollercoaster. The beginning of the video is an
emotional high and the video lulls as the tricks start to seem more normal. The emotion then picks up
again as the angle changes and the tricks become more complicated. The video then ends with an
emotional high with a triple backflip and a shot mimicking the picture we use in the majority of our print
ads (as shown in Image 4). For these reasons, we feel this YouTube video could go viral and be key in
promoting AirTime to their potential customers.
Car Window Decal
As mentioned before, most of our current customers learned about AirTime through a friend. Because
of this, we wanted to create a way to start a conversation about AirTime. To do this, we designed a car
window decal for AirTime parents to put on their car (as shown in Image 5). This can start a natural
conversation about AirTime when parents are at the store, church, school, or elsewhere.
The decal is very simple. It stays with the theme in their main logo using the name and silhouettes of
gymnasts. The simplicity of the icon makes it easily recognizable on a car. The decals would be passed
out to each gymnast and their families and then placed on the family’s car.

8. HomeTown Values Ads
AirTime’s current marketing strategy is focused on a monthly magazine distributed to the Springville,
Utah area called “Hometown Values.” This magazine highlights local businesses and has a claimed
readership of 1,309,000. This magazine often contains coupons and discounts to help gain attention for
local businesses. Despite the monthly publication, AirTime currently only places ads about once a
quarter. Management alternates between a half page spread and a quarter page ad, depending on their
budget that month. The half page spread costs AirTime about $250 dollars every other quarter.
Looking at the current ad used in this circulation provides some areas for improvement. The current ad
shows the frame of reference well, but it is crowded and “busy.” For our advertising mockups, we
focused on simplifying the advertisement, while still promoting the major point of difference -- AirTime
coaches (as shown in Images 6 and 7). We kept consistent imagery with our Facebook and Instagram ads
to try to keep continuity throughout our advertising and emphasized the ability of the coaches to build-
up and train their students.
Banner/Referral Program
From our survey results, we found that around 47% of current AirTime customers first heard about the
gym because they were referred by a friend. We also found that a whopping 72% of all current
customers did not know that they could receive an account credit for referring a friend to AirTime. This
major insight leads to a huge opportunity for AirTime to capitalize on. If the 72% of current customers
were aware that they could receive an account credit by referring a friend, we feel that there would be a
massive increase in the amount of customers being referred to AirTime.
We looked into the best way to advertise that AirTime has a referral program by reaching out to other
competitive gymnastics facilities. We found that gyms who have had the biggest success with their
referral programs only offered seasonal promotions, rather than offering the promotion year-round.
Creating a deadline for the promotion will create urgency, and customers will be more likely to refer a
friend to AirTime. AirTime could create a referral program where customers receive a $10 account
credit if they refer a friend between January 1 and February 29, 2017 and that friend enrolls in a
gymnastics class. We created a banner that will be stretched across the ceiling in the main entrance of
the gym (as shown in Image 8). The location of the banner will ensure that the 72% of current customers
that do not know about the referral program become informed. We believe that this will rejuvenate the
referral program and lead to more client generation.
Guerilla Tactic
AirTime Training Facility is covered in chalk. It is in the vents, on the floor, walls, doors--it is everywhere.
Similar to rock climbers, gymnasts use chalk to absorb sweat and to gain a more reliable grip for safety
and increased performance. Located only six miles away from AirTime is the Sri Sri Radha Krishna
Temple where the nearby Hindu community sponsors the annual “Festival of Colors.” Locals gather to
throw colored chalk-powder which represents “throwing their worries to the wind.” To increase
awareness for AirTime, we plan to combine the use of chalk in gymnastics and the inexplicable joy of
playing in colored chalk. As a guerilla tactic, AirTime will set up simple gymnastics stations in a local

9. park--high bars, mushrooms, pommel horses, trampolines, etc. and hand out bags of colored chalk,
similar to those used at the Festival of Colors. Families will come with two intentions for their children:
learn a gymnastics skill and get blasted with color. This presents an opportunity for AirTime to publicly
display their advanced coaches and family-friendly atmosphere to potential clients, which we found are
AirTime’s greatest strengths.
Interestingly, these two attributes were also rated as the most important aspects in a gymnastics gym by
current clients. On a ten-point scale, AirTime’s coaches received a score of 8.54 and atmosphere
received 8.23, on average. Because of these findings, we feel that this guerilla tactic would be extremely
effective and generate new clientele. This event will be promoted through social media (Facebook and
Instagram), and especially through word of mouth by creating posters and flyers for the facility to work
in conjunction with the referral program.
Evaluation
The key advertising goal of our campaign is to increase the number of students at AirTime by ten
percent by May 2017. AirTime is currently operating with about 500 students, so the goal is to obtain 50
new students in five months. Management at AirTime uses a platform called JackRabbit to track their
clientele. We will use the metrics through their program to track the progress on our goal. To
accomplish this goal, we will focus on two groups: current clients and potential clients. We will capture
new clients through social media ad campaigns and work through current clients by emphasizing and
improving the referral program.
AirTime gymnastics has a very specific demographic. Their advertising is intended to reach the parents
of the children who will be taking their classes. Specifically, mothers who greatly influence the day to
day activities of their children. Social media is a powerful tool to reach these mothers because it is highly
targetable. Facebook and Instagram give us the ability to select specific behavioral, geographic, and
demographic segments that relate to the mothers AirTime is trying to reach. Creating a YouTube
channel additionally gives us a platform for engaging video content, such as skill tutorials and highlight
clips. These can then be used as promotional materials as advertising needs arise. Using our selected
audience, and setting a small budget of one dollar per day, Facebook estimates a potential reach of 74
to 200 people on Facebook and 83 to 220 people on Instagram each day. Over a one-month period at
this spend level, we can expect between 4,710 to 12,600 impressions in our specific target demographic
for a spend of just $30. Assuming a conservative 0.1% conversion rate from these impressions yields 5 to
13 new customers a month. This would put us on the right path for our goal of increasing students by
10% by May--and this is solely through social media efforts, disregarding all other efforts. This is a much
more focused and profitable investment for AirTime.
In addition to having a captivating social media presence, AirTime Training Center can continue their
HomeTown Values ads and create an engaging guerilla marketing tactic. The HomeTown Values ads
have been the one of the main sources of advertising for AirTime for the past ten years. Maintaining a
consistent presence will help create a greater awareness of AirTime. Although the HomeTown Values
ads will not be as effective as the social media campaigns, AirTime should continue to advertise in the

10. local magazine to stay top of mind. However, it is important to limit the budget for these print ads. In
addition, the improved ads (as shown in images 6 and 7) focuses more on the coaches at AirTime while
maintaining the same look and feel as all of the other ads AirTime will produce.
The execution of the guerilla tactic will provide another effort to increase gym membership. The guerilla
tactic will involve a free trial class at the local park for children of all ages. Traditional white gymnastic
chalk will be replaced with colored chalk to be used on the gymnastic equipment. This event will be fun,
and a good opportunity for children to learn a gymnastics skill. The use of colored chalk will help create
a “festival” feel which will attract many locals. This will generate awareness for AirTime and will give
potential customers the chance to see and work with the exceptional coaches from AirTime Training
Center.
As we strive to increase the number of students enrolled by 10%, a major focus will be helping current
customers refer their friends to the gym. AirTime will provide current athletes and families with an easy
way to talk about AirTime with their friends. The main method to produce greater word of mouth
marketing is through social media. However, car decals and the guerilla tactic also serve this purpose.
To encourage customers to share social media content, AirTime will place a banner in the gym that
advertises the referral program. This banner will hang in the gym and explain that if an athlete refers a
friend to AirTime, they will receive a $10 credit towards their tuition. This creates a desire to share
AirTime content in hopes that a friend will join.
Through these efforts, we are confident that AirTime Training Center can increase membership by 10%
in five months. By promoting their superior coaching, they are tapping into the most important aspect
to consumers in a gym. By improving and promoting their referral program, they will encourage their
“love group” to bring their friends. By focusing on their target market, they can maintain market share
in their competition against recreational sports. By emphasizing their promotional efforts on social
media outlets, they will shift the attention and conversation to AirTime. These efforts will increase
market share, memberships, and ultimately, revenue.

11. Appendix
Image 1

12. Image 2

13. Image 3

14. Image 4

15. Image 5

16. Image 6
Image 7

17. Image 9