X4L

The Strategy

The PR strategy was hooked around the following key elements:-

• Showcasing the brand character and fun identity of the brand, to align with core audiences and creating a sense of community with members
• Telling the story and sharing the ambitions of Jon Wright, to evoke confidence in potential investors
• Announcing the roll out of new sites, promoting the brand in advance of new launches and often running community charity events
• Entering awards to provide 3rd party endorsement for their innovation
• Attracting interest from the business world for potential collaborations

Media relations, social media and community events were at the core of the above, along with award entries.

Regarded as ‘the people’s gym’ we worked with the branding agency on the business’s positioning and in our early press releases the media picked up on this description – ‘the people’s gym’ has now stuck and is a great illustration of what X4L is working to achieve – making fitness available and accessible to everybody.

One of the techniques used to bring the brand to life was the creation of colourful character ‘The Colonel’ – an expert in disguise who advised on fitness routines and health and wellbeing. The Colonel was placed in a number of regional magazines, with his own column, something unique to the industry.

The Results

PR was without a doubt fundamental to the rapid growth of the Xercise4Less brand, with the high profile through media exposure helping the business to attract investors, funders and partnership opportunities with the likes of Tesco. They won numerous awards over the years, which also further supported their story of being a challenger brand, in a hugely competitive industry.

From being a single unit in Castleford, X4L attracted over £30m investment and funding and has been featured in the Sunday Times’ FastTrack 100 2 years running.