Besides the Booty Call campaign, NYHRC has launched several guerrilla marketing campaigns to attract attention in the community, increase brand awareness and increase membership. The company is now developing strategic sponsorships with businesses, from home video companies to beverage manufacturers.

For example, NYHRC invited Glaceau Smartwater to set up shop in front of its Cooper Square club in late August. The club gave a free bottle of the vitamin-enriched water to anyone who toured the facility. To attract attention, the club organized push-up contests, stretching demos and five-minute massages outside the club.

Conrad says working with local business partners is a smart approach.

“In a down economy, more businesses are more open to working with health clubs on a joint-marketing relationship,” she says.

Strike a Balance

Although Conrad applauds clubs that are doing more guerrilla marketing, she says it shouldn't completely replace a club's marketing strategy. Marketing has five pillars — external (newspaper, radio, TV and direct mail), internal (referral campaigns), guerrilla marketing, corporate (working with small businesses to promote the club) and community outreach (press releases and philanthropic activities). To be successful, clubs must consistently be active in each pillar, she says.

“If a club thinks that it can just do guerrilla marketing or just do traditional external marketing, that is not the case,” Conrad says.

Despite the success with the guerrilla marketing campaigns, the Y of San Francisco branches will continue to blend marketing strategies, Packer says. The Y recently invested thousands of dollars to advertise in 10 community newspapers, and it sends out a direct-mail promotion each January.

“I'm not ready to give up on the more traditional methods of marketing yet,” says Packer, who estimates that the Y currently has a 50 percent split between guerrilla and traditional marketing methods but will gradually shift to a 70/30 split.

As the economy tightens and competition increases, more clubs need to make guerrilla marketing a major part of their strategy going forward, Travis says.

“You can't sit back and wait for people to come in like you did 15 years ago,” he says. “Sadly, many clubs are still waiting.”

Eight Low-Cost, Creative Ways to Pull in Prospects

1. Book a speaking engagement

   Build brand recognition and draw in new members by giving a presentation on fitness at a local business or organization. “This is an interesting way to get your name out there, and it doesn't cost anything,” says Andrea Metcalf, president/owner of MBC Fitness Essentials Inc., Westmont, IL.

2. Go out into the community

   How to Get the Most From Guerrilla Marketing

   Increase foot traffic by pasting your business cards, guest passes or other promotional coupons to bottles of water and passing them out at local road races.

3. Capitalize on the power of the Web

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   Draw visitors to your Web site, and ultimately to your facility, through blogging and social networking sites, Metcalf says. To make your Web site profitable and to connect with local partners, sell ads on your site to local businesses.

4. Schedule a lunch-hour workout

   Reach out to the corporate community by offering half-hour classes at local businesses. Charge a fee to cover the costs of the instructor, and schedule the class during the lunch hour in a conference room.

5. Partner with doctors' offices

   Design prescription pads with your club's logo on it and give that to doctors with whom you partner. Doctors can use the pad to prescribe exercise, and the prescription can serve as a pass for a free one- or two-week trial membership to your club.

6. Be creative with brochure distribution

   Glue a strip of waterproof and durable material to the back of a tri-fold brochure stand. Then, when you park your car in a public parking lot, drape material over the car door and place the brochures in the stand. Include a sign with a catchy saying, such as, “Lose weight here.”

7. Partner with local businesses

   Develop a business relationship with 12 vendors in the community. Once a month, ask one of the local business owners if you can set up a table in their building with a lead box to obtain contact information for prospects. You also can ask companies to donate prizes for competitions or offer another kind of benefit.

8. Put your members to work for you

   Give members free bumper stickers with your club's logo. As members drive around town, they'll be getting the word out to non-members. You can also ask your members to give away fliers or coupons with their membership number on the bottom. When a prospect brings the coupon into the club, the existing member gets a referral credit.

• Guarantee a return on investment

  When club owners put out a call for action, they need to determine how many new prospects they need to offset the cost of giving away a service or amenity, such as a class or a personal training session, says Andrea Metcalf, president/owner of MBC Fitness Essentials Inc., Westmont, IL.

• Make guerrilla marketing part of your club's culture

  Clubs need to make the sales team part of the marketing process from day one. If you don't, when the economy turns sour and tours are down, the employees may be reluctant to lead grassroots marketing efforts, says Casey Conrad, president of Communication Consultants, Wakefield, RI.

• Hire creative thinkers

  Whenever Conrad interviews a candidate for a sales position, she always asks him or her, “If you have no marketing budget, how would you drive your own prospects?” The answer to that question often determines whether or not the person gets hired, she says.

• “Breaking the Marketing Mold in 2004,” http://fitnessbusinesspro.com/mag/fitness_breaking_marketing_mold/index.html

• “Off the Beaten Track,” http://fitnessbusinesspro.com/marketing/fitness_casey_conrads_marketing_18/index.html

• “Offbeat Marketing Ideas,” http://fitnessbusinesspro.com/marketing/fitness_offbeat_marketing_ideas/index.html

• “The Marketing Beat Goes On,” http://fitnessbusinesspro.com/mag/fitness_marketing_beat_goes/index.html

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