Crunch Fitness has been a fun-filled gym since 1989...

...and while they've done plenty of ads and originated the concept of "No Judgments," they still had yet to do any serious brand positioning work. So, after working with them for a few years, we had the opportunity to get under the hood and develop their brand strategy and positioning.

Through that process we uncovered lots of things from talking to franchisee owners and marketing, experience and operations teams. And what really rose to the top was their brand purpose—Everyone Deserves to Feel Good. Crunch is a place where everyone, no matter their background, race, or gym level, can feel welcomed.

That sounded pretty good to us.

A Good Insight Feels Good

From there, we got to creating.

There were many great ideas on the table, but we landed on Feel Good. Not Bad. because it spoke directly to their target audience—people we call Young, Strong and Social. Folks aged between 18-34. They're faced with lots of things in this world that can make them feel bad. We wanted to acknowledge this but also note that Crunch can make you feel good.

Making it Feel Good Across All Mediums

With this new brand platform, we found that it can work up and down the funnel. Previously, we did compelling retail-level work. However, Feel Good. Not Bad. is bigger and pulls in people who might not even be gym-shopping. Strategically, feeling good and not bad makes a lot of sense. We want people to think about Crunch every single time they feel bad and doubly when they feel good. From murals to billboards and direct mail, the messaging gets people to think about how they feel.

Teamwork Feels Good

Everything in this effort culminated in a 30-second spot featuring a man with a snake latched to his face, a burrito blowout, and other hilarious “bads” juxtaposed with all the good feelings you can feel at Crunch. We chose to work with Ben & Dave of Community Films because they really understood the tone we were going for, which was a very simple logic that can’t be argued with. They also couldn’t help themselves, constantly coming up with good and bad scenarios.

Together, over two days in Chicago, we shot 18 different scenes. Then, with our partners, we stitched together the hero spot, a 15-second cut-down, and a handful of social videos.

Results Feel Good

“Feel Good. Not Bad.” has given Crunch some incredible numbers.
Here are some of the highlights:

• Crunch is now the #2 brand in unaided awareness in the fitness category

• 13% increase in aided awareness

• Strongest Jan/Feb in U.S. leads generated (+5% YOY growth) and new member growth in brand history (+12% YOY growth)

Good News for “Feel Good. Not Bad.”