• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, June 8, 2016

Fitness professionals have a pretty thankless job: They don’t make much money, have to say “good job” even when clients whine, and constantly correct lousy plank posture in the world’s most ordinary exercisers. 

That’s why ReebokOne -- the brand’s community of some 94,000 fitness pros -- is launching a new #TrainerTribute campaign, a series of content that is intended to encourage them and give them the credit they deserve.

“We’ve had this inward focus on the professional community for some time, but we never really share it with an external audience,” says Steve Robaire, Reebok’s director of instructor engagement. “In the same way Johnson & Johnson has run ads that showcase the value of nurses, we thought it was time to tell trainers how much we value them, and highlight how big their contribution to society is.”

The first spot follows a young girl, ordinary enough to the rest of the world, on her way to the gym. But in the ring with her trainer, she is seen by him as pure champion. Robaire tells Marketing Daily the campaign hopes to release two additional spots, highlighting different fitness pursuits, such as CrossFit and Studio, before the end of the year. Venables, Bell & Partners is the ad agency.

Reebok, owned by Adidas, is also expecting to build a significant social-media component, using the #TrainerTribute hashtag. “Our group of core influencers already reach some 30 million followers, so we think this has the potential to bdecome much bigger,” he says.

As part of the effort, Reebok says it’s beginning an exclusive partnership with Handstand, an app that connects trainers and potential clients, who can choose between 15 disciplines. (It's live now in both Los Angeles and New York, with plans to roll out to new markets.) It hopes the partnership will help instructors “reach a larger network,” he says, “but also to increase their earning potential.”