What is Fitness Branding?
By definition, ‘Branding’ means ‘the act of giving a company a particular design or symbol in order to advertise its products and services’. In other words, it is the process of endowing meaning to your company, products, or services. It is an essential strategy that helps people to quickly recognize your brand and give them a strong impression.
Here are two well-known Hong Kong fitness brands that have had great success with their branding.
1. XYZ Studio
XYZ is an indoor cycling studio in Central. Their branding is relevant and memorable, with a simple brand logo which is recognizable and unique.
With a goal to help people escape day-to-day stresses and boost energy levels, they provide upbeat indoor spin classes with uplifting music, bright lights, and disco balls, to provide an immersive environment for their students.
2. Flex Studio
Flex is a premium, boutique fitness studio and a Teacher Training center for Classical Pilates in Hong Kong. They came up with an impressive slogan: ‘Transformation Begins Here – Sculpt, Tone, Strengthen, Stretch.’ which refers to all the training they’re providing like Pilates, Yoga, and Cardio Conditioning
Also, they focus on both physical and mental well-being across all of their services, and that’s why they don’t lock members into a membership or a long contract but adopt a pricing strategy that provides plenty of flexibility to build trust and loyalty amongst members.
Here are 6 steps to develop a memorable Brand Identity:
1. Think about your business direction:
Before creating your brand, think about yourself and your Fitness studio. What are you offering? Why are you offering this product? Think about the message you would like to express to build the brand connection with your members.
2. Research on your competitors:
Competitor research is an essential process in developing your business. With a clear business direction, you must research the market and your competitors. For example, the Classpass directory is a quick way to research the list of fitness studios in the city. You can then find out more about what they offer through their websites and social media profiles.
A framework that we recommend is SWOT analysis, which helps you reflect upon your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of your business, so that you can formulate strategies to leverage on opportunities and overcome threats.
3. Think about your target customers:
The next step is to identify your target audience. Your target audience includes not only your customers, but also consists of potential business partners and employees.
What do your stakeholders value, and what can you provide which can help you stand out from the pack?
4. Establish brand mission and vision statements:
Have you thought about your brand mission and vision? What are your core values? It is important for you to craft a clear expression of what your company values.
5. Choose An Appropriate Name (and Visual Identity):
With messaging in mind, you need to consider details on your visual identity, including fonts and brand colors that could affect how you build the connection with your customers. For example, different colors convey different attitudes and moods that might play to your advantage.
6. Choose an efficient marketing plan:
An effective marketing plan engages people to join your studio, which would impact your sales and revenue. For example, the Hong Kong government announced a HK$5,000 consumption voucher scheme to boost local businesses amidst the coronavirus pandemic, building an opportunity for fitness studios to launch relevant promotions during this period to attract new customers. With these marketing promotions, always measure your marketing performance to determine the effectiveness of your campaigns.
Building a fitness studio in Hong Kong is not easy, but we have developed a business plan template which can guide you to develop relevant business strategies to grow your business. Access it for free here. And if you’re keen to find out more about how vibefam can help you grow your boutique fitness business, find out more about what we offer here or schedule a personalized demo with us.
This article was written by Annissa Lee Nga Yin.
