Marketing in Fitness Series: Post 1

Greetings once again readers of Jtrain Fitness! It's been a very long while, and I've missed all of you greatly. Recently, I started a program in E-Marketing with the University of Virginia and am tasked with weekly blog posts that have anything to do with marketing. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to start writing for this blog once again. So, for at least the next 10 weeks, I will be writing about something I find interesting regarding marketing and the world of fitness once a week. Let's get into it!

I've been hitting the gym consistently for 6 years now. Over that time, I've experimented with many types of gym styles that I felt fit my personality the best. I'm a huge fan of stringer tank tops, as you may already be familiar with after reading my most popular post on the science of tanktops. The issue however, has always been finding companies that offer this type of apparel as it is not a common piece of clothing worn regularly by people.

One brand that I started purchasing my stringer tank tops from early on was Physiq Apparel. Located in the UK, they were one of the few brands offering this type of clothing. I became a fan and started regularly purchasing their products. They're a fairly new company, and as such were looking for ways to get their name out there and sell their products to the ever growing fitness community.

Looking over their website, it is apparent to me that Physiq targets younger individuals to market their products to. One way that companies like Physiq have attempted to do this, is by utilizing platforms that younger audiences are actively engaged in nowadays.

Recently (I'm not sure how recently, but it's at least a year old), Physiq Apparel launched their "Team Physiq" program. Through this program, individuals can sign up to receive a special code that they can share on their social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, etc.). When someone enters said code at checkout on physiqapparel.com, they receive a discount on the item they are purchasing and the individual that the code is linked to gets a small percentage profit from the purchase.

I've actually joined the Team Physiq program in the past. Personally, I think it's a really good idea. In the fitness community, many people are trying to find a way to become the next big fitness celebrity and get brands to sponsor them. With the Team Physiq program, Physiq makes an individual feel as though they are being sponsored by a product. They are given a unique code for them to feel as though they are part of a select group of individuals with power within the brand, thus motivating them to sell the brand hard. On Physiq's side of the equation, they get individuals who are enthusiastic about selling their product via their social media platforms for a ton of exposure for very little cost. Furthermore, Physiq can use these codes to track which individuals are producing the most hits or where consumer data is coming from the most and can then create marketing campaigns around or further incentivize those sources to keep them selling their products. It's an extremely efficient process for Physiq Appparel both from a monetary and product exposure standpoint.

I think that an evolving strategy in e-marketing will be finding ways to engage consumers and turn them into liaisons to promote brands. Making individuals feel as though they are part of a team supporting their favorite brands while also receiving a small monetary reward will empower them with the desire to make sure they are doing as much as they can to promote the brand and in turn give the company free, quality marketing. People love to feel like they are being sponsored, being chosen by, or being a part of the brands / teams they love. To tap into that dynamic by utilizing an individual's passion for a product is something I can see happening for a lot of companies down the road.

-Jtrain

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Have a question about natural bodybuilding / fitness / nutrition / stress?
Need some advice? Email me at jtrainfitness@gmail.com and I will answer
it on this blog! Be sure to enter your email to receive alerts for 
when the next blog post has come out, and be sure to tell your 
friends about this blog! Follow me on twitter @jtrainfitness and tell 
your friends to do the same!*
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------