Branding is Key to Exercise Promotion

ANN ARBOR, MICH (WXYZ) - Perhaps it better translates into "I want it now!"

New research shows that telling people to exercise so they will live longer doesn't really seem to move them unless they know it will help them in their daily life.

University of Michigan Institute for Research on Women and Gender investigator Michelle Segar says, ""While people say they value health and healthy aging, those distant benefits don't make exercise compelling enough to fit into their busy lives." She adds, "A more effective 'hook' is to rebrand exercise to emphasize the immediate benefits that enrich daily living, such as stress reduction and increased vitality."

It's not uncommon to hear or read ads that claim exercising will improve your health so you can live longer. But, the U of M study finds that people are not necessarily buying into that.

Segar says, "Promoting exercise for health is logical, but people's daily decisions are more often connected to emotion than logic."

In marketing terms, it may be all about the branding.

If the message conveys that exercising might allow you a better quality of life right now, as compared to a longer life, you might be more inclined to do something about it. It might actually move you to exercise.

Segar goes on to say," "By shifting our model from medicine to marketing, we can improve how we 'sell' exercise to the public by using principles like branding,"

She suggests ways to get better participation from your target in your exercise audience :
1) Take inventory of what exercise benefits you are espousing.
2) Check how effective the benefits are
3) Ask your audience what they care about most such as changing a mood, reducing stress.
4) Come up with a new promotion, or message, that takes these ideas into consideration.

There were 3 surveys conducted by the research team which took a year to complete. More than 200 women were surveyed and they were asked about their goals and exercise participation.

More information regarding the results of the survey can be found by going to "The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity" :
http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/8/1/94/abstract