Smoking Gun’s finest Health & Fitness client, Les Mills, wanted to make a big impact across national media
with a fun and unique outreach event, whereby journalists would take part in High Intensity Impact Training (HIIT)
at the stunning Sky Garden in London. The idea was to cement the brand’s reputation as experts in this sector.
Flexing our media muscles, of course we delivered.
Objectives
HIIT training was enjoying a moment in the sun – but Les Mills had been promoting the benefits of this kind of
training for years and years with its series of GRIT classes. We didn’t have a new class to promote, but our objectives
were to cement Les Mill’s authority and heritage in this sector by conducting an event to showcase the ‘best of’ its GRIT classes:
- Attendance from at least 10 journalists
- Positive pieces of national media coverage after the event
Strategy & Plan
We began by approaching relevant journalists that we knew would be interested in attending the Les Mills GRIT
event and giving their all in the name of a good story.
We selected an aspirational venue that would encourage attendance, at a time slot to fit in with the media
(7.30am before they started work and when they might usually have a work-out).
The special class was run by Head of Research and Development at Les Mills, Steve Tansey, who also was
available for post-class interviews and conducted a short presentation on the benefits of HIIT training.
Goodie bags containing Reebok items (Les Mills’ main sponsor) were provided to attendees on the morning
of the event so they could wear box-fresh trainers and fitness wear to take part in the class.
Tragically, the date fell on the morning after the Manchester Arena bombing, and as such we respectfully
requested that journalists did not post to social media, or share any updates on the day of the event.
Measurement & Evaluation
Les Mills judged our performance within the context of the original objectives set by the client.
Results
We outperformed expectations on every level, meaning more journalists than the client hoped for
worked up a sweat, and produced fantastic features off the back of their attendance.
- 12 media attendees at the Les Mills GRIT morning
- Coverage appeared in Women’s Health, Heath & Fitness, Closer, at home magazine, the i, and Sloan Magazine
- Overall reach of 711,563 including social media output
