Provided the counselors and instructors are charismatic, this might be the ideal way to generate initial 'buzz' about the center. Sending out free coupons for free sessions, and offering free 'teaser' yoga or Pilates classes in public venues (like on the Boardwalk during the summer or an in-store location like the mall) can generate publicity and interest. For fitness, marketing should be experiential as well as about selling a particular image.
Since a wellness center is marketing a service as well as a product, one extremely important, but often overlooked component of advertising is good training of the staff. Staff members must be friendly and helpful, and project the right type of 'image' for the center. Given the center's emphasis on personal self-improvement in its marketing strategy, staff members should embody the likely ideal of the target female consumer: they should be fit, knowledgeable, friendly and ready to answer the likely questions of prospective and current customers.
The emphasis on promoting the brand through local venues seems warranted, given that a national print-based strategy would channel too many advertising dollars into reaching people who lived too far away to access the center. Also, the target market of middle-aged women looking to improve their lives is sufficiently narrow that such a broad-based strategy would throw the marketing 'net' too wide in terms of the demographic it reached. However, radio advertising can be sufficiently local to effectively market the center, given that radio as a medium allows the seller to select a popular local or regional channel, rather than a national...
The seller can also focus on a station that transmits music or news of particular interest to the target demographic (such as a station that plays 80s and 90s music or light rock).
Prospective radio advertisement
Ellen: Have you been working out? You look fantastic.
Joan: Yes, I have -- I've been spiritually as well as physically working out.
Ellen: A spiritual workout? What does that have to do with toned abs?
Joan: I've been taking classes at the Women's Wellness Center. They offer classes in everything from yoga to spinning. But that's only just the beginning. Their counselors can also offer you nutritional advice and help design a meal plan to meet your goals. They'll also work with you to pinpoint what aspects of your life need to change to optimize your wellness and fitness, including your sleep, stress, and relationship patterns.
Ellen: Maybe I should give it a try!
Joan: Why not? Your first fitness class and meeting with their counselors is free! And membership for all of these services is only $189 a month -- that's like getting a gym, nutritionist, counselor -- and a friend, all rolled up in one package!
Ellen: Sign me up! I'll try a free session!
Works Cited
Gootman, Elissa. "Weight Watchers upends its point system." The New York Times.
December 4, 2010. December 16, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/nyregion/04watchers.html
Sorgen, Ellen. His and her fitness. WebMD. December 16, 2010
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/his-hers-fitness
