I can’t tell you the passion with which I hate Fitness First. I was a member there for about 5 years (it was the only gym in my area) and I still get angry when I think about the way they treat their members. It’s with complete contempt.
So it doesn’t surprise me to see their new “guerilla” advertising campaign in Rotterdam.
Yes that’s right, after a hard day of work you sit down at a bus stop in exhaustion to find that Fitness First have decided to shame you by displaying your weight to everyone around you. Great job guys, public humiliation is a brilliant way to get people into your gym.
I’m sure they think they’re very clever by doing this but it really shows the attitude that is prevalent throughout the gym. Fitness First seem to have no knowledge of the psychology of exercise or weight-loss, or even how to motivate people into getting fit. They are the sort of trainers that yell at people until they cry, thinking that it’s going to help. (As an aside, I had a personal trainer at Fitness First tell me I should never eat carbohydrates, ever, as they were evil and made you fat. I think he might have gotten his fitness training certificate from watching Oprah).
What does surprise me is how a lot of people on twitter and blogs really love the ad. I really don’t understand what they like about it - I’m struggling to see how it’s clever or witty or will have a positive effect on membership numbers.
Do you know what I think the response to this ad will be? Every unsuspecting person that sits on this and is embarrassed is probably going to go home upset and eat chocolate instead of joining the gym.
I guess what else do I expect from a gym who’s advertising usually consists of muscle-men blocking the busiest parts of Sydney streets, harassing passers-by into taking “free” gym passes.
In the meantime, I’m going to go and join the Fitness First Hate group instead of their gym. At least I can leave that group without handing over my first-born, signed in triplicate…
This post is tagged under: Marketing
Wow - thanks for bringing this to my attention. There is a Fitness First in Canberra that I considered joining as it is near my workplace, but will never now. I prefer my positive, caring and uplifting yoga teacher instead.
Nice post Cheryl. How humiliating indeed… but so is the temptation to break those scales ;)
Yeah, there’s never such a thing as a ‘free gym pass’…although I have heard that if you want to cancel your FF membership, the best way is to tell them you’ve got a job as a fitness instructor at another gym. Apparently they can’t get you out quick enough!
What would have actually been useful is if they placed free scales(in booths) around the city in places where people are usually just loitering and killing time, so that you could privately enter you height and step on to see where you weight is on the standard national healthy weight scale.
What they’ve done is just inconsiderate! Most people would never willingly weigh themselves publicly.
Man, that is bad. Another issue there is the scall is weighing her bags as well, further shaming the potential client.
Oh, and canceling your membership at Fitness First was such a hassle I am not surprised by this kind of shaming campaign from them.
I still get mad thinking about it years later, how they made it impossible to get a meeting with a ‘membership consultant’ to just quit the damn gym and treat you like an idiot in the process.
I am now an outspoken anti-Fitness First activist because of that last memory. I wish they could see how some of these ‘techniques’ they use really hurt their brand.
There is a video of the campaign in action here (thanks Lucas).
It’s been tagged as “comedy” and you can hear the camera-man laughing as the woman notices her weight.
Fitness First are just proving they really don’t understand their customers at all. So many people are fearful of going to the gym because they think everyone will be gym-junkies and they’ll be intimidated. They are worried about their fitness levels and how they’ll look to regular gym members. And they’re probably self-conscious of their weight and want to lose some.
None of which is helped by this campaign. It’s essentially saying that fitness should be measured in kilograms. They don’t even offer information such as a healthy weight per height, or any guidelines.
As Irena mentioned, they could have done this well by understanding their target audience and helping them understand their health.
But they’ve gone for cheap laughs and it reflects badly on them as a gym.
What I find kind of amazing is that I’ve *never* heard a good word about FF. Literally, not once. Yet they’re still packed. How does word not get around? Or have they just killed off all the old gyms?
People go to Fitness First for the same reason they go to Macca’s or Starbucks - it’s not especially good, but they have branches everywhere and you know what you’re going to get.
Could not agree with you more - what a dreadfully misguided campaign. I suffered through twelve months of membership with them when I first moved back to Melbourne and hated everything about them - much happier now at Genesis (formerly Fitness HQ) in St Kilda Road …. not a meat head or bimbo to be found
http://www.smh.com.au/national/gymgoer-allegedly-hit-by-trainer-20090405-9tbp.html
What’s he complaining about - he got free boxing lessons!
Makes you want to just go for a jog, bike ride and lift weights in your own home so as not to be ridiculed by people with more muscles than intelligence and caring attitude!
In fact, I think I might just do that! Heck, I’ve got a park opposite me, stairs that I can go up and down, use milk containers filled with water for weights and eat sensible by cutting out excess fats and sugars.
Heck, I’m a fitness instructor! (NOTE - SARCASM) Come on, people…. Let’s see you do some exercise on your own! and 1, and 2, and 1 and 2……. ; ) Keep going… you’re doing GREAT!!! : ) UH, UH, Don’t even THINK of touching that packet of chips or lollies!…. ; )
I have been a member of Fitness First at Willoughby for 2 years and am very happy with the staff and Personal trainers.I have trained at other gyms and this is the best Gym I have trained at.
I however agree with you that this marketing campaign is ridiculous and will only lose them business.
I have been a member of FF in Canberra for nearly two years - they really are good, the trainers are excellent, and the gym-members are just ordinary people like me. Like banks, gyms are only as good as their individual branches because it is personal experiences that people attribute to the organisation as a whole. I do not like the ad though….
I’m really disgust by FF in Adelaide city, Currie st. I’ve just invited by them to visit their gym this noon. When I was there, the receptionist wasn’t friendly, the sales person turned pushy when I said: I decided to think about it.
HE asked me questions like “why u here if u not signing up? Do you really want to be healthy? ” Hellooo, first they’re the one who invited me and i don’t have to join FF to be healthy. GOsh, and the worst was when I picke up one of the brochure, he even said: why would u need it if you’re not signing up.
I’ve been heard their heavy tactic to push customer joining the gym but i’ve still ‘amazed’ how rude they can be. They obviously care business, money than the health. They try to attack vulnerable ppl so be careful. You don’t need big name to be healthy, local gym are fine. I’ve joined a gym so tat i can push myself to do some workout but FF definitely not my choice in the future.
Agree, they never understand their customer.
Big name, so what?
I think this acronym sums up my thoughts, and possibly yours, on fitness first.
FFF
The last two are fitness first.. I’ll let you guess what the first means.
*hint* it ends in uck
Wow, i have never seen anything like it before in my life. I am based in Canberra and i think a better way to go for anyones fitness is to look at joining a Bootcamp group rather thana national fitness chain.
Good bunch of people to train with and have fun with variety in every session
I work in FF and have done so for over 3 years. I have to say I wouldnt work in this company if I didnt have faith in them.
Yep. Bad ad.
Yep contracts are tough.
YEP PEOPLE ENTER CONTRACTS WITHOUT READING THEM, THEN COMPLAIN WHEN THE TERMS, WRITTEN IN BLACK AND WHITE, ARE ENFORCED, JUST AS OTHER BIG COMPANIES LIKE TELSTRA AND VODAFONE DO….
I can tell you all, I bust my butt every day and truly care about running a team of people who are friendly and passionate and polite.
I can understand how some races feel when one or two are idiots and the whole group is painted with the same brush….
Dont forget, every companies job is to make money, as much money as possible. If you owned this company, you would do exactly as they would, and anyone saying anything else is a liar. They are the ONLY COMPANY EVER in Aus to be as successful as they are in the Fitness Industry and I am proud to be a part of it…
For those who dont like it, DONT JOIN!!!! And if you do, read the T& Cs…
Quit your complaining, get a life and go do something with yourself.
PS… as far as the article posted above about the trainer who hit a member, I was there. It was a fight between 2 members AND THE TRAINER broke it up, most likely saving one guys life.. He had nothing to do with it.. The poor guy was covered in other peoples blood and all he was doing was trying to stop someone from being sent to hospital. He never threw a punch and was not even aggressive. He simply pulled the aggressive member away from an unconscious victim getting pummeled. He is a wonderfu person and as usual the media paint it as total BS…. and muppets take it hook, line and sinker as always.
I totally agree with one of the reader’s comments going / joining up to fitness first is like going to Maccas or starbucks. it is for those who know how to train on their own at a conveninet location. we welcome ( both mwemebers & staff) any newbies who are keen to improve their health but if ur the lazy sods type who whinge about making it to the gym on a regular basis then please just stay away. if you havent read the T & C’s and then decide to bail out of your gym contract coz you are weak, then you onlyhave yourself to blame or you can go to Today tonight & cry about how silly you were to have signed a LEGAL contract and not read the T & C’s! if u ddont like it.. leave thos of us who are happy there alone!