1

Liz Tarsitano

Professor Cardona

PR105

22 December 2021

Final Media Campaign

Introduction:

For this project, I wanted to organize a campaign for a gym chain that would be run in

order to use the college winter break (from around mid-December to early February) in order to

increase profit and encourage fitness among college students. Because of its nationwide range

and overall accessibility, I chose to use Planet Fitness as my company. The public promotion

would run from November all the way through December in order to gain as many participants

as possible, and to spread the word about this new program. This program would offer Planet

Fitness’s basic membership to college students at a discounted rate while they are home for

winter break. Many college students, myself included, do not have gym memberships as we use

the fitness facilities at our colleges. Unfortunately, however, we lose access to these facilities for

sometimes almost two months during winter break. I know from personal experience that it is

impossible to find a gym that offers a one month membership at a reasonable price, and because

of this, I lose motivation to work out and stay healthy during winter breaks. This campaign

would bring in so many college students who are looking for a way to stay active while home for

the holidays, and could even encourage them to stay with Planet Fitness when they go back to

school. It offers an appealing deal, while also gaining membership from people who would have

probably never considered joining a gym because there was no program or deal that fit their

specific needs.
 2

Research/Background:

This campaign is something extremely unique, as I have searched multiple times in the

past and have never found any active programs offering something like this. Each year I come

home for winter break, I look at the prices of all of my local gyms and yet never find a price that

is reasonable for what I am looking for. The only somewhat comparable program I found was

this one from 2013. This program offered a gym membership at the Raritan Valley YMCA in

New Jersey during the 2013-2014 winter break from the price of $40. There isn’t much more

information, other than the need for an active student ID in order to register, which is something

I also wanted to do with my program. They also include that they would allow participants

access to their group workout classes and wellness center. Other than that, there is not much

other information offered about the program (Gina). This is quite similar to the basic idea of my

program, although mine has a few key differences due to some of my own ideas and my gym

being a nationwide chain.

Similarly, through my research, I actually found a program that Planet Fitness did a few

years ago, in which they allowed high school students to gain free access to the gym all summer

in order to encourage fitness and wellness among them. They did this in hopes to “make fitness

and wellness part of their lifestyle from the program and also develop self-esteem and a more

positive body image” (Good Morning America). Also, Planet Fitness planned to give 51 lucky

winners who participated in the program scholarships towards college worth up to $5,000. Not

only did the program encourage teenagers to get into the gym, it likely encouraged them to

maintain a membership after the program ended. I think this is a good example of something that

they have done in the past that had a somewhat similar message and goal, although my campaign

would definitely have a different course of action and target audience.

 3

SWOT:
Strengths:
● Solves a problem that no other competition is tackling
● Offers a good deal on a service with no fees that gives a much better deal than other gyms
● This campaign gives Planet Fitness a lot of good publicity during a time where people are
often looking for a new gym to join
Weaknesses:
● People may feel like the program is unnecessary because a good portion of winter break
is encompassed of holidays and people are busy
● Some schools have different breaks and the full month and a half of membership would
be too long for students at these schools while paying the same price as everyone else
● People may not have the money to pay for any sort of gym membership during the
holiday season.
Opportunities:
● Potential to keep students as customers after the completion of the program and maintain
their business and brand loyalty
● Potential ability to make this program occur annually if successful and increase
anticipation for it
● Ability to offer something that makes Planet Fitness better than the competition by
showing how we cater to the needs of people everywhere
Threats:
● Other gyms may see our program and make something similar for themselves
● Schools may give students the opportunity to use the facilities over break
● People can do workout videos or home workouts and not need to pay for this membership

Objectives:

This campaign strategy has a few main objectives, but the main goal is to introduce a new

program that brings more people into the gym and encourages wellbeing, while also creating a

positive public perception of Planet Fitness as a company. By creating a campaign that shows a

new and unique service being offered that will solve a problem that people are having, a more

positive perception of the brand name will hopefully result and more people will look to become

members. By seeing how Planet Fitness caters to a group of people who want to work out and

use their facilities to keep fit, it’ll show how important each one of the people who enters one of

their locations is to them. Also, one of our more general objectives is to encourage keeping
 4

active and to allow college students to continue their gym routines even when away from their

college. Physical activity can also often improve mental health and wellbeing, so by giving them

this outlet to let out some energy and escape, we are encouraging them to really bring out the

best versions of themselves.

Strategy:

Our main strategy in order to achieve our objectives is to create a campaign that is

specifically designed to help college students. Many students who come back to their hometowns

during winter break run into the problem of not having a fitness facility anymore, and gym

memberships often come with hefty commitment requirements and fees. This campaign would

highlight the new program that allows students to access Planet Fitness’s facilities during their

break at an extremely affordable price of $35 for the entire month and a half period. This price is

extremely reasonable, as due to startup and annual fees, this would never be possible with a

standard membership for just this time. All that would be required is that they register with their

student email and show their student ID each time they enter the gym. At the end of the program,

at the beginning of February, 25 lucky winners nationwide who participated in the program will

receive a free one year Black Card membership to Planet Fitness. The Black Card comes with

many additional perks, one being the ability to use any Planet Fitness facility worldwide, as well

as the ability to bring a guest each time (The PF Black Card). This is great for college students,

as if they win, they can bring a friend each time they go. Also, this will encourage them to stick

with Planet Fitness, even after returning to school.

Goals:

Our ideal outcome for this program would be to increase membership nationwide and, to

put it simply, tap into a target group that other corporations tend to ignore. This program is built
 5

to gain a profit without really losing anything. It’s not like we are giving them such a good deal

that we are losing money, but we would gain profit that would not have been discovered

otherwise. These students without this program would find other alternatives to going to the

gym, or just avoid working out completely during this break. Our campaign allows them to

access this good deal, while also allowing our franchise to profit off of it. Planet Fitness, along

with corporations all across the world, have suffered financial losses due to the COVID-19

pandemic. Their annual revenue dropped over $200 million from 2019 to 2020 expectedly, so

this program would be an excellent opportunity to make a quick profit from a group who

wouldn’t be buying a normal membership (Smith). One of our main quantitative goals would be

to have 200 participants in the program per location. A more far-fetched goal, considering this

campaign is just focused on the winter break for college students, would be for maybe 10 percent

of these participants to maintain their membership at any other Planet Fitness location, possibly

near their colleges.

The success of this campaign will be measured by how many students participate and

how the campaign is received by the public. Seeing how people react to the initial launch of the

campaign and how many people sign up after the launch will allow us to see exactly how

appealing the program is. After the campaign and program end, we will also be able to analyze if

we met our quantitative goals, as well as our objectives as far as maintaining a positive brand

image. There are not too many constraints as far as how achievable this campaign will be, as

membership and the use of membership has declined due to the pandemic. It shouldn’t require

much more of a budget or an increase in staffing, other than the price of the Black Card

membership to the 25 winners at the end, which would only cost the franchise as a whole around

$7,000. The only other possible thing that may be needed is an expansion of hours at some
 6

locations, as some locations are open for 24 hours and others have set hours. Having the facility

be open for more hours would be another perk for those partaking in the program, and could

spike the number of participants. This is a nationwide campaign with a large scope, so this plan

is quite realistic for a corporation of this size. Ideally, this campaign would be pitched towards

the beginning of the school year in September, giving those working on it enough time to

formulate a strong campaign to be launched probably around mid-November.

Target Market:

Our target market for this campaign is college students. More specifically, this targets

students returning home for winter break, but those who are students at local community colleges

and those who stay in university housing are also able to partake in this program as long as they

have a local Planet Fitness location. Reaching this target group would work best through social

media, as this is where they spend a majority of their time, as well as where they are easily

influenced. The key message we will use to reach them is that we are creating a program

specifically designed to appeal to their needs. We want them to know that this is just for them

and focuses on what is best for them. The target audience needs to be convinced to actually

partake in the program, and the best way to do so is to let them know we are making it just for

them. It will be extremely important to use images and posts that get their attention and keep it.

We have to make sure that they are thinking about the campaign long after they see the posts

about it, and want to try it out. One of the other important things to consider is using buzzwords

that get their attention like the following: “meet your fitness goals”, “stay slaying all winter

break”, and “keep that daily routine”. These phrases will encourage them to remember the posts

they see and possibly gain interest in the program. They are common in their own vocabulary,

and aren’t cringey or off putting like some are.

 7

Media Plan:

This campaign will appear ideally overall on social media platforms, as well as on

streaming services. This is where more of the target audience is exposed to media and will be

where they are most likely to come across the campaign. Additionally, there should be a few

advertisements on typical cable television channels, as parents may see these and let their

children know. Also, during Thanksgiving, which will likely be the peak sign-up time for the

campaign, people are often watching the parade or football games on these stations. Promoting

the campaign there could raise the conversation about it and encourage people to sign up. The

message on social media and streaming services can be more directed to the actual college

students who would be participating, as this is where they are most likely to see it. The more

general promotion across television stations can just introduce the program and talk about some

of the perks, as well as the grand prize at the end. We are going to completely avoid messages of

needing to go to the gym during the holiday season to burn off calories, as these messages are

harmful to everyone who sees them. They can promote unhealthy ways of thinking and fitness

lifestyles, which completely goes against what Planet Fitness stands for. By making the audience

seem like they need to make changes, it will likely deter them from participating.

There are not many other competitors in this market, as although there are other gyms,

none are offering a program like this one. Because of this, the only consideration of competitors

we must worry about is if they launch a similar program, as well as making sure our price is

better than anything they may offer. If this happens, our campaign must be adjusted to make sure

it is the best one on the table. Our media plan must account for this issue should it arise, and we

must make sure that our work stands out in comparison to them, but as it looks right now, the

competition should be minimal.

 8

Media Opportunities:

When looking at the potential media opportunities, we would initially release a press

release about the program and the campaign, and potentially have advertisements in popular

podcasts with our target audience, such as “Call Her Daddy”, “Anything Goes with Emma

Chamberlain”, and “Stuff You Should Know”. Most of the promotion, however, would likely

come from articles and other social media promotion. This is where it is best to reach our target

audience, so it is most important to focus on that.

Additionally, I would like to have an event such as a press conference to announce the

launch of the campaign and the program. At this press conference, we would plan to invite a

large list of reporters who cover the specific beat we are looking to reach. We would research and

find reporters who work in the fitness industry and cover a lot of those topics, as well as those

who work for places like Buzzfeed that cover things that young adults, especially those in

college, are interested in.

The following is a list of some of the reporters we would contact to attend this press conference,

or potentially just to cover the story in general:

- Robin Hilmantel, digital director at Women’s Health

- Ashley Oerman, lifestyle director at Cosmopolitan
- Rachel Hosie, senior health and lifestyle reporter at INSIDER
- Lauren Bedosky, health and fitness freelance writer (has done work for Men’s Health)
- Jenna Wortham, staff writer for The New York Times
- Fabiana Buontempo, health and fitness writer for Buzzfeed
- Amy Schlinger, fitness and health editor at HearstMade
- Sheryl Kraft, freelance health writer
- Luke Jones, freelance health and fitness writer
- Morgan Murrell, senior pop culture writer and reporter for Buzzfeed
- Sonia Rao, pop culture reporter for The Washington Post
- Linda Holmes, pop culture correspondent for NPR
 9

Schedule:

Early September- The Planet Fitness Student Winter Membership program is pitches, and the

campaign research process begins

Mid-Late September- General plan for the program/campaign is laid out

Early October- prior research is done finding any other competition or similar campaigns that

were executed in the past

Early November- press conference occurs, full of reporters and multiple media outlets who are

looking to cover the story that typically follows the health/fitness or pop culture beats.

Mid-November- the campaign is launched, media posts and commercials are spread among each

identified media source

Late November- more media posts are promoted, and these specifically encourage people to sign

up for the program

Early December- people are reminded through socials to sign up as the program is starting soon

December 10th- the program begins, and participants are able have access to Planet Fitness’s

facilities

End of December- Planet Fitness’s team begins to analyze how many people are signed up and if

any more are signing up

January 31st- Program ends, participants can no longer access the gym facilities

February 1st- the 25 winners of the full year Black Card membership are announced

All of February- Planet Fitness analyzes the success of the campaign and plans similar

campaigns for the future, as well as changing anything that doesn’t work
 10

Conclusion:

In conclusion, I believe that this campaign is a great way to show that Planet Fitness

cares and wants to offer anyone who needs it the best possible service. I think this program and

campaign would meet our main objective of introducing a new program to more people into the

gym and encouraging wellbeing. Additionally, this will hopefully create a more positive public

perception of Planet Fitness as a company. This campaign will show that we really do want the

best for each person who walks in by encouraging keeping active and giving them the resources

to do so. Additionally, this will help the corporation make some extra profit after suffering some

loss due to the pandemic. Overall, I think this is a good idea in helping benefit the “Planet

Fitness” name while also hopefully helping students who need it.

Looking towards the future, if this plan goes well, they could also possibly introduce

something similar for summer break and even expand the scope to teenagers as a whole, while

giving students a discount. Obviously the campaign would need to be modified, but this program

as a whole could be a cool recurring thing that gets young people active and is beneficial to

Planet Fitness as well. The winter program could even be recurring, and returning members

could receive some additional perks. Additionally, if there are issues with the campaign and

room for improvement, that can all be analyzed during the months following its conclusion. This

has the potential to be something amazing for the company and the people who participate in it.
 11

Works Cited

Gina. “College Winter Break Gym Membership.” East Brunswick, NJ Patch, Patch, 14 Dec.

2013, patch.com/new-jersey/eastbrunswick/college-winter-break-gym-membership.

Good Morning America. “Get in Shape This Summer: Teen Workout Routine from Planet

Fitness.” Good Morning America,

www.goodmorningamerica.com/amp/wellness/story/shape-summer-teens-work-free-planet

-fitness-62659967?fbclid=IwAR2RPsz8QOErZrV_8f1YRLjrBo8nV-_2UIZpZLFwJXBJ7

4GWMjG3XEsMkis.

“The PF Black Card®.” The PF Black Card® | Planet Fitness,

www.planetfitness.com/pfblackcard.

Smith, Craig, et al. “Interesting Planet Fitness Statistics and Facts.” DMR, 28 May 2021,

expandedramblings.com/index.php/planet-fitness-statistics-facts/.