Looking for an OOH advertising channel to reach the health-minded, mobile, and affluent demographic? Whether your message pertains to college students, seniors, mothers or business people, health club media provides many effective touch points for your target consumer.

Numerous out of home advertising opportunities exist at fitness clubs, including digital displays, indoor panel posters, yoga mats, sampling/giveaways, sponsored music, backlit displays, branded weights and floor mats - just to name a few. An advertiser can utilize the various media types to target consumers in the classroom/studio, locker room, restroom, cardio room, weight room, lounge or reception area.

Benefits of the Health Club Advertising -

Health club advertising tends to reach a more active, affluent demographic. Recent trends have moved the age of the demographic from younger to more moderate. For example, people in their 40s and 50s are seeing the benefits of fitness clubs, plus many gyms have begun implementing programs for active seniors. In fact, according to American Demographics, over 17% of gym-goers are aged 55 and over. However, it's still very effective in reaching the 18-49 age group as well.

Advertisers can engage specific groups of consumers with health club media because of the many different ways a message can be delivered using the medium. However, with a full club campaign, targeting additional demographic segments simultaneously is also easy.

Another benefit of health club advertising is the association of your product with a healthy lifestyle. By including fitness centers in a campaign, the advertiser connects with people who take care of themselves and want healthy products.

How the OOH Medium is Used -

To target different demographic and lifestyle segments with health club media, advertisers can use location, health club type, program and time of day.

Geographic location is one way to reach a specific demographic segment. Look not only at the demographic make-up of that particular area of the market, but at the surrounding areas as well. Check to see if the gym or health club is located in a heavy office area (white collar workers), school/college area (college students or mothers) or affluent neighborhood.

If targeting by behavior or lifestyle segment, the type of fitness center can make a big difference. For example, gender-specific clubs and family fitness centers are going to have quite different consumers. Incorporating specific health club types into a media plan is a great way to target specific lifestyle segments.

Targeting by program can be a great way to get your media in front of the senior, college students, mothers-to-be and business people demographics. For example, express workouts, yoga/Pilates and personal training sessions draw different types of consumers, making niche targeting simple.

Reach consumers during different times of the day using specific media products that allow for day-part scheduling. For instance, the younger demographic typically works out later in the day, while seniors work out in the morning. Many digital networks allow this type of scheduling. Other options might include providing the front desk with coupons to be given out at a certain time or scheduling a promotion to hand out samples to specific groups at specific times.

Markets Available for Health Club Advertising -

You can find health club media in any market in the U.S. If you aren't aware of any companies covering a health club type or location, you could contact an alternative media provider for a list of health club advertising opportunities in your area.

How Health Club Media is Measured -

Currently, there aren't any real standard guidelines for measuring a health club media ad campaign. Club membership and traffic numbers can be used. Also, an advertiser could incorporate sampling, couponing, etc. Health club media can also be measured if it directs the consumer to a particular website. In addition, there have been recent studies breaking down health club statistics, and national media monitoring groups are observing ongoing audience measurement for some of the health club network providers for both digital and static displays.

New OOH Advertising Technologies Available -

Digital screens are prevalent in health clubs. Some networks are operated by satellite feed, while sponsored music can be piped into locker rooms and workout studios. Some other innovative technology can be seen around the club, such as water-activated shower floor mats.