As the days start to grow shorter and cooler, the summer joggers and swimmers move inside to gyms and fitness centers to exercise, and those are ideal venues for advertisers. Consumers who work out generally make and spend more money than the average, and they are an audience that’s often hard for advertisers to reach.

Innovative methods to take ads inside gyms and other workout arenas are burgeoning.

To find out how to get your client’s message in front of a captive audience on the treadmill and beyond, read on.

This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.

Fast Facts
 
What
Ads are placed in the workout areas and locker rooms of gyms and fitness centers.

Who
Zoom Media & Marketing, headquartered in New York.

How it works
Signage is placed in the locker rooms, workout areas and lobbies of targeted fitness centers. Zoom calls the program its Fitness and Indoor Sports network.

Zoom recently added LA Boxing, a martial arts and fitness chain, to the facilities in its ad network, says vice president Patrick West. Others include New York Sports Clubs, Boston-based Fitcorp, Windy City Sports in Chicago, the Brewster Sports Center in the New York area and Bally Total Fitness.

“They’re great for gender-targeting when you place them next to mirrors in the locker room,” West says.

Creative is provided by advertisers, who often tie it into the fitness theme.

Product sampling, branded workout items, class sponsorships and locker wraps are also available.

Advertisers are primarily national companies, but local sports teams and resorts have also used the signage, West says.

There are typically several advertisers at each location. Exclusivity depends on the product category and the size of the buy.

Markets
Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, New York, Minneapolis, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington, D.C., are included in the network.

The LA Boxing markets are in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Puerto Rico.

Numbers
The addition of LA Boxing adds 60 venues to the Fitness Network, for a total of 800 locations nationwide.

How it is measured
Club membership and attendance figures are used. Additionally, Zoom conducts audit studies

Research
According to a study commissioned by Zoom in February and conducted by the Roper Public Affairs division of GfK Research, 44 percent of fitness patrons surveyed recalled seeing a specific ad.

What product categories do well
Automotive, entertainment, health and beauty aids and consumer packaged goods are top advertisers.

Sports and fitness-related products like sports drinks, bottled water, clothing and shoes also do well.

Demographics
The typical adult using a facility in the fitness center network, according to membership data provided by Zoom:
-is between 18 to 49 and evenly split between male and female
-more likely than not to have an average household income above the national average, at 58 percent
-more likely than not to be single, at 69 percent
-More than likely to be Caucasian, at 67 percent (11 percent are African American, 5 percent Asian American, 13 percent Hispanic and 4 percent mixed)

LA Boxing patrons tend to be 21 to 40 years old and skew female.

Making the buy
Lead time is 30 days to 60 days, depending on the scope of the program, and campaigns typically run 30 days or 60 days but can extend longer.

Advertisers can buy specific clubs, markets or the network. Factors that affect cost include elements of the campaign and number of installations.

Who’s already using the fitness network
HBO, Procter & Gamble’s Olay, Saab and the U.S. Marine Corps are current or recent advertisers.

What they’re saying
“By allowing an ad to be placed there, these facilities are into de facto endorsements. For many of their members the gym is a major part of their lives. That’s why the recall rates are great. The ads really connect to the space.” – Patrick West, vice president for experiential marketing for Zoom Media

Web site info
Zoom Media at www.zoom-media.com