US gym chain Brick has teamed up with advertising giant BBDO New York to create an innovative campaign designed to help members from ‘falling off the fitness cliff’.

Citing statistics that nearly 80 per cent of New Year gym starters give up within five months, Brick has 3D-printed a range of Russian dolls designed to demonstrate the progress members can expect to make by following its various workout plans. The dolls illustrate progression over a five-month period for Brick’s programmes centred around CrossFit, HIIT circuits, mobility and yoga, as well as advanced athletics performance.

Inside each doll is a USB stick containing a customised five-month plan for the new member, based on their workout goals. New members receive the dolls as an incentive to keep up with their plan and to serve as a reminder of the end result.

As well as serving as a hook for new members, the catchy concept has gained significant social media traction and has helped to boost the gym chain’s profile globally.

Health clubs have been upping their game when it comes to marketing in recent years and 2016 has enjoyed a particularly strong start. Premium health and fitness operator Equinox recently turned heads with a challenging new year fitness campaign promoting the concept of consumer loyalty to their gym through a series of provocative images. Meanwhile, Virgin Active won plaudits for its cheeky ‘We’ve got a workout for that’ campaign, replicating gym exercises with more visceral applications on a date night.

Check out the upcoming April edition of Health Club Management magazine for a full review of new year fitness marketing campaigns form ukactive strategy director Mark Hutcheon.