3. FITNESS TODAY
Total gym membership as of January 2009 was
$45.5 million
The fitness market is constantly changing with new
trends
Why research fitness? Current hot topic!
4. PROBLEM: Marketers only target one fitness
lifestyle. Is this the most effective way for gyms and
fitness brands to be marketing their goods and
services?
IMPORTANCE: Marketers must be aware of how
to appeal to the greatest number/widest variety of
consumers who are interested in a healthy lifestyle
PROBLEM AND IMPORTANCE
5. GAP
We know that
people who
engage in physical
fitness have
different lifestyles
and different
motivations for
exercise
We know that
marketers advertise
gyms as tailoring to
only one type of
consumer
GAP
Should gyms
be less
specialized in
their services
in order to
attract a wider
consumer
base?
6. FITNESS PERSONALITIES
We came up with different fitness personalities that
define a person’s outlook on…
Health
Fitness
Gyms
7. LIFESTYLE TRENDS
Wedding
Self-improvement
Social support
Drive for muscularity
Self-esteem
Lifestyle Change
Yoga
Cardio
Group classes
Power
Masculinity
Mental Health
Weight loss for event
Friends
Physical well-being
Spirituality
Energy
Relationships
Spring break
Marathons
Challenging oneself
8. LIFESTYLES
1. Short-term Weight Loss
2. Mind and Body Health-Conscious
3. Drive for Muscularity
4. Physical Well-Being
5. Social Connectedness
6. Personal Competitor
9. SHORT- TERM WEIGHT LOSS
Motivated by an upcoming event such as a wedding,
Spring Break, prom, etc.
39% of men (Klos and Sobal, 2013)
50% of women (Pritchard and Tiggemann, 2008)
After desired look is achieved and event is over, they
do not continue to use the gym until another event
comes up (University of Chicago Medicine)
10. “WEIGHT CYCLING WHITNEY”
30 years old
Decides to lose weight when a high school friend is
getting married - wants to impress her old friends
whom she has not seen in years
“Yo-yo” diet behavior: goes through cycles of intense
exercise and dieting before big events
11. MIND AND BODY HEALTH CONSCIOUS
Scientifically proven that yoga “improves physical
and psychological conditions,” including lower back
pain, cardiovascular disease, stress, and anxiety
(Atkinson and Permuth-Levine, 2009)
Encourages relaxation, spirituality, and flexibility
More stress-free participant
12. MIND AND BODY HEALTH CONSCIOUS
Yoga needs to be seen as more accessible to different
types of people (Atkinson and Permuth-Levine, 2009)
All-male classes, price reductions
Vegetarianism - naturally consume more vegetables,
fruits, and nuts
Tend to be thinner and drink and smoke less than
a non-vegetarian (Thorogood, 1995)
13. “YOGA JEN”
28 years old
Vegetarian who only drinks water, tea, and
wheatgrass shakes
Does yoga every day for spiritual and physical
benefits
Yoga teacher
Wears comfortable/exercise clothing
14. DRIVE FOR MUSCULARITY
A reflection of culturally explicit, gender-
specific, body shape ideals
(Davis, Karvinen, McCreary, 2005)
A conflict between personal & societal ideals of
success and power (McCreary, Saucier, Courtenay, 2005)
This low self-esteem plagues young boys and forces
them to strive for the “muscular” ideal society
stresses for men (McCreary, Saucier, Courtenay, 2005)
15. DRIVE FOR MUSCULARITY
Which aspects of individual personality account for
the variance in drive for muscularity?
Findings:
high neuroticism
perfectionism
appearance orientation
(Davis, Karvinen, McCreary, 2005)
16. “MACHO MIKE”
20 year old college student
Goes to gym 2 times a day
Attracted to gyms that have different weight
machines and that encourage intense fitness
Enjoys other aspects of fitness, including muscle
shakes and protein bars
Likes to share his body transformation on social
media and get feedback from others
17. PHYSICAL WELL-BEING
Self-esteem and energy levels decline with age
Physical activity leads to better quality of life and
self-esteem in adults (Gothe and Mullen, 2011)
Interested in stable, long-term exercise routines,
rather than exercise fads (e.g. spinning) (Chung, 2012)
Stressful lifestyles often lead to obesity (Kyung, 2009)
18. 50 years old
Parent of two children
Exercises to stay fit (avoid heart problems, keep a
healthy weight)
Exercises to help cope with stress from work
Keeps a steady workout program with a cardio/light
weight-lifting mix
“MIDDLE-AGED FRED”
19. SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS
Group exercise classes allow people to engage in
physical activity in a formal and structured group
setting
Social support “can increase time spent engaging in
physical activity and frequency of exercise” (McNeill,
2006)
Increases sociability; can be a shared topic of
conversation
20. Instructors help foster a sense of camaraderie and
connectedness among participants through working
towards a common goal
More popular among females
SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS
21. “SOCIAL SALLY”
22 years old
College student
Attracted to gyms offering a wider variety of group
classes (i.e. Spinning, Dance, Yoga, Aerobics, etc.)
Goes to Zumba with her girlfriends after class
Goes to the gym 3 times a week only if her friends go
with her
22. PERSONAL COMPETITOR
Exercises for their own self satisfaction/well-being
Tend to run on a regular basis for reasons such as
self-improvement and challenging oneself (Summers,
Sargent, Levey, & Murray, 1982)
“Positive addiction” to self-satisfaction after
achieving goals (Summers, Sargent, Levey & Murray, 1982)
23. “CARDIO TED”
30 years old
Works a 9-5 job in the city
Runs twice a day
Participates in marathons as often as possible
Has a journal filled with personal accomplishments
and goals for past and future marathons
24. HYPOTHESIS
Since there are different fitness
personalities, specific gyms should
offer services that appeal to multiple
personalities in order to gain more
customers
25. METHODOLOGY
1) Survey. Screen for potential candidates for focus
groups
Divide respondents into homogenous groups based
on personality and lifestyle traits
2) Focus groups. Probe with questions about how
to improve their gym experience and what would
make them more likely to join a gym
26. ANALYSIS
Find trends in the answers of respondents during the
focus group sessions
The focus groups will give us qualitative information,
so we will not run statistical regression or numerical
analysis
If we discover deviations from the patterns, we will
conduct further research in the form of a survey and
run a regression to see if the deviation is statistically
relevant
27. IF OUR HYPOTHESIS IS SUPPORTED…
Gyms should not exclude people in their ads, but
rather introduce different programs catering to a
variety of personalities. This will allow them to
maximize sales.
Goal: A gym could create an ad motivating both the
husband and wife to use its facilities
28. IF OUR HYPOTHESIS IS NOT SUPPORTED…
Gyms should not change the way they currently
advertise. Specialized gyms advertising to one or two
fitness personalities will be more successful (increase
sales)
Goal: Advertisements focusing on a specific
personality (e.g. Planet Fitness’ appeal to “The
Average Joe”)
29. IF SUPPORTED…
IF NOT
SUPPORTED…
More revenue for gyms
More diverse customer
base
Higher customer
satisfaction
Will be marketing using
psychographics
Cognitive Consistency
Confirms that gyms and
marketers are already
successfully targeting
customers
Self-Perception Theory (“I
go here” = “I must like it
here”)
Current Brand
Personalities will remain in
tact
CONTRIBUTIONS
30. LIMITATIONS
It may be hard for people to be truthful about their
fitness/lifestyle practices (may answer in a way that
they perceive as being socially desirable)
People may not want to fill out the survey because it
is not anonymous, even though it is confidential
Focus group data was not quantifiable
Potential decline in competition amongst gyms
31. IF SUPPORTED…
IF NOT
SUPPORTED…
Did it help or hurt sales
membership?
Research ways to stay
competitive
Look for other ways to
increase gym
membership
Look for solutions to
existing members’
complaints
FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTION
