In 2020, it was harder than ever to stay fit and active. As stay-at-home orders caused gyms to close, daily step counts decreased by 50%, and 66% of members decreased their physical activity. But as the brand dedicated to bringing fitness to everyone, Planet Fitness wanted to ensure that staying at home didn't mean staying glued to the couch. Planet Fitness aimed to move as many people across the globe as possible and remain top of mind while their 2,000 locations had to stay closed.
Specific objectives included:
Brand Awareness & Impressions
Workout Views & Participation
Develop a prospecting tool for brand consideration, and specifically for when clubs re-opened
Quarantine impacted sedentary rates: Daily step counts decreased by 50%(4), and 66% (5) of members decreased their physical activity. Even those previously meeting exercise guidelines reduced their physical activity by 32% (6). Planet Fitness had to find a way to inspire consumers to get moving, even though all 2,000+ physical locations were closed.
So, to help the world work out when they couldn't go out, Planet Fitness created The Home Work-In, a free, daily workout on Facebook Live that has helped millions of people stay healthy and active together. Turning social platforms into a live personal trainer experience daily. Facebook LIVE became the gym. And although going live is more difficult to produce, users watch live video 10 to 20 times longer than on-demand. This coupled with the fact that Neilson studies showed since COVID hit the United States, Americans spent 25% of their time (9) watching streaming video content and the majority of U.S. adults use Facebook. Facebook LIVE was the perfect channel to activate on. Plus, every Home Work-In was FREE, creating an accessible option for all.
Launched just two days after Planet Fitness closed all 2000 locations, Home Work-In's have brought the gym to people’s living rooms with free, live 20 minute workouts hosted by PF trainers, pro athletes and celebrities like Julian Edelman, Shawn Johnson, Jerry O’Connell and David Ortiz. However, safely producing live, daily content during the pandemic created a myriad of challenges. Unable to travel or work on set, the Planet Fitness production team sent laptops, webcams, and other equipment around the country, so trainers could safely lead the Work-Ins from their homes. Throughout each Work-In, remote production teams overlaid graphics in real time, replied to live comments, and communicated with trainers via wireless headset to shout out participants throughout each stream, creating a sense of community that users missed.
During a year that did everything it could to keep us stuck in place, Planet Fitness helped us prove that united, we can move.
Since Planet Fitness Home Work-Ins launched in March 2020:
Brand Awareness & Impressions:
56% of PF members are aware of Work-Ins
21% of the U.S. general population are aware only 6 months after introducing the product/feature and 7% of the U.S. gen pop has used it.
373,777,220 Total Impressions of the campaign (Through 1/8/2021)
Workout Views & Participation:
Planet Fitness kept more than 208 million people moving, from 37 countries and all 50 states
Planet Fitness reached over 28M people in the first week of the campaign
The average watch time of Planet Fitness video content increased by 200%.
Prospecting Tool for Brand Consideration:
Positive brand sentiment for Planet Fitness increased by 1,500%.
4,337,496 new Facebook followers
Over 530K downloads of the Planet Fitness app within the first few weeks of Home Work-Ins
