First comes the joy of the holidays, the dinners and parties at home and work. Then comes the regret, that feeling that sets in around Jan. 1 that perhaps one indulged a bit much, adding pounds that must now be burned off at the health club.

And that makes it an ideal time for advertisers to plant themselves in front of those regretful over-indulgers, appearing on screens at health clubs that broadcast their ads as a part of a mix of entertainment and other content.

To find out how to get your client’s message in front of a captive audience while they exercise, 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 placed on television screens in health clubs.

Who
For this article Media Life spoke with IdeaCast in New York and ClubCom of Pittsburgh. Both companies belong to the newly formed Out of Home Video Advertising Bureau.

How it works
IdeaCast delivers advertising and content to health club visitors via satellite and cable, delivered through screens mounted on the walls as well as smaller screens mounted on individual pieces of workout equipment.

“We are a live feed,” says IdeaCast president of sales and marketing Jason Brown. “We seamlessly integrate commercials into the feed.”

IdeaCast relies on CNN, CNBS and MSNBC for its content.

“We can do branded content with editorial, traditional 30-second spots or creative up to two minutes. You can animate your print campaign and run that,” Brown says.

ClubCom integrates ads with content on a private network that is pre-recorded and specific to each site. Music and video are broadcast into locker rooms and other common areas. In addition, screens mounted on individual cardio machines default to a 30-second commercial when the headphones are activated. Advertisers may also sponsor music that's piped into classrooms during group workouts.

“The communication at the beginning of the class would be ‘Brought to you by Nike,’” says ClubCom president Tom Lapcevic.

Markets
IdeaCast is available in 117 DMAs. including the top 25. ClubCom is in 101 U.S. markets, including the top 10 DMAs.

Numbers
ClubCom is in 1,500 plus locations.

IdeaCast is in 750 clubs, and it reports 200 million visits annually.

According to a 2007 Arbitron study provided by IdeaCast, 85 percent of health club members work out three or more times a week, spending an average of one hour and 38 minutes per visit.

How it is measured
IdeaCast and ClubCom use Nielsen for verification of measurement data provided by individual clubs.

Research
Nielsen Media Research on ClubCom’s program found that the percentage of visitors who watched or listened to the network during their workouts was 63.1, with a total ad recall of 63.4 percent.

According to a 2007 Arbitron study, 70 percent of health club members watch television while working out with IdeaCast viewers spending an average of 36 minutes tuned to Idea Cast content per health club visit. Average brand recall is 55 percent.

What product categories do well
Beverages, credit cards, health food, pharmaceuticals, sports clothing and equipment, computers, telecoms, insurance, travel, automotive, entertainment and restaurants are all top categories.

Demographics
According to the 2007 Arbitron study provided by IdeaCast, health club members are equally divided between male and female;  26 percent are age 18 to 34, 68 percent 18 to 49, and 74 percent at 25 to 54.

Additionally, 75 percent of health club members have a household income of $75,000-plus and 61 percent are at $100,000 and up.

Groups can be targeted by time of day and location. Brown notes a younger demographic tends to work out in the late afternoon or early evening.

Making the buy
IdeaCast:
- Advertisers buy the network
- Lead time is 48 hours
- The minimum buy is two weeks

ClubCom:
- Standard buys are two weeks to one month
- Creative can vary by region
- Lead time is one week

Who’s already on health club screens
FTD, U.S. Marine Corps, Dell, Wish-Bone and Orbitz are recent IdeaCast advertisers.

What they’re saying
“TV is not dead. It’s just moving into places where people dwell and live their lives. Health clubs happen to be an hour and a half of someone’s day compared with about 36 minutes of watching television without a DVR.” – Jason Brown, president of sales and marketing at IdeaCast.

Web site info
IdeaCast at http://www.ideacast.net
ClubCom at http://www.clubcom.com
Out of Home Video Advertising Bureau at http://www.ovab.org