TEAM BLUEHYESIL CHO, ELYSE CHU, MARISSA

MCNALLY, LAURA RIKER, ALEX ROBERTSON, MELISSA SANDERS

What’s Your Fitness Personality?

AGENDAFitness TodayProblem/ImportanceGapFitness Personalities/ LifestylesHypothesisMethodologyAnalysisHypothesis Supported/Not SupportedContributionsLimitationsFuture Research DirectionsQuestions

FITNESS TODAY

Total gym membership as of January 2009 was $45.5 million

The fitness market is constantly changing with new trends

Why research fitness? Current hot topic!

PROBLEM: Marketers only target one fitness lifestyle. Is this the most effective way for gyms and fitness brands to be marketing their goods and services?

IMPORTANCE: Marketers must be aware of how to appeal to the greatest number/widest variety of consumers who are interested in a healthy lifestyle

PROBLEM AND IMPORTANCE

GAP

We know that people who engage in physical fitness have different lifestyles and different motivations for exercise

We know that marketers advertise gyms as tailoring to only one type of consumer

GAP

Should gyms be less

specialized in their

services in order to attract a

wider consumer

base?

FITNESS PERSONALITIES

We came up with different fitness personalities that define a person’s outlook on…

Health

Fitness

Gyms

LIFESTYLE TRENDS

Wedding

Self-improvement

Social supportDrive for muscularity

Self-esteem

Lifestyle Change

Yoga

Cardio

Group classes

PowerMasculinity

Mental Health

Weight loss for event

Friends

Physical well-being

Spirituality

Energy

Relationships

Spring break

Marathons

Challenging oneself

LIFESTYLES

1. Short-term Weight Loss

2. Mind and Body Health-Conscious

3. Drive for Muscularity

4. Physical Well-Being

5. Social Connectedness

6. Personal Competitor

SHORT- TERM WEIGHT LOSS

Motivated by an upcoming event such as a wedding, Spring Break, prom, etc. 39% of men (Klos and Sobal, 2013)

50% of women (Pritchard and Tiggemann, 2008)

After desired look is achieved and event is over, they do not continue to use the gym until another event comes up (University of Chicago Medicine)

“WEIGHT CYCLING WHITNEY”

30 years old

Decides to lose weight when a high school friend is getting married - wants to impress her old friends whom she has not seen in years

“Yo-yo” diet behavior: goes through cycles of intense exercise and dieting before big events

MIND AND BODY HEALTH CONSCIOUS

Scientifically proven that yoga “improves physical and psychological conditions,” including lower back pain, cardiovascular disease, stress, and anxiety (Atkinson and Permuth-Levine, 2009)

Encourages relaxation, spirituality, and flexibility

More stress-free participant

MIND AND BODY HEALTH CONSCIOUS

Yoga needs to be seen as more accessible to different types of people (Atkinson and Permuth-Levine, 2009)

All-male classes, price reductions

Vegetarianism - naturally consume more vegetables, fruits, and nuts Tend to be thinner and drink and smoke less

than a non-vegetarian (Thorogood, 1995)

“YOGA JEN”28 years old

Vegetarian who only drinks water, tea, and wheatgrass shakes

Does yoga every day for spiritual and physical benefits

Yoga teacher

Wears comfortable/exercise clothing

DRIVE FOR MUSCULARITY

A reflection of culturally explicit, gender-specific, body shape ideals (Davis, Karvinen, McCreary, 2005)

A conflict between personal & societal ideals of success and power (McCreary, Saucier, Courtenay, 2005)

This low self-esteem plagues young boys and forces them to strive for the “muscular” ideal society stresses for men (McCreary, Saucier, Courtenay, 2005)

DRIVE FOR MUSCULARITY

Which aspects of individual personality account for the variance in drive for muscularity?

Findings:

high neuroticism perfectionism

appearance orientation

(Davis, Karvinen, McCreary, 2005)

“MACHO MIKE”20 year old college student

Goes to gym 2 times a day

Attracted to gyms that have different weight machines and that encourage intense fitness

Enjoys other aspects of fitness, including muscle shakes and protein bars

Likes to share his body transformation on social media and get feedback from others

PHYSICAL WELL-BEING

Self-esteem and energy levels decline with age

Physical activity leads to better quality of life and self-esteem in adults (Gothe and Mullen, 2011)

Interested in stable, long-term exercise routines, rather than exercise fads (e.g. spinning) (Chung, 2012)

Stressful lifestyles often lead to obesity (Kyung, 2009)

50 years old

Parent of two children

Exercises to stay fit (avoid heart problems, keep a healthy weight)

Exercises to help cope with stress from work

Keeps a steady workout program with a cardio/light weight-lifting mix

“MIDDLE-AGED FRED”

SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS

Group exercise classes allow people to engage in physical activity in a formal and structured group setting

Social support “can increase time spent engaging in physical activity and frequency of exercise” (McNeill, 2006)

Increases sociability; can be a shared topic of conversation

Instructors help foster a sense of camaraderie and connectedness among participants through working towards a common goal

More popular among females

SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS

“SOCIAL SALLY”22 years old

College student

Attracted to gyms offering a wider variety of group classes (i.e. Spinning, Dance, Yoga, Aerobics, etc.)

Goes to Zumba with her girlfriends after class

Goes to the gym 3 times a week only if her friends go with her

PERSONAL COMPETITOR

Exercises for their own self satisfaction/well-being

Tend to run on a regular basis for reasons such as self-improvement and challenging oneself (Summers, Sargent, Levey, & Murray, 1982)

“Positive addiction” to self-satisfaction after achieving goals (Summers, Sargent, Levey & Murray, 1982)

“CARDIO TED”30 years old

Works a 9-5 job in the city

Runs twice a day

Participates in marathons as often as possible

Has a journal filled with personal accomplishments and goals for past and future marathons

HYPOTHESIS

Since there are different fitness personalities, specific gyms should offer services that

appeal to multiple personalities in order to gain more

customers

METHODOLOGY

1) Survey. Screen for potential candidates for focus groups Divide respondents into homogenous groups

based on personality and lifestyle traits

2) Focus groups. Probe with questions about how to improve their gym experience and what would make them more likely to join a gym

ANALYSISFind trends in the answers of respondents

during the focus group sessions

The focus groups will give us qualitative information, so we will not run statistical regression or numerical analysis

If we discover deviations from the patterns, we will conduct further research in the form of a survey and run a regression to see if the deviation is statistically relevant

IF OUR HYPOTHESIS IS SUPPORTED…

Gyms should not exclude people in their ads, but rather introduce different programs catering to a variety of personalities. This will allow them to maximize sales.

Goal: A gym could create an ad motivating both the husband and wife to use its facilities

IF OUR HYPOTHESIS IS NOT SUPPORTED…

Gyms should not change the way they currently advertise. Specialized gyms advertising to one or two fitness personalities will be more successful (increase sales)

Goal: Advertisements focusing on a specific personality (e.g. Planet Fitness’ appeal to “The Average Joe”)

IF SUPPORTED…IF NOT SUPPORTED…

More revenue for gyms

More diverse customer base

Higher customer satisfaction

Will be marketing using psychographics

Cognitive Consistency

Confirms that gyms and marketers are already successfully targeting customers

Self-Perception Theory (“I go here” = “I must like it here”)

Current Brand Personalities will remain in tact

CONTRIBUTIONS

LIMITATIONS

It may be hard for people to be truthful about their fitness/lifestyle practices (may answer in a way that they perceive as being socially desirable)

People may not want to fill out the survey because it is not anonymous, even though it is confidential

Focus group data was not quantifiable

Potential decline in competition amongst gyms

IF SUPPORTED…IF NOT SUPPORTED…

Did it help or hurt sales membership?

Research ways to stay competitive

Look for other ways to increase gym membership

Look for solutions to existing members’ complaints

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTION

QUESTIONS?

Thank you for your time!