Hashtag Committed

During a two-month period between May 1 and June 30, 2013, hundreds of members of Sport&Health tweeted posts with the hashtag “#committed.” The popular hashtag was part of Sport&Health’s “Committed Program,” which challenged members to make it to the club at least 40 times within eight weeks.

“The challenge was for members to do one simple thing — just get to the club,” explained Mindy Pierce, the director of programming for Sport&Health. “We knew once we got them there, our staff could engage them.”

Themed around Sport&Health’s recent 40th anniversary, 1,253 members participated in the challenge, 264 of which reached the goal. Those members received a beach bag tote — the main prize. However, participants were rewarded for making visits to the club 30, 20 and even 10 times as well. “We figured that to meet the 40-visit quota, members would have to visit Sport&Health at least five times per week,” said Pierce. “Five times per week is really aggressive, and we still wanted to award people for making some sort of commitment.”

At the beginning of the program, all participants received a t-shirt that said “committed,” and a wristband that sported the same word. Those gifts became a key part of the program, as they were the center of the “Committed Program’s” Facebook photo contest. Members were challenged to post a photo of themselves that showcased either the t-shirt or wristband clearly, and the most popular photo would win. The grand prize included paid membership dues for the rest of the year, six private personal training or Pilates sessions, and a spa makeover.

According to Pierce, member engagement shot through the roof as a result of the program. “It was a really great engagement tool, and the entire club was able to get involved,” she said.

At the end of the challenge, 80 percent of participants had visited the club at least 10 times in a two-month period. In addition to the 264 people that made it 40 times, 202 members checked in 30-39 times, 287 members checked in 20-29 times and 243 members checked in 10-19 times.

Anita Koontz, 50, was one of the members “#committed” to the program. Although, she had been on the verge of quitting her membership with Sport&Health before the program started.

“The day I joined the ‘Committed Program,’ I had gone with the intention of putting a medical freeze on my membership (due to foot pain),” explained Koontz. “It would have been a stepping stone to quitting. Before I could even tell the front desk what I was there for, I was told by the front desk person about the ‘Committed Program.’”

Koontz explained that the program pitch was so enthusiastic, and that the word “committed” really stuck out to her. “Every time I heard the word ‘committed,’ it stuck in my head,” she said. “Before I knew it, I had signed my daughter and I up to participate!”

The word “committed” stuck with Koontz throughout the eight-week period, driving her to visit the club every single day, lose 22 pounds and surpass the 40-visit quota. “Before, I had no direction and was just treading water,” said Koontz. “After I knew Sport&Health would be keeping track of how many times I visited the club, I felt accountable.”

Now, Koontz said she couldn’t imagine every leaving Sport&Health. “The whole challenge proved I could workout for 60 days straight, and I see all the benefits of it,” she said. “I feel great! I’m hoping I can draw from this experience for inspiration.”

To keep members such as Koontz motivated, Sport&Health sent out weekly e-mail blasts to participants featuring sample workouts, nutrition tips and links to the live leader board where members could track their progress.

“We were able to give better member service because we could interact with members more frequently,” said Pierce. In addition, “it did bring a lot of exposure to the club. Social-media wise, our likes on Facebook grew substantially, and our e-mail open rate was considerably higher. A lot of people were engaged!”

By Rachel Zabonick