• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, December 30, 2022

Crunch Fitness wants to welcome even more people back to its gyms with a new campaign and a peppy new mascot. The hand in its logo springs to life in an inviting and upbeat spot.

“The hardest thing is always creating an ad where people remember your brand,” says Chad Waetzig, executive vice president of marketing and branding at Crunch. “Our logo is unique and iconic, and has been around for 30 years. We wanted to make it the star of the spots, but in an irreverent, really Crunch-y way.”

Importantly, the ads start with a woman saying what 80% of America is thinking: “I’m not sure I’m ready to go back to the gym yet.”

As Waetzig tells Marketing Daily, addressing that reluctance is critical. “It’s a dual insight -- there are always many psychological reasons people aren’t willing to go to the gym.” The pandemic has “layered concerns about health and wellness.”

The new campaign focuses on Crunch’s fun, upbeat and relaxed vibe.

Early last year, the fitness chain launched a campaign urging its members to go “Crunch Mode,” and Waetzig says the effort has been very successful. Its membership count has had a compound annual growth rate of 17% since the start of the pandemic, leading to double-digit revenue gains.

He hopes “Talk to the hand” continues to build brand awareness.

“We viewed 2022 as the year in which operations might not exactly be back to normal, but at least show some consistency,” he says. “So we made sure to tell our story in a retail-driven way.”

The gains from the last 12 months “mean it’s a good time to add more fuel to the fire with a new campaign, telling people what we’re about.”

Ads are running on connected TV and YouTube, as well as in 25 cable markets. “About 60% of our spending will be on this new effort with the two new 30-second spots, with the remainder on our existing 15-second ads.”