Strategic PR Fuels Rapid Franchise Growth
Strategic PR at Scale: Supporting Expansion Across 175 Planet Fitness Clubs
National Fitness Partners | results first
$5m
delivered
in Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE)
92
unique media hits
over 17 months
530m
impressions
strategic media impressions within 17 months
National coverage
viral coverage from impactful Make-A-Wish collaborations
200
locations
Innovative engagement program to curate in-market storytelling
In their words
The Challenge
National Fitness Partners (NFP), owner of more than 175 Planet Fitness locations across 13 states, required a sophisticated public relations strategy to scale their rapid market expansion efficiently while addressing unique market dynamics for driving membership. Previous strategies had been fragmented, limiting their ability to consistently generate localized, impactful narratives crucial to membership growth, retention, and community engagement.
The solution
GAVIN deployed an innovative platform to improve team management engagement across all club locations, streamlining communication and information sharing with the media relations team. Over the course of two years, the program elevated individual club stories, building greater localized momentum and team pride for their location. Through improved collaboration, GAVIN was able to pinpoint high-value, localized narratives, that amplified the company’s mission and values along with enhancing member engagement and driving sustained franchise growth.
our approach
- Established a streamlined, centralized internal platform for efficient, real-time collection of localized market stories to be quickly embedded into public relations efforts.
- Crafted strategic narratives uniquely aligned with local community needs, organizational market positioning and franchise growth goals.
- Developed deep media relationships enabling rapid response and targeted coverage in priority geographies.
- Emphasized authentic, emotionally compelling member experiences to reinforce community connection and brand messaging.
- Integrated franchise goals with PR strategies to advance continued new gym acquisition goals.
The execution
- Launched a digital platform enabling quick, impactful local story sharing for greater PR efficiency.
- Tailored media narratives to community-specific challenges, enhancing local market engagement and membership growth.
- Delivered targeted media training for local teams, establishing clubs as credible wellness community resources.
- Secured national coverage through emotionally compelling stories, including a viral Make-A-Wish gym build for a teen leukemia survivor.
- Presented PR successes at corporate board meetings, emphasizing storytelling’s role in expansion and member engagement.
- Generated $5M AVE and 530M media impressions, reinforcing NFP’s market leadership and brand affinity.