Eastside Fitness IMC Recommendation

Assignment #4Joseph Hampel

MKTG 1102

SUMMARY

This is an overview of my recommended integrated marketing communication plan for

Eastside Fitness, located at 5788 Fraser Street in Vancouver, British Columbia. In it, the

current and desired target market, and the current promotional element strategies being

used by Eastside Fitness are described. In the IMC plan, the overall objectives for the plan

as a whole are outlined, as well as the suggested promotional element tactics. Why the plan

will work is covered at the end of the plan followed by all sources and the appendix which

includes images.

TARGET MARKET

The key target market that will be communicated to in this integrated marketing

communication, or IMC, are wealthy, middle-aged suburban families (see PRIZM, page 15),

consisting of 1.66% of Canada’s population, who in British Columbia reside largely in the

North, East, and West Vancouver, Port Coquitlam, and Delta suburbs. They are fitness

conscious people that are much more likely to jog, take fitness classes, and invest in fitness

studios than the average Canadian, because they take great pride in their healthy lifestyles.

The likelihood of them sharing and participating in company events and classes with friends

and family is quite high because most are married couples with children consisting of a

family of four or more individuals, and because most are between 45 to 64 years of age who

are family oriented demographic. Each of these elements point to this target market as the

most desirable market to communicate with for Eastside Fitness’ integrated marketing

communication plan. This target market offers the best return on investment based on the

studios current location and current East Vancouver neighbourhood target market

specifically.

CURRENT MARKETING COMMUNICATION

Eastside Fitness currently communicates via public relations, online marketing, and

personal selling promotion mix strategies. They hold an open house for the studio, which

has been held every year in December for the past six years. In these open house events,

they provide things like sales on their membership prices (also available online that day),

free fitness and postural assessments, exercise demonstrations, door prizes, and

refreshments. They also had a grand opening for their new studio location on Fraser Street

in September 2016. Their Eastside Fitness Run Club has also taken part in the MEC

Summer 2016 Race (see Appendix). They use online marketing via their website and social

media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. On their website, they post various

blog postings including a monthly feature called Humans of Eastside Fitness, which shares

photographs and stories of Eastside Fitness’ various members and their own experiences at

Eastside Fitness. Their personal selling strategy is more on the side of word-of-mouth where

their members and community often communicate the value of the studio and their own

experiences with it to their friends and family members. Each of the marketing

communication programs Eastside Fitness uses communicate the message of caring for the

personal health and well-being of not just their members, but their community as well.

The effectiveness of the overall integrated marketing communication program can be

viewed as subpar. Eastside Fitness’ public relations program is severely limited. Since

2014, their public relations events have consisted only of annual open house events that

don’t go out into the community. Even historically, their outdoor community event

participation is very rare. They could be further involved with their surrounding community

by increasingly offering community events to spread their brand name and to in turn reach

more consumers. The online marketing capabilities aren’t used to their full potential either.

The studio posts almost every day on social media outlets but they are mostly sharing

others’ posts, and the maximum amount of likes and re-shares per post is around 15. They

could be marketing their studio offerings via social media post advertisements coupled with

members’ comments. Finally, their personal selling program is also very limited because

they rely mostly on their current members spreading positive word-of-mouth to nonexistent

members. Each of these findings points to a wide invitation to an improved integrated

marketing communication plan.

IMC PLAN RECOMMENDATION

OVERALL OBJECTIVESThe specific objective of this plan is to better communicate the studio’s value proposition

and its offerings to the chosen key target market. The extent to which each promotional

media tool will be utilized will depend on the budget presented during the advertising

strategy development stage, as the budget will follow the objective-and-task method, where

the company sets its budget based on what it wants to accomplish. Each promotional tool

will be scheduled once or twice a week for a six-month timeframe, to be able to easily

compare sales and membership levels to the timeframe prior. After the six-month timeframe,

the amount of social media interest both on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus will be

measured. Then, the studio can compare past and present sales alongside quantitative

analysis such as membership levels.

OVERALL MESSAGE DELIVERY“Fitness is for every body” is the message for each promotional mix element that will be

used in this IMC plan. Since it is the studio’s current slogan, it is a message that is strongly

tied with it and is thus important to incorporate into the studio’s integrated marketing

communication plan. The brand message and value proposition of community, well-being,

and fitness is to be the theme consistently communicated across each promotional element.

With this in mind, the studio can ensure things such as the website, brochures, online

communication, and advertisements provide that same type of communication style and

structure. For example, one advertisement could be for their holistic nutritional services

(http://www.eastsidefitness.ca/drop-in-classes-east-vancouver/holistic-nutrition-services-

vancouver/) that would make sure to communicate a clean, friendly, fitness and wellbeing

oriented brand to prospective consumers. In short, each promotional element will be

communicating with the “lifestyle” and “image” message execution styles (see page 450 of

Marketing: An Introduction 5th Canadian Edition).

PROMOTIONAL MIX TACTICS

Public RelationsBuilds good relations with various company publics. Public relation events can include

publicizing products, public affairs, press relations, and working with donors to get financial

or volunteer support (page 460-461 of Marketing: An Introduction 5 th Canadian Edition).

Promotional elements to be used:

a) Community Events creation and participation. Eastside Fitness will schedule a free one-

hour public fitness and/or wellness class once a month for the entire six-month

timeframe of the IMC plan. The company will also regularly engage in public fitness

events just as marathon events and public business events that connect the public to

business in their neighbourhoods. Events would include educational demonstrations in

Memorial South Park, which is only three blacks away from the studio. In this

demonstration, the studio would educate the public on the importance of health and

fitness and provide information about each of the studios classes and programs via

things like trainers, program brochures, and fitness logs, coupled with the studio’s

contact and membership information.

b) Written Eastside Fitness program brochures in the studio and other locations such as

community centres, Whole Foods, and other natural food and supplement businesses.

Program brochures will have the same overall designs but will be differentiated via

design colour coding. For example, fitness-related brochures will be blue (like the

company logo) on the front, and health related brochures will be pinkish-red on the front.

Also, will ensure the website URL and social media information are easily visible on all

brochures. This would attempt to direct those that have been reached in the public

relations promotional element to the direct/online marketing promotional element if they

have not been convinced of the studios value proposition yet.

c) Daily fitness logs will be handed out during PR events and with most communication

media both inside and outside of studio (ie at community centres).

Quantifiable objectives:

Pass out 20 company brochures and relative information at each event.

Design brochures for both fitness and health related brochures. The studio has around 13 different classes/programs.

Connect with at least two fitness or health related businesses within the six-month timeframe to allow for possible future cross-promotional opportunities.

Direct Marketing

Reaches consumers by using marketing tactics like; direct mail, online marketing, face-to-

face selling, and online marketing techniques such as email and social media. Online

marketing is the fastest-growing form of direct marketing and so should be a major focus in

this plan.

Promotional elements to be used:

d) Email marketing to members and interested parties because the target market’s age

demographic makes it more likely that members will respond to email more than mobile

phones (http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/04/03/older-adults-and-technology-use/),

making mobile marketing not as much of a promising marketing option to the key target

market. The studio will offer occasional discounts and free class deals to existing

members’ friends and family to try to gain potential new members. They will also send

out monthly Eastside Fitness studio updates that contain stories, news, and exercise

information to keep current members involved and interested in the studio.

e) Improve online social media, to improve business-to-consumer (B2C), consumer-to-

consumer (C2C), consumer-to-business (C2B), and even business-to-business (B2B)

online marketing. Through this online interaction, the studio will be able to easily and

more completely interact with both customers and businesses, which would help greatly

in improving and continuing successful relationships with each. The studio will share

stories and membership information and deals on each of the studio’s social media

accounts and hold a social media event that asks members to share their stories with

specific hashtags for the chance to win a prize. Create hashtags to use and make sure

to involve every social media platform, including the studio blog

(http://www.eastsidefitness.ca/blog/), that is currently being used by Eastside Fitness to

ensure great online coverage.

f) Update studio website to better communicate the brand’s personality, benefits, and

available programs. This change will be targeting the homepage specifically, because a

website’s homepage is the first and sometimes the only thing website visitors see before

deciding to leave the website.

Quantifiable objectives:

One direct email every month will be delivered to current studio members. The scheduled emails for once every month is in effect to avoid annoying consumers with too many emails.

Create and promote at least ten social media discussions and two contests during the six-month IMC plan timeframe to facilitate great C2C, B2C, C2B, and B2B communications.

AdvertisingWill consist of mostly informative advertising, to build the studio brand and its value

proposition knowledge in the minds of both new and existing members.

Promotional elements to be used:

g) Newspaper Advertising will be used because it has low cost per exposure rate, and good

local market coverage and broad acceptability, but it has small pass-along audience.

Through newspaper advertising, Eastside Fitness will be able to reach local key target

market members. Eastside Fitness will advertise community events in the

neighbourhood to the locals to try and get more community members involved and

interested in the studio.

h) Magazine advertising will be used because it has high geographic and demographic

selectivity with a long life, and good pass-along readership, but it also comes at a high

cost. Magazine advertisements of varying sizes, from full page to snippet-sized, will be

created and funded to promote the studio.

i) Online Advertising will be used because it has relatively low cost and good repeat

consumer exposure rate. This will consist of banner advertisements to be shared on all

social media as well as paid to be included on other websites.

j) Outdoor Advertising will be used because it has a low cost high repeat consumer

exposure rate along with good positional but little audience selectivity. New and

improved studio signage will be introduced, and large banners will be designed and

integrated at all studio events.

Quantifiable objectives:

Improve the studios outdoor signage (see appendix for picture of current location).

One advertisement on any desired online or offline media per month.

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

One-month implementation plan example:Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Week

1

Create

newspaper

advertisement of

upcoming

educational

demonstration

Introduce the

new brochures

with new

designs to the

studio

Improve the

studios

outdoor

signage

Week

2

Fitness and

wellness

educational

demonstration in

South Hill Park

Start

discussion

about health

and wellbeing

on social

media

Social

media

contest

introductio

n

Week

3

Submit magazine

advertisement of

studio

Start

discussion

about fitness

on social

media

Social

media

contest

end

Week

4

Email monthly

studio updates to

existing members

email addresses

with a one-time

“Bring a friend for

free” deal

Free 1-hour

fitness/health

class in

South Hill

Park

WHY WILL THIS IMC PLAN WORK?

This IMC plan will be a success because it better implements multiple communication media

promotional tools in reaching the studio’s key target market than what the studio is doing

now, and it is consistent across each in terms of its message of community involvement and

the importance of health and fitness in the community with the overall design of each

promotional element remaining consistent. It pushes the studio’s brand and value

propositions to both current and future studio members.

SOURCES

PRIZM, page 15

https://www.facebook.com/eastside.fitness/?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/eastsidefitness

https://plus.google.com/110164544306386422369?hl=en

page 460-461 of Marketing: An Introduction 5th Canadian Edition

page 450 of Marketing: An Introduction 5th Canadian Edition

http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/04/03/older-adults-and-technology-use/

http://www.eastsidefitness.ca/blog/

http://www.eastsidefitness.ca/drop-in-classes-east-vancouver/holistic-nutrition-

services-vancouver/

APPENDIX

Eastside Fitness Run Club members at the MEC 2016 Summer Race:

Current studio location w/ view of outdoor signage: