Bally Total Fitness is the largest, and only nationwide, commercial operator of fitness centers. Bally’s has approximately four million members and 420 facilities across the United States and around the globe. (ballyfitness.com, 2004) A marketing audit was performed on the company in order to assess their total marketing program to see what was and was not working to increase business. The following will summarize key findings of environmental aspects and marketing. Finally, any recommended actions that may be considered for future planning will be discussed. The environmental aspects that were considered for the Bally Total Fitness audit were demographics, markets and competition. Demographic trends have shown that the older segments of the United States (ages 45-65+) are growing the fastest. Bally Total Fitness would be wise to consider marketing towards this age group as their needs change. An estimated 50 million people will be members to a fitness center in just six years, the year 2010. This is due to an increased desire towards healthy living. The general population is becoming more aware of the benefits of exercise to promote health and wellness. The Markets part of the audit shows that there is three major trends that health clubs should be attentive of. These major trends are insurance paid weight-loss, a global battle against obesity and an end to low-carb confusion. Health clubs are part of the solution and should promote themselves as such. Bally Total Fitness can be a guide towards losing weight and increased education on obesity and to guide people through the low-carb confusion. 24 Hour Fitness and Gold’s Gym are Bally’s top two competitors. While both companies have been successful, Bally Total Fitness still boasts more members and more facilities than either one. However, both competitors of Bally’s are not too far behind. Bally’s should strive hard to stay on top of the competition. This can be achieved by analyzing the competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. If any similar weaknesses exist, changes can be made to improve on those to differentiate Bally’s from the rest. Bally’s has an excellent product. It is something that all people, no matter what their size or shape, can benefit from. The current “Every Body Needs Something” campaign is an excellent idea to get this message across. Also, growing the M... ... middle of paper ... ...that has resulted from this lawsuit being brought to light. Other than the lawsuit situation, Bally Total Fitness has good, innovative ideas and a great product. However, there is still much room for improvement. The company should continue with their “Every Body Needs Something” campaign. The campaign should be pushed more aggressively as this tag line envelops different kinds of people of every size and shape. This campaign can also be effective towards marketing towards the different age spectrums, both young and old. Bally Total Fitness can capitalize on the Baby Boomers as well as set the tone for the younger generation that being active is beneficial to both body and mind. Works Cited 24 Hour Fitness. May 2004. http://www.24hourfitness.com Bally Total Fitness. May, June 2004. http://www.ballyfitness.com Bearden, William O., Thomas N. Ingram, and Raymond W. LaForge. Marketing: Principles & Perspectives, third edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2001. Churchill, Jr., Gilbert A., and J. Paul Peter. Marketing: Creating Value for Customers. Burr Ridge: Austen Press, 1995. Epinions. May 2004. http://www.epinions.com Gold’s Gym. May 2004. http://goldsgym.com
Customers usually make decision of purchase by comparing the “value” of a product or service, which can be looked as the benefit–sacrifice ratio. Many customers find the prices of most health club and gyms too high because they see little value in some of extra amenities, in other words, they find that the benefit they receive is not valuable, comparing to the sacrifices they make; in this case, the benefit-sacrifice ratio in this case is pretty low. Therefore, Planet Fitness offers good value membership, which means high benefit-sacrifice ratio for customers, comparing to other major gyms.
As Chris McCandless once said, “I now walk into the wild,” a phrase that not only represents a future with unknown mysteries, but a phrase that finishes the puzzle of his and Martin Luther King, Jr’s life. When looking at a historical or inspirational person, you may notice they operated outside the usual bounds of society to achieve a particular purpose. Such is the case for McCandless and King. Although Chris McCandless and Martin Luther King, Jr both shared a fatal death, these men had many similarities and differences between how they reached success, encountered obstacles, and left an impact towards people's lives.
Instead of trying to persuade customers to buy what the LA Fitness has already produced, the marketing department has decided to produce a product for families not just individuals. The corporation has decided to do this through research. Consumer needs and wants became the firm's primary focus. This consumer-orientated marke...
California, in 1931, was seen as a violation of the First Amendment after Stromberg was arrested for displaying a red flag as a sign of resistance against the government. This was the first declaration that symbolic speech is protected under the First Amendment (“Timeline of Flag...”). In 1943, the issue of a law requiring people to salute the flag was raised in the West Virginia v. Barnett court case. In this case, the importance of freedom of expression under the First Amendment was highlighted by Justice Jackson (“Supreme Court Cases”). In 1969, Street v New York it was decided that no state is able to convict a person based on verbal comments insulting the flag. Street was arrested after burning the flag and yelling “we don’t need no damn flag” into the crowd. Instead of focusing on the burning of the flag and deciding whether or not it is protected under the First Amendment they focused on Street’s oral remarks (“Timeline of
Martin Luther King, Jr., born on January 15, 1929, was well known for his nonviolent movement to bring justice and to an end to the segregation of the people in the United States back in the 1950s. With King being the leader of a peaceful protest, it failed to bring equally to the colored people. Martin Luther King, Jr. was labeled as an “outsider” who was “hatred and violence” and that his actions were “unwise and untimely” from the Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen (clergymen). In response, on the day of April 16, 1963, he wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail to declare and defense his movement was not “unwise and untimely” at all. To analyze his points, King used the powerful literary devices of pathos- use of an emotional appeal.ethos-
Johnson” case was one for the books. Not only was it one of the most controversial cases of its time, but still is today. Opinions vary on the subject, many agree with the majority of the supreme court, but many are still hesitant to speculate whether the rule in Johnson’s case is legitimate. Was Johnson act unconstitutional? The nation is still baffled at this question, because although it was considered a form of symbolic speech there is no way of knowing if it was meant to be a speech at all. Could it be possible that Johnson formulated this symbolic speech testimony after the fact? With only one man, Johnson, to question the fact, there is no true way of knowing whether or not the act wasn’t just a disgruntled man burning a flag simply because he was getting back at the nation for wronging him. Whatever the fact, the rule still stands and will stand to correct future cases by being a point to look at for
Many of the military technological advancements that have been made in the last 60 years can be attributed to the Cold War. Much of the technology developed during the period of the Cold War is still in use today by the military and government. Advancements in offensive technology are well known to just about everyone in the way of nuclear energy harnessed in the form of the nuclear bomb, but little is known about the battle for information during the Cold War. The Cold War produced some of the most advanced technology used in the fields of detection and reconnaissance in history. The United States’ detection and reconnaissance technology played a major role against communism during the Cold War, and these types of technology still play roles today.
Gary and Diane Heavin opened their first Curves in the United States in 1992. The two designed a thirty minute workout for women, and created a comfortable; women only, place to exercise. Franchising of Curves started in 1995, and within ten years it became the world’s largest fitness franchise and the tenth largest of all franchise companies in the world. There are over 10,000 locations in 44 countries and most of the success was through word of mouth (“Curves Weight Loss Plan”).
While having been to various gyms in the past, my pre-conceived notions about what to expect within the health club was that the demographic would consist of upper middle class caucasian women, with the facilities meticulously clean and the health club itself to be in a state of the art shape in regards to new equipment and a spacious, luxurious locker room. I believed that the fitness classes they offered would be instructed by experienced professionals. What I had hoped to learn upon the beginning of my forays into the health club was how the members interacted amongst each other including the staff, how the culture varied from that of a less-expensive gym, and overall how the Westford Rege...
Black, Tamara. 2008. Exercise and Fitness in a U.S. Commercial Gym.Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms International.
On the other hand the fitness industry does great things for the health and fitness of the public. There are thousands of great success stories out there where a forty year old man goes from 240 pounds with 30% body fat to 225 pounds and 6% body fat. These fitness websites motivate thousands of people to get off the couch and start their journey of obtaining a better body. Having instant access to professional tips and tricks to losing weight is a huge advantage that wasn’t around 25 years ag...
All in all, the rise of the fitness industry has impacted almost everyone in America, whether it means being more health conscious, body conscious, or fitness-a-phobic. This new fitness movement, if it continues growing at the rate it has been, will keep coming out with innovative ways to motivate the unmotivated into leading more active lifestyles. Ultimately this will lead to an American public that enjoys longer, healthier lives.
American people have passion for certain things, whether it is religion, sports, the American flag, or our military and government. We all have the right to speak our minds. There are three distinct types of free speech, and each one brings a different level of protection with it. The first is pure speech, which is the verbal expression of a person’s thoughts and opinions. This is the most common type we think of. Speech plus involves actions as well as words, for example protests. This isn’t as strictly protected because the well-known verbiage “actions speak louder than words” Physical action can harm another person, either intentional or accidental but there is an added risk, therefore the protection is not as stringent. The third and final type of speech is symbolic speech which according to the court system isn’t verbal in nature. It is symbolic action, this can include the burning of the American flag. (College for America, N.D.) This is highly controversial and has caused outrage on both sides of the coin when this occurs. With these rights that been given to the American people we have a responsibility to remain proper etiquette. Some of these responsibilities that
There are strong indications from many regions, e.g., the North Sea, that the quantities of marine litter are increasing. Consequently, the resulting environmental and socio-economic problems are worsening.
There are many human activities and industries that causes marine pollution within our oceans. There is not only one source that causes marine pollution, there several other factors involved as well. One source of marine pollution is NOx and SOx, these are chemicals that are found in ship emissions that gets released into the environment through smoke; NOx and SOx are known to be very harmful to marine life (Raunek). Because of the fact that there are many types of ships out there in the ocean, the amount of NOx and SOx that goes into the ocean is plentiful no matter what because wherever the ship goes, these harmful chemicals are left behind, killing and harming almost every marine organism in its way. The next source of marine pollution is runoff and discharge that come from land (ocean.tamu.edu/). The largest discharge that enters the ocean comes from land is sewage, both industrial waste and sewage sludge(ocean.tamu.edu/). For many years, sewage has been dumped into the depths of the oceans. The sewage that has been collecting in the depths of the ocean can cause severe effects on the organisms around it; the sewage sludge can either poison or kill surrounding organisms. In addition to sewage, the oil industry is another source of pollution. The oil industry are responsible for the occasional, yet catastrophic oil spills; the oil industry are also responsible for small oil leaks that occur regularly as well (Bernard). Oil spills such as the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 which affected many people and organisms alike. The 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had killed over 7,000 sea turtles, birds, and dolphins, and that doesn’t even include fish (Park). Because of an oil spill, thousands marine animals may have ingested or breathed...