BRANDS

Crunching to the Oldies

Gyms are finally seeing a fitness thaw after the pandemic locked doors, turned soup cans into dumbbells, and saw Peloton’s stock skyrocket. And now, with Covid as a backdrop, Crunch Fitness is marketing itself based on where you live.

Crunch, which closed all its 360+ locations worldwide between mid-March and May of 2020, is seeing business ticking up, according to Crunch's EVP of Marketing and Branding, Chad Waetzig.

• From February to March of this year, visits rose 30%.
• Membership sales increased 5.6% over the same period.

As a largely franchise-based business, Crunch supplies the creative and campaign work from HQ, and individual chains choose how and where to invest their marketing dollars. 

And while its marketing channels haven’t changed (social, search, even direct mail), Crunch’s target customers have. Before the pandemic, only about 10% of the brand’s marketing was dedicated to getting former members to re-sign. Now, it’s about 25%. 

“We're looking at direct mail, and right now it’s really about awareness building, reminding folks that we're there [and] that we're ready for them when they're ready to come back,” Waetzig told us.

Rep by rep, state by state

When it comes to marketing, Crunch isn't taking a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, it’s targeting ads to potential members with creative that reflects where they live. 

For example, coastal cities see messaging about cleaning standards, while inland or more conservative areas, like Texas, Georgia, and Florida, get messages focused on the range of workout equipment.  

• That means in New York and San Francisco, ads show masked weightlifters with copy that reads, “Practicing Safe Sets.” 
• Meanwhile, in Daytona, Florida, one Crunch location is running a promotion for free HydroMassages with a maskless model (the state doesn’t have a mask mandate).
• Targeting is like Whac-A-Mole. While locations in California just reopened last month, the brand’s Ontario, Canada, locations have all reclosed as the province goes into another lockdown.

“Our business has always been very hyper-local in terms of our marketing approach, and that's probably more true than ever before,” said Waetzig, adding that people who haven’t yet returned to the office are “taking a very cautious approach to retail and shopping and working out in gyms.”

Waetzig said Crunch wants its marketing to reflect how people are feeling, wherever they may be.

+1: Those bottles of sanitizer and disinfectant aren’t going anywhere either, Waetzig said. “That will always be an important part of messaging. It's just a matter of how much [we] dial that message up or down.” — RB

TRAVEL

Takes on a Plane

United Airlines is running a regional campaign in Denver, CO, to remind residents that it’s not Southwest.

It’s the airline’s first campaign aimed at the hub, a response to audience research United conducted, which found that Mile High residents considered Southwest a better performer than the Chicago-based airline. 

The campaign—whose copy reminds travelers that even in the midst of a pandemic, Southwest would rather you fight for your seat—will run in Denver throughout the summer with CTV, OOH, and audio buys.

The ads also capitalize on Denver’s (and the airport’s) recovery. United said it's seen 80% of its pre-pandemic daily departures bounce back, higher than at all its other hubs.

“It’s safe to say that flying has returned more quickly to Denver than anywhere else in our network,” Maggie Schmerin, United's global head of advertising and social media, told Marketing Brew, explaining that the campaign aims to “challenge some assumptions travelers had about United vs. Southwest.”

United’s approach is also notable for what isn’t said: There are few mentions of cleanliness or safety (hmm...where have we read this before?)

The airline, which declined to provide ad spend, did say that this is its most expensive regional campaign since 2019. It also said the campaign balanced health and safety messaging with the rest of the travel creative. But of the ads shared with Marketing Brew, only one of 15 mentions cleaning. And the only mention of extra space is in Economy Plus seating .

As a sponsor of the Olympics, United is planning to run a campaign during the Tokyo games this summer, but hasn’t yet committed to buying televised commercial time. The airline’s currently reviewing its agency relationship with Dentsu Mcgarrybowen. — RB

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CAMPAIGNS

Back Down to Earth

Earth Day is this Thursday, and brands are doing all sorts of things to try to convince us they care about the environment.

Like what? Procter & Gamble recently released a campaign showing a young girl helping her parents make more sustainable choices. The ad plugs the company’s commitment to becoming carbon neutral this decade. Plus, soy milk brand Silk is offering counseling sessions to help people overcome their “eco-anxiety,” and Carl’s Jr. is giving away free plant-based burgers at one of its Los Angeles locations.

But ads and one-off stunts only do so much—and most companies have a long way to go when it comes to operating sustainably. 

• Take Procter & Gamble. In October, its shareholders called on the brand to “do more to protect forests,” according to the Financial Times.
• An organization called Break Free From Plastic named the CPG giant a “top plastic polluter” last year, along with PepsiCo, Unilever, and others. 

Our takeaway: People will accuse brands of greenwashing if their messaging doesn’t line up with what’s going on behind the scenes. As Rootstrap’s Director of Marketing Patrick Ward told Ad Age last year, “Companies are desperate to prove they are eco-friendly, but it often rings hollow to consumers.” — MS

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Expedia’s biggest campaign in years stars Rashida Jones. 
• The Home Depot selected BBDO as its creative agency of record, after ending its relationship with The Richards Group last year.
• CVS kicked off a social campaign called #OneStepCloser to promote Covid-19 vaccine eligibility.
• The NFL inked multiyear sports betting partnerships with Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, and FanDuel.

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AD ANTIQUES

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ICYMI

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