elements™ has long been a supporter of women’s issues and causes. As we all know, October marks Breast Cancer Awareness month, a cause where elements is especially active.

As a wellness brand and also a franchisor, we offer many support products to help our clubs create community, generate awareness and raise money for worthwhile organizations. Fitness and Breast Cancer Research have gone hand-in-hand for quite some time, with two events becoming top fundraisers for the cause- the AVON Breast Cancer Walk, and Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

In multiple locations throughout the country, elements clubs and our team have help to raise awareness, spear fundraising efforts, host events for the walkers and runners, and even serve as the “opener and warm up” for Boston’s Breast Cancer walk.

Our brand mission of empowerment and “making it happen” really comes to life at events such as these, and helps to build lasting ties between our club teams, members, and communities across the US.

elements is the leading brand of fitness clubs for women. The award-winning brand includes boutique style fitness centers, BalanceDiet weight loss centers, interactive online diet, acclaimed online magazine and television network, and popular product lines.

Miami, FL – 10/2/2009 – elements fitness, in an unprecedented industry move, announced the launch of BalanceDiet, a new franchise opportunity designed for the weight loss consumer. The BalanceDiet brand offers a lifestyle approach to dieting, with customers engaging with diet and health experts, both in person, and over the web, coupled with a highly acclaimed (wholly owned) product line. This combined strategy gives potential customers the added edge they need to achieve their fitness goals.

Available in all 50 states, as well as internationally, BalanceDiet Center offers a franchise opportunity for today’s investor. The individual centers offer multiple revenue streams, such as 1-on-1 Coaching, Popular and Well-branded Supplement and Product Sales, Small Group Series and Classes, Interactive Diet, DVD’s and more. Backed by a multi-million dollar interactive weight loss portal, which allows clients and diet consultants to help track progress, create meal plans, grocery lists and offers tips and tricks, the new system is poised to take the dieting franchise market by storm.

BalanceDiet offers investors the opportunity to reap huge rewards with only a small investment. For as little as $30,000 liquid investment, franchise owners will be able to launch their own BalanceDiet center, making this the perfect launch into the multi-billion dollar fitness dieting industry for first time business owners.

The concept for BalanceDiet came from entrepreneur and elements brand creator Christopher Palumbo. He determined that a market truly exists for an appealing diet and weight loss brand with a stylish, simple, and no-nonsense approach. With BalanceDiet, elements does just that, while simultaneously offering affordable franchises for those ready for their own business. “The recession-proof diet and weight loss industry is at 64 billion dollars annually and experiencing tremendous growth each year. BalanceDiet is a well-rounded weight loss program, offering effective products and services in a stylish environment. Franchisees benefit from an association with elements, a major fitness brand and our related magazines and media channels, making BalanceDiet the first weight loss offering with an emphasis on both diet and also an active lifestyle,” says Palumbo.

Don’t miss your opportunity to embark on the new elements BalanceDiet experience in your community. Territories are already being reserved, with twelve reservations taken within the initial two weeks.
visit us on the web at: www.elementsforwomen.com

About elements™
elements™ is an international premium fitness and lifestyle brand for women. The company offers membership-based fitness, diet and weight loss services throughout a network of wholly-owned, as well as franchised health clubs and online services. elements™ has appeared in Investor’s Business Daily, South Florida Business Journal, The Miami Herald, Forbes Magazine online and Club Business

Arriving to Manhattan today for a busy series of meetings with investors, I was able to have lunch with a great friend – a former director at Bear Stearns. Sometimes, we get so involved in the day-to-day excitement and projects of our business that we don’t take the time to look back and reflect.

This lunch was a great opportunity to catch up with a great old friend, who reminded me that in 4 short years, we have taken elements for women from “a great concept” to a leading fitness and lifestyle brand, on the verge of a virtual growth explosion. Awards such as “club of the year”, award-winning acclaimed online magazine emerging with over 2 million impressions, 65 clubs under development, international expansion with solid partners, acquisitions, the launch of a Television network, and now a wholly owned supplement and consumer products brand: Organics™, by elements. We have created millions of dollars in value for our stockholders, and are quite on track to expand that number ten fold with some of our upcoming acquisitions and rollouts. Its tough sometimes to give yourself and your team credit, when the push is to always strive to grow, and be the best… so as we approach our 4th anniversary – lets take the time to reflect, and to celebrate ourselves. In a time when many venerable brands are downsizing or worse, our balance sheets, clubs, and growth is in the strongest position ever – thanks to careful planning, smart growth, and one of the best teams in the industry….

One of the true marks of maturity for a brand is growing interest from developers to invest and launch your brand internationally. Top International Developers are usually highly keen on their local markets, and tend to have the resources to launch and operate units in multiple cities simultaneously. The top international developers seek out category-leading brands, they want to rollout the top concepts locally. Our steadily growing interest from international developers (Australia, India, England, Canada, Peru, Mexico, Latin America) tells me that elements for women is quickly reaching that status.

Elements employs a unique approach towards international development, as we believe a fitness brand needs to not only be translated physically into the local language, but translated culturally as well. For example, the fitness experience for a woman in Brazil is far different from a woman in India. Our expert team is widely regarded as leaders in the industry worldwide, and is actively involved with IHRSA (the International Health Racquet and Sportclub Association). As a truly international brand, elements is well positioned to help spearhead the exploding fitness and wellness movements worldwide. The worldwide growth also helps to add tremendous resources, credibility, and status to our US clubs. We have receintly announced our expansion into Canada with a Toronto flagship. Later this summer we will be making several exciting announcements regarding new flagship clubs in Latin America, as the hub to elements South American expansion.

As the scope and reach of the elements for women brand continues to grow, we find ourselves venturing to more exotic and faraway destinations in search of the “next best thing” to present to our fitness consumers. Having a global outlook not only allows the diet franchise to remain fresh, but puts elements miles ahead of any other fitness competitor. The depth and breath of our programs are unmatched.

Yesterday I boarded a plane to Costa Rica, for two important meetings. The first was with a potential developer of clubs, an important real estate developer in Central America and the Caribbean. The second series of meetings was with a potential partner for our new “Organics™, by elements” supplement and weight loss products. We have been very proactive in seeking unique and highly effective natural ingredients to add to our weight loss products. Countries with lush rain forest, such as Costa Rica, often yield natural products which are more effective (and healthy!) than the synthetic counterparts so often found in the US. Although the exact products we were researching must remain secret (for now), I can tell you that I am quite excited for the launch of our line… the quality and ingredients used are second to none.

In keeping with the quality expectations set by elements fitness clubs, our Organics™ supplements feature a full spectrum of well branded, well packaged products which will be soon be available to our members nationwide.

Everything!

There was a great book written several years ago titled “The Experience Economy”, by B. Joseph Pine. The author describes the changes in consumer behaviors throughout the years, from the industrial age, where our purchases were need-based. As America evolved, we became a service based consumer society. Now, the evolution has moved towards an experience based purchase… just look at the evolution of shopping malls and casinos as a quick example.

Sometime during the last 30 years, the service economy emerged as the dominant engine of economic activity. At first, critics who were uncomfortable with the intangible nature of services bemoaned the decline of the goods-based economy, which, thanks to many factors, had increasingly become commoditized. Successful companies, such as Nordstrom, Starbucks, Saturn, and IBM, discovered that the best way to differentiate one product from another–clothes, food, cars, computers–was to add service.

But, according to Joseph Pine and James Gilmore, the bar of economic offerings is being raised again. In The Experience Economy, the authors argue that the service economy is about to be superseded with something that critics will find even more ephemeral (and controversial) than services ever were: experiences. In part because of technology and the increasing expectations of consumers, services today are starting to look like commodities. The authors write that “Those businesses that relegate themselves to the diminishing world of goods and services will be rendered irrelevant. To avoid this fate, you must learn to stage a rich, compelling experience.”

I am personally a big believer in this theory – and I am also a big fan of the evolution from a competitive point of view, because experiences are much more difficult to copy than simply goods or service. Putting this into actuality – elements for women is more than an upscale fitness brand with great health clubs… this goes without saying. elements was designed as a total lifestyle experience for our consumers… an acclaimed online magazine, interactive media channels, All Star Fitness Experts, and popular consumer products geared to wellness and weight loss – the synergy (along with the proper staff training, of course) leads to a winning consumer experience – and is the reason elements is emerging as the category leader in womens fitness.

Many will find the idea of staging experiences as a requirement for business survival far-fetched. However, the authors make a compelling case, and consider successful companies that are already packaging their offerings as experiences, from Disney to AOL. Far-reaching and thought-provoking, The Experience Economy is for marketing professionals and anyone looking to gain a fresh perspective on what business landscape might look like in the years to come.

elements™ fitness announces expansion into Canada with downtown Toronto Flagship

Toronto, ONT – 4/2/2009 – Upscale women’s fitness brand elements has announced its expansion into Canada with a flagship center-city Toronto location. The club, expected to open early 2010 will be the first upscale women’s-only fitness experience for in the Toronto market.

“Toronto is a great city for elements… it has many similarities to New York, and a full service brand like elements can really be developed to its fullest – we are planning a real showcase location with some great surprises here. This is the first of several planned Canadian clubs, we are quite excited about it. The buzz we have been receiving from Canadian fitness professionals tells me, we are on to something really good”

The elements fitness brand differs from other health club providers with its balanced approach to a healthy lifestyle: body, beauty and mind. Relying on expert guidance and support, elements™ creates a platform for women to come together in an environment of health and wellness. The brand also features an online magazine and media channel, elements living, a full-service interactive diet program, BalanceD™, and a full retail line.

Miami-based elements currently has 12 US locations with a total of 61 franchised and company owned locations under planned development. elements for women has been adding health club locations in signature markets such as Chicago, Atlanta, and New York since its inception in 2004. The company, following its “clustering-based” philosophy to growth, has now begun active development campaigns in Canada and also Latin America.

For more information about business opportunities with elements, please contact Colleen Hawco at 305.535.1525 or colleen.hawco@elementsforwomen.com, visit www.elementsforwomen.com

What a great and unique experience to design an entire television network from scratch… that is essentially what our team was challenged with in December, once elements made the decision to launch our “elements living television” network in mid-2009.

So, how do you go about creating a TV network? First, it begins with developing a concept. In our case, we are intent on creating an entertainment experience within our health clubs… a reflection and an extension of the “living” elements brand. The idea for the network began several years ago, after several of our staffers were speaking about how boring the music was in their (non-elements!) gyms. Of course, as our brand continues to grow worldwide, we are always looking for ways to better communicate with members and prospects, and to deliver the message of wellness. Although it seemed like a daunting prospect, a network delivered via web, would allow us to create a uniquely branded experience for each and every elements member, worldwide. After doing research into the feasibility, we quickly realized that we could find major national brands such as Nike and Estee Lauder to underwrite many of the ongoing production costs (keeping the content and music fresh was a major initial concern, making it cost effective for our franchisees was the other). After many months of explorative work, a production partner was selected, and the foundation for the soon-to-be launched “elements living tv” was laid.

The network, debuting this spring, will include well selected music videos, clips and segments from our Fitness Advisory Board, healthy lifestyle tips, and motivational messages – The multi-channel network is slated to include music videos (on seven uniquely created playlist stations. Creating the music selections turned out to be a full time project onto itself… how do you properly represent the musical tastes of an diverse audience of women nationwide? The solution was to hire a music engineer as well as develop a system allowing local elements clubs to customize the music according to the time of day, day of week, and the preference of members… allowing a fully customizable platform within the network! Look for a special sneak peek of the music station coming very soon….

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Miami, FL – 2/22/2009 – Upscale fitness and lifestyle brand elements for women has announced the launch of “elements living TV” – a multi channel fitness television and broadcast network.

elements living TV will be a healthy lifestyle-oriented network featuring entertainment and uniquely branded “elements” content. The channels will offer well-selected music videos, showcase female emerging recording artists, fitness and diet short clips, and “teaser” segments featuring elements All-Star FitnessAdvisory Board members. Club members will have the ability to view longer versions of content on the on-demand portion of the network, from cardio machines at the clubs or from home via online streaming.
The network will also help to spread the word about other important and great elements initiatives, such as showcasing emerging female recording artists, and spreading the word about the brands charitable efforts through the elements foundation.

The channel and network is fully sponsored by advertisers such as Nike Women and Lancome, and will be a free amenity to elements members and guests. The network will broadcast inside of elements clubs, as well as on-demand to a worldwide audience online.

“elements living TV network is one of our most exciting and ambitious achievements to date, remarked Chris Palumbo, elements brand founder. elements is more than just a fitness chain, we are a complete lifestyle brand. In addition to our award-winning elements clubs, we have developed many popular consumer portals. elements living TV is the next progression of our online magazine and media channel (www.elementsliving.tv). The multi-channel network will allow us to offer an unparalleled entertainment and fitness experience within the clubs. The network adds tremendous value, as it will continually reinforce elements as a overall wellness brand, and promote amenities and services within the clubs.”

“We have developed a large amount of content over the past four years, and the on-demand lifestyle channels will allow members and guest to watch shows on their cardio machines, or at home. Imagine how progressive it is to have a guest walk in to an elements club and be surrounded by well selected music, announcements, tips, motivation, education, and fun. The member can further customize her experience through the on-demand portion of the network.

The elements fitness brand differs from other health club providers with its balanced approach to a healthy lifestyle: body, beauty and mind. Relying on expert guidance and support, elements™ creates a platform for women to come together in an environment of health and wellness. The brand also features an online magazine and media channel, elements living, a full-service interactive diet program, BalanceD™, and a full retail line.

For more information on the network, including business and sponsorship opportunities, click here

Los Angeles, CA – 02/2/09 – elements™ gives its full support to the fight against cancer with a donation of 100 BalanceD™ memberships to The Wellness Community of West Los Angeles.

The Wellness Community is an organization whose mission is to enhance the lives of people with cancer and their loved ones through support groups, educational workshops and mind / body classes. Offering a variety of services, including “movie therapy”, cooking classes, meditation and yoga techniques, networking groups and lectures, The Wellness Community aims to provide support and guidance while building stronger community relations. The organization also hosts special events and fundraisers, such as the Legendary Bingo Fundraising Event.

elements™ donated 100 BalanceD™ memberships to The Wellness Community, priced at $99 each, to help promote healthier eating, fitness and lifestyle. Providing 24/7 nutrition and diet support, the online BalanceD™ program integrates the upscale feel of the elements™ brand with knowledge from leading fitness and nutrition experts to encourage members to follow a healthy diet and lifestyle. BalanceD™ tracks all aspects of dieting online, from live one-on-one lifestyle consulting, to recipes and menus, diet analysis, meal planning, workout tips, personal trainer workouts, weight tracker and BMI tools.

BalanceD™ memberships will be used by The Wellness Community in a number of ways, including as prizes for upcoming fundraising events.

“elements™ is proud to give our support to The Wellness Community. By joining other big-name sponsors like Viacom International, the Walt Disney Company and Bloomingdale’s, we really believe we can make a difference in the lives of cancer patients and survivors and their families,” said Chris Palumbo, elements™ brand director.

For more information about elements™, BalanceD™ or The Wellness Community, please visit www.elementsforwomen.com, www.balanceyourelements.com and www.twc-wla.org.

Studies by the Service Management Group (SMG) show that businesses (specifically with service and retail businesses) with higher customer satisfaction rates have much higher growth in in-store sales. Although practically every business understands that good customer service is important, I ask you which businesses have tools in place to track and measure their customer satisfaction index, and what systems do you have in place to ensure a great customer service at each location. You cannot manage what you cannot measure, so we believe that it is vitally important to manage how the customer experience translates into customer satisfaction and loyalty. In fact, if you do not know which employee behaviors and customer experience create customer loyalty in your stores, you are essentially competing with one of your hands tied behind your back.
Because the best brands DO know, we track customer satisfaction and loyalty in every unit, every day – the same as we track costs and inventory. We link customer experience data to financial metrics such as average transaction amount, lifetime customer value, and same store sales growth. When you are able to calculate the value of superior service, you can reinvest dollars deliberately to increase sales from the customer experience.

The founding principle of customer experience management, is that when you improve their experience, customers not only remain loyal, they give you a larger share of their wallet. They also refer others to you. Since the cost of these sales is essentially zero, your customer acquisition cost actually drops as your brand and service levels get stronger.

For more information on business opportunities, click here.

What an exciting time of the year to be able to announce our expansion into the consumer products space. elements has been growing steadily since 2004, to emerge as the category leading fitness brand for women. We have been heavily investing into the creation of consumer portals and networks, such as our elements living magazine, our All Star Fitness Advisory Board, BalanceD interactive Diet, elements living TV (coming soon!). Possibly one of our most exciting announcements comes at the end of this year… the birth of Oceånica, by elements. Our creative team has developed a genious offering with Oceånica products…. the beautiful, smartly designed line will feature organic and very potent anti-aging, slimming, and health enhancing ingredients. Over the next few months you will see a very exclusive line of weight loss products unveiled.

Having an exclusive, well-designed line will help the elements brand in many ways, including adding a powerful new revenue stream for franchisees, a great addition to the wellness experience for members, and an important “star” to allow elements into some of the top fashion and lifestyle books. Look for many exciting announcements to be coming about Oceånica, our products, and our launch parties very soon!