• Adweek, Wednesday, September 6, 2006 12:30 PM

Eastwest Marketing Group, the New York-based independent agency, won the creative and promotional portion of the Bally Total Fitness account. Bally--based in Chicago, where Eastwest maintains an office--runs 420 fitness facilities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Asia and the Caribbean. Eastwest is charged with building the brand in traditional above-the-line media, as well as below-the-line activities, including national promotions and guerrilla marketing campaigns. Various shops and the client's in-house marketing department previously handled the assignment. Bally's last major national campaign--"Meet your potential"--depicted eight people describing their reasons for getting fit. It was produced in-house, and launched in January. Bally spent $75 million in measured media last year and close to $50 million through the first half of 2006, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Publicis Groupe's Starcom and independent Grupo Gallegos will continue to handle general market and Hispanic media-buying, respectively.

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