Assignment $3$: Promotional Strategy

This assignment is based on a chain of fitness centers. They want to increase their ongoing level of promotional activity but are unsure how best to promote themselves in the marketplace.

Therefore, this activity requires you to determine the most appropriate promotional strategy $($given the information in the following case study$).$

About Fitness Fast

Fitness Fast currently consists of eleven fitness centers across the city. Their goal is to expand to around $20$ centers before expanding interprovince. Currently, most of their fitness centers are operating at only $60\%$ capacity. This means that they will greatly benefit from more customers $($as most of their costs are fixed costs $$ in premises and equipment$).$

As a result, they have budgeted just over $$1$m $($which is a substantial amount for them$)$ for an upcoming promotional campaign. Their problem is that they are faced with too many choices and are unsure how to structure their campaign. That$$s why they need your help$/$advice$.$

They have identified five different segments of people that are attracted to joining a fitness center. These segments are:

Name of Segment Needs Profile Proportion of Market

Looking Good This group is attracted to improve the physical look of their body On average, this group is aged $18$ to $35$ and tend to be fairly dedicated to fitness $$ but they also like to party too $30\%$

Losing Weight As the name suggests, this group is attracted to a

fitness center to help them with their weight loss goals This group is slightly older, around $30$ to $45$ years. Their

fitness dedication seems to go in cycles $($that is$,$ up and down$)20\%$

Just Surviving This is a relatively new segment. They view fitness as vital to long$-$term health and work out to help make their day$-$to$-$day life easier This group is predominantly aged $50$ years plus. They don$$t have ambitious goals, and are happy to do a light work out a few times a week $10\%$

Among Friends This group sees fitness center as a great place to make friends and meet people. This group mostly consists of females aged $25$ to $40$ years, who work part$-$time $($due to

children$).$ They are reasonably committed to fitness, even though it is their secondary motivation $30\%$

Pushing the Boundaries These people use fitness centers to help them achieve goals in other areas $($that is$,$ they play top level sports, or engage in extreme or endurance sports This group is mainly aged under $30$ and are extremely committed to their fitness goals, even though they may

only use fitness centers on an ad hoc basis $10\%$

The firm is also unsure about what type of message they should communicate and the best way to present that message. To help them with their decision, they have constructed the following:

Name of Segment Best Appeal$/$s and Message Best Message Source$/$s

Looking Good Rational $$ best equipment and staff Sexual $$want to look like this$?$ Fitness Instructor

Real customer

Losing Weight Fear $$ risks of being overweight Emotional $$take care of yourself$$ Expert$/$doctor Actor $($little overweight$)$

Just Surviving Two$-$sided $$now that you$$re older$$ Humor $$I used to hate to work out$$ Real customer Older celebrity

Among Friends Emotional $$where you belong$$

Humor $$ having fun Actors $($group of friends$)$

Staff and real customers

Pushing the Boundaries Rational $$ become fitter$/$faster Fear $$your competitor trains here$$ Spokesperson $($face of firm$)$

Actors $($fit looking people$)$

And, of course, the firm hasn$$t even considered the question of which media vehicles they should use. However, given their fairly limited budget, they are most likely restricted to:

$$ Radio advertising

$$ Local paper advertising

$$ Local cinema advertising

$$ Internet ads

$$ Shopping mall promotions

$$ Letterbox drops.

$$ Billboards

$$ Taxis and buses

$$ Publicity

$$ Customer referral incentives

$$ YouTube videos

$$ Social media marketing

$$ Search engine marketing

Consider Figure $12-3$ from the text

Student Discussion Questions

$1.$ Which target market$/$s to pursue? Explain your rationale $($Select two for the simplicity of the assignment$)(4$ marks$)$

$2.$ Specify the IMC Objective$/$s that you will be using for the promotional campaign. Explain. $(4$ marks$)$

$3.$ Therefore, which appeal$/$s$,$ message$/$s$,$ and source$/$s to use in the communication message? Explain. $(6$ marks$)$

$4.$ Which media vehicles to use? Explain. $(5$ marks$)$

Hint: television, magazines, newspapers, the Internet, direct mail, and radio, social media

$5.$ In which promotional mix elements and how much should the company allocate the $$1$mn company$$s promotion funds? Outline why you think your plan is a good approach? $(3$ marks$)$

INSTRUCTIONS:

$$ The assignment should be no more than three pages in length, double spaced, Times New Roman, font $12.$ Assignments less than $1$ page and more than $3$ pages will receive a penalty.

$$ The title page should mentio