We began this morning with a branding strategy session with our full creative team, led by our new creative director, fresh from Unilever. With the development of such consumer favorites such as Dove, Lipton, Ragu, and Skippy, under her belt, Irmgard’s consumer knowledge is second to none. Since coming on board 2 months ago, she has developed a comprehensive visual and online strategy for the brand which will integrate our elements diet and fitness clubs, elements living online magazine and media channel, and our new "BalanceD" online wellness portal and weight loss brand. It takes a skilled brand team to operate within both the online and "bricks and mortar" realm, but by doing so, we are able to expand the reach of our brands much more rapidly, and also offer a more robust consumer experience, which translates into more revenue for our clubs.
In business, it is very important to set and manage expectations – in
franchising and branding, it is even more important to define
standards, and create procedures and training for each protocol in the
business. When done well, it will allow each and every club operator
to maximize the efficiency of their teams, without having to allocate
tedious time to re-inventing the wheel, or more dangerously… trial
and error. This months project for the team was the re-development of a complete brand standards manual… an extremely comprehensive "how to" guidebook which is a step-by-step marketing, advertising, and branding guide, complete with all mockups and direct-to-print resources. As we near the completion of this project, and I thumb through this 100 page book, I cannot help but to notice how far the elements brand, our guidance, and operations team are ahead of any other franchise brands within the industry. Again… it reinforces our belief that the most solid foundation will build the most solid brand, and clubs.
Tags: fitness
