How the pandemic became an opportunity to transform a local gym into a digital wellness brand.
When the pandemic hit San Francisco in March – with all its consequences – the first few weeks for me were a mixture of confusion, fear, anger and worry. Our family was spread across Russia, UK, and Italy, and from the far-flung California, I got to observe the different manifestations of the pandemic battering the people I loved every-which-way. Watching the waves of the virus cruise through Europe, eventually reaching the UK and Russia, I had a pretty good preview of what was about to happen to us in California (why no-one else was thinking of international cooperation and intelligence sharing still baffles me, alas, this is not the topic of this post). It looked like a long road to nowhere.
So when the lockdown came to San Francisco, we went to our favorite fitness studio for one last sweat, and said goodbye to the crew. The team at Tribe was optimistic, hoping to only be closed for 4 weeks, as initial guidelines indicated. Of course, this was back in March, it is now October, and the studio has only partially reopened 2 weeks ago. Observing the chaos in the news, and trying to keep up with numbers across the globe - which were looking worse day-by-day - was doing no good for my mental health. I decided to put the news cycle on hold, and focus on what positive change I could affect personally, while being stuck at home.
It struck me that the single industry, beyond hospitality, that was hit the hardest, was also one that was supposed to be keeping people healthy in the first place.
Tribe was quick to smartly pivot their entire business to virtual training in some 2 weeks. However, as more and more big and small fitness players were going in the digital direction, competition intensified. On top of that, fitness influencers started pumping out free content on Instagram and YouTube, making matters even worse for the already struggling local gyms. At the same time, it occurred to me that I could do some good and help them, offering what I am best at: my branding and marketing skills. The founders of Tribe, brothers Nick and Billy, kindly accepted my offer, and I’m so glad they did.
The challenge
Pre-pandemic, Tribe cultivated a fierce following and designed uniquely awesome classes that kept people coming back for more. The problem was discoverability: with nearby offices shut, and ClassPass on hold, any digital or physical foot-traffic pretty much ceased to exist, and the old website and social channels were not geared for this environment. Additionally, the charm of Tribe as a brand came from direct interactions clients had with the founders — something that disappeared overnight when the studio closed.
We also had to keep it scrappy, and use the resources available to us — basically, our skills, friends and software (yay Canva!).
The approach
After an initial assessment of current and target customers, existing assets, content pieces, channels, social media presence, and GOALS, we devised the following plan.
- Update the brand identity and messaging to ensure it translates digitally, and highlights Tribe’s key values: focus on community, accountability and holistic approach to wellness.
- Streamline the service portfolio into a 3-prong offering, simplifying the selection process for clients from 15 different services, down to essentially 3: fitness, yoga, and coaching (a new area of focus, suitable for the remote nature of most clients during the pandemic).
- Implement new brand identity across Tribe’s social media presence, e-books and website to communicate the new portfolio of services.
In even simpler terms, the lockdown served as the perfect opportunity to build a story around the brand, and dedicate some thinking to this previously overlooked area.
The work
We started by developing a brand identity: tone of voice, key messaging, colors, and fonts. The goal was making a previously offline presence pop on the screen. We opted for bright colors — Sky blue, Coral pink — which were lifted from the old studio mural. To top it off, we added a playful Permanent Marker font to mimic the way the trainers used to write up exercises on the whiteboard during class.
This visual identity was then translated into:
- nutrition guides
- social media pages
- Medium Publication,
- the website
all were completely revamped.
To finish off the visual identity and make it more relevant to the current state of the world, we arranged for a socially-distanced photoshoot in San Francisco’s beautiful Kezar stadium. We worked with one of Tribe’s own trainers, Joseph Ilustrisimo, who also happens to be an incredibly talented photographer. The resultant images showcased the trainers’ passion, Tribe’s unique moves, and their overall no-bull attitude.
Goodbye, local gym. Enter new digital wellness brand, Tribe 2.0.
On October 21 the new Tribe website launched, completing our rebranding journey.
I wanted to share the story of what we accomplished together, to thank the team for their dedication, and to encourage all marketing professionals out there to consider donating their time. There are hundreds of businesses looking for help right now, all trying not to lose existing customers, find new ones and adapt their offering to meet the demands of this new reality. Marketers tend to be good at this kind of thing – so share the love!
I would have never thought that during such a challenging period, I would accomplish one of most rewarding projects of my life.
Thank you, Billy and Nick, for letting me be a part of your Tribe.
