Van Communications has been appointed to help Cannon’s Health Clubs acquire new members, retain existing members and maximise club income streams. The agency was triumphant following a four way pitch.
Van’s PR programme will focus on explaining Cannon’s unique personality within the fitness marketplace, promoting its positioning as a Health Club rather than a gym - a place you can not only ‘work out’ but also take ‘time out’.
The three-strong account team will be led by agency co-founder Matt de Leon. Van will execute a series of news creation initiatives aimed at delivering Cannon’s with more mainstream news coverage. The agency will also target health and fitness writers of national media outlets. The initial programme of activity will focus on achieving maximum brand standout in the New Year when media interest in health clubs is traditionally high.
Additionally, the agency will provide crisis support and advice for individual clubs who are encouraged to develop their own media relationships at a local level.
de Leon says: “Cannons has carried out some exciting brand repositioning in the past 12 months. We’ll now be helping to promote the clubs as places where members can come in to relax, have something to eat, meet friends, have a swim or simply read a book. We’ll be targeting people who are 18 to 80. Cannons is for everyone.”
The agency will report to Mark Dugdale, Cannon’s Brand Development Manager.
Dugdale adds: “Van’s presentation was full of creative ideas. They showed they were a business with an ability to develop new & exciting campaign ideas on a regular basis.”
Cannon’s currently has over 150,000 members and 52 clubs spread throughout the UK. The fitness marketplace is highly competitive and includes nationwide brands including Virgin Active, LA fitness, Fitness First, David Lloyd, Next Generation and Esporta.
The UK health and fitness market was worth an estimated £3.45 billion in 2006 and is forecast to grow by around 4-5% per annum over the 2007-10 period according to AMA Research.
