A simple message and real-life models are attracting baby boomers to the 12th Street Gym
by Jennifer H. McInerney
The Center City section of Philadelphia is a compact, comfortable, and relatively close-knit community of some 50,000 people-an area renowned for its old homes, fine restaurants, upscale stores, museums, theaters, and concert halls.
For the past 19 years, its fitness needs have been met, in part, by the 12th Street Gym, an eight-story, 60,000-square-foot facility that, for many years, tended to attract a young, gay membership. More recently, however, the gym has come to reflect a broader cross-section of the district's increasingly diverse population-e.g., Hispanics, African Americans, and, most notably, aging baby boomers.
One year ago, just 3% of the club's 4,700 members were over 55. Today, they constitute 6% of the total, and their numbers are growing.
It's a trend that Rick Piper, 57, the president of 12th Street, would like to see continue-and has done his best to facilitate. The boomers, drawn to Center City by its many creature comforts, and by the independent, pedestrian lifestyle it affords, are also interested in extending the length, and improving the quality, of their lives.
Piper, like any club operator, is eager to serve new clients, but is equally anxious to expand and enrich the overall membership experience. Which is why, in January, he launched an advertising program that was virtually unprecedented for Philadelphia and many other markets. His "Defy Age" campaign showcases actual club members, ranging in age from 50 to 84, who are healthy, fit, and looking fabulous. The central, seminal, thesis: these people are "defying age" successfully with the help and support of the 12th Street Gym.
"Our message is simple: 'Come here. Live longer,'" Piper explains. "To communicate that in a compelling way, we use a photo of a person who's doing just that-and doing it very well, in the sense of looking great and being the proper weight."
The basic formula for the ads calls for a large, eye-catching image, big, bold text, and a clear-cut offer. The ads run in black and white-both to reduce costs and remain consistent with the club's decade-long branding initiative-and make use of six different men and women, all of them real-life 12th Street members. The Defy Age installments alternate with ads targeted at the gym's 20-30-year-old audience, appearing every other week in three weekly community newspapers, which have a combined circulation of 130,000.
"We used real members as models because the public is cynical, and we wanted to give this campaign an aura of authenticity," points out Piper. "Otherwise, people might assume that the photos were simply stock photography." The debut installment in the series featured Sue Olds, a 68-year-old member. "Sue demonstrates that you can be 68, and look interesting, and appealing, and have a nice body," he observes. "You can be that, and look that way, in this environment . . . And, coming full circle, this environment can help you to achieve all of that."
While the ads deliver the Defy Age message clearly and effectively, they also make a more subtle point: baby-boomers are already working out at the gym, and more are welcome-it's an attempt, on the club's part, to stress that its focus on inclusiveness is genuine. Instead of just inviting older prospects to join, the ads suggest that, in a very real way, they already belong. "We do well because we truly believe in a diverse environment," says Piper. "The 12th Street Gym is a place where everyone is welcome-that's not an heroic political posture; it's just good business."
While many fitness facilities offer age-specific classes or other features to attract, and cater to, a particular demographic, 12th Street offers more than 60 sessions a week that are designed, rather, to have a universal appeal.
Among them are aerobics offerings (e.g., Aqua Fit, Stepaholics, Hip Hop Cardio); strength-training options (e.g., Muscle Attack, Boot Camp Mania, Get on the Ball); and mind/body classes (e.g., yoga, Pilates, and a combo called Piloga). "We don't make use of labels-we don't have gay stepping, or Hispanic slide, or senior body-sculpting," says Piper. "This is a comprehensive fitness center, and we try to make it as inviting as we can to as many people as possible-both with respect to our programs and the social environment."
The club also has more than 30 personal trainers, some of whom specialize in working with members who are over 55.
Though it's too soon to put hard numbers beside the Defy Age campaign, Piper is convinced that it's had a real impact-both financially and psychologically.
"Quantitatively, I'd say that the results, thus far, have been modest," he estimates. "Qualitatively, it's produced a big payoff for us." When he walks around Center City, he notes, residents regularly pepper him with comments and questions: "It was nice to see an older person” . . . "Is she really a member?" . . . "Is she really that old?" . . . "That ad was really different!"
"Sometimes, there's an advantage to being first on the block, and, in this case, we're clearly the first," observes Piper. "Most clubs are afraid to break rank, to try something other than what's been used, historically, in this industry. What we've done is listen to all of the trend watchers, and then act on the basis of our own understanding of these changing demographics.
"I'm satisfied that this campaign has enhanced our image, and helped people to see that we have a welcoming, wide-open doorway," he concludes. "And it's already generated enough new members to justify the expense."
