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Simply Gym

A row of treadmills lines one side of a modern gym with green accent lighting.

Simply Gym is a gym brand that gets you moving. Since landing on the scene in 2011, they have been transforming fitness through their 6 locations over the UK. Welcoming those from all levels of fitness or experience, this fitness brand is focused on giving their members the very best so they can get results.

In 2015, they wanted to implement a digital strategy, grow their presence and increase memberships. A partnership between Simply Gym and WebBox was born and continues today. Back in 2019, with a complete brand refresh on the cards and the design and development of a new website, it was time for us to flex.

Since 2015, WebBox has delivered the rebrand, new website, and digital marketing for the group, as outlined below.

Green logo featuring the silhouette of a person jumping, with the text "simply gym .net" overlaying the figure.
Macbook with Simply Gym displayed
Mobile mockup Simply Gym Site

The Challenge

Revolutionising the brand

To achieve the objectives, we started from the ground up in order to really get to know Simply Gym, what motivated them, and made them tick. Collaboration wasn’t just an option. It was essential to getting this type of project right.

A content exploration workshop helped us define the tone of voice and brought Simply Gym’s brand messaging in line with the brand’s new image, mission, vision and values — and helped shape the content across all platforms.

We set up focus groups with board members and gym managers, and this allowed us to keep the visual brand evolution on point. Alongside this, we created a dynamic heading typeface to align with their new brand values. The adoption of a contemporary font family also helped the brand messaging stand apart from similar brands.

We wanted to convey that this was a brand that knows it’s target audience and has a clear advantage over competitors. This meant a grittier style of imagery alluding to their results-driven mission. To add to this, we created a simplified colour palette that brought a bold mix of black and white to the forefront — with the brand’s signature lime green used as an accent colour to highlight key areas of focus and call to actions.

These updates have been rolled out across all brand touchpoints — from signage and print to digital marketing materials and the website.

Mobile showing Simply Gym
Mockup Performance Marketing
Couple working out in gym

The Solution

A website that does the work

When it came to the website, we led with a mobile-first design that made the site compatible across multiple devices and browsers.

The UI (user interface) design played out the new brand image and placed a heavy focus on UX (user experience). It is because of this that the Simply Gym Difference page incorporates a visually interesting parallax UI which brings the brand’s USPs to the forefront.

With a more interactive design, the new class timetables allow members to search and discover classes across all six gym locations and seamlessly connect with — and book through — the dedicated app.

Additionally, the Book a Tour feature seamlessly passes users through to the brand’s gym-specific CRM – called Membr. This allows Simply Gym to collate and manage member information that can be used to personalise retargeting activity and enhance conversions.

We also included a categorised blog filled with useful tips and advice that allows users to search and filter information based on their preferences, while an embedded Instagram feed encourages social engagement.

An easy-to-use and open source CMS was one of the key requirements from the outset. Through consultation, WordPress was selected as the most suitable CMS and also allows members of the Simply Gym team to access and update relevant pages, images, videos easily.

Membership Growth and Retention

We collaborated closely with Simply Gym’s marketing team to define the annual strategy and execute monthly campaigns aimed at boosting gym membership through targeted paid advertising on Google, Meta, and Programmatic advertising.

By leveraging these digital channels effectively, they were able to achieve an impressive cost-per-member (CPA) of less than £5. Through continuous communication and feedback loops, WebBox ensured that each campaign was finely tuned to resonate with the target audience, driving engagement and conversions. This partnership exemplifies the power of strategic collaboration and data-driven decision-making in achieving tangible results in the fitness industry.

What’s next

We continue to support and maintain the website regularly, along with managing all of Simply Gym’s paid ads across Google, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), and Programmatic.

We were pleased to see results that packed a punch, including:

  • Website users up 57% year on year
  • Bounce rate down 29%
  • Average session duration up 31%
  • Search impression share up 25%
  • 209% increase in PPC conversions
  • Achieving a cost per member (CPA) of less than £5.

Update: In March 2024, after significant growth, Simply Gym was sold to JD Gyms.

Colleagues discussing work

I found the whole process simple and painless, which was not the case with previous companies. The brief we gave was clearly reflected in the end product. We are delighted with the result and everyone in the organisation is enthusiastic about the improvement delivered! I have found WebBox professional, reliable and a pleasure to work with. They also delivered the site over a week ahead of target!

Richard Proctor, Chief Executive, Bay Leisure Ltd

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