• by John Gaffney , June 23, 2003

A company called Zoom Media is hoping advertisers can flex their muscles at the gym.

Zoom recently signed an advertising partnership deal with Bally Total Fitness to place and market ads in Bally locations nationwide. That's 420 gyms and Zoom is hoping it will make an effective addition to 12,000 billboard locations in over 2,400 venues nationwide. Most of those are at airports, malls and nightspots that focus on the 18-34 demographic. However, Zoom president Dennis Roche is hoping that the Bally's deal represents a more specific demo that will enable the company to enter the arena of "microtargeting."

"This is a young and very active demographic and Ballys is a key part of our strategy to capture that demo," Roche said. "It's a highly specific niche. It's the younger end of the 18-34 demographic and we can even target within the Ballys network. For example, we know which Ballys clubs have health care centers inside, and that enables us to present an even smaller and effective target to potential clients."

So far Roche can't say much about the client list, being at the beginning of the partnership. He will say that a TV network and a pharmaceutical company have made commitments to the Bally network. His targets include personal care, healthy foods and the entertainment category.

The advertising itself consists of backlit signs. The exact amount of signs being placed in the Bally clubs gym areas and other locations will vary. Roche promises "nothing too obtrusive. Nothing like NASCAR." The new network will officially launch July 1. Bally claims four million members with more than 150 million annual visits.

"The average gym member has a great demographic profile and so does the average gym," Roche said. "You have a 5/50 gender ratio, more than 1,000 visitis a day and you end up with a nice little CPM."