The top three marketing trends of 2021, courtesy of PURE Group’s Gary Wise.
One of the most challenging aspects of club operations over the last year has involved marketing. With consumer sentiments and COVID restrictions constantly changing, marketing teams have had to pivot strategies and tactics on a dime to match the current moment.
However, as the pandemic comes closer to coming to an end, marketers are making their predictions on trends they view as mainstays in the months ahead.
This includes Gary Wise, the regional marketing director for PURE Group, which boasts 43 PURE Yoga and PURE Fitness facilities across Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, New York and Beijing. Here, he shared his predictions on the top three marketing trends of 2021.
Top Three Marketing Trends of 2021
1. Emphasizing community.
According to Wise, community will become even more important for clubs to emphasize in their marketing strategies this year. “Brands will want to rally their communities together — and build new ones — to create positive experiences as COVID subsides,” he explained.
2. Creating value.
According to Wise, 2021 will see a big increase in the trend for “value-adding” marketing, which he defines as marketing that doesn’t just promote/sell the brand, explain the product or entertain, but that really delivers experiences, useful information and news. “I believe great marketing in many sectors should be a real extension of the product, and this is especially true in the fitness and wellness industry,” he said.
As an example, PURE Group added value for its customers over the course of the pandemic and subsequent shutdowns by creating content geared directly toward serving its members’ needs. According to Wise, they worked with specialists to create specific content such as:
- Tips for working out in a small space in your apartment using household items as replacements for dumbbells.
- Yoga and meditation to de-stress and focus.
- Immunity boosting yoga and fitness.
- Family yoga sessions.
“These were hugely appreciated by the community, and we used our comms and hashtags — e.g. #hkTogether — to rally everyone together in unified support for one-another,” said Wise.
3. Live-streaming is here to stay.
“Live-streaming will continue to thrive, and people will lead even more ‘Online to Offline to Online’ (O2O2O) lives,” said Wise. “For example, they will expect the flexibility to be able to workout in gyms, at-home, while travelling — wherever they are. Fitness operators must adapt to this expectation, both in terms of their services and their marketing.”
What are your predictions on the top three marketing trends of 2021? Share in the comments.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
