The pandemic has created a lot of challenges and struggles – for Planet Fitness® gym-goers, this means things like club closures, reduced hours, mask mandates and more limited interaction between PF® staff and the club members. Steve Kindler’s team at National Fitness Partners decided they would figure out a way to say “thank you” to their loyal members, who have stuck with the clubs through everything the pandemic has thrown at them. The goal was to make members feel special and say thank you, and, of course, social distancing and safety were made a priority.

The group decided to host an all-day Member Appreciation event across all 78 of their clubs, which includes locations in Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina and South Carolina. The event involved putting together 200 goodie bags that had promotional items for each club – and every member was allowed to bring a guest who could enter for a chance to win a three-month Black Card membership.

“Our team at National Fitness Partners wanted time do something special for our members who have stood by us through the craziness of 2020,” said Christine Smith, vice president of marketing for National Fitness Partners. “Member Appreciation Day was a way for us to give a little extra back to our members, engage our club staff and have some fun in the process.”

It was also important to get the word out to people. To promote the event, NFP conducted email blasts to their members. They also put Facebook posts on each individual club page and used in-club signage.

All in all, there was a variety of fun and games to be had across the National Fitness Partners clubs. Each individual club was allowed to decide what extra activities they wanted to conduct for their members, and National Fitness Partners was not disappointed by their creativity! Some of the activities included Halloween costume contests, photo booths, scavenger hunts, cornhole, mini games with prizes, prize wheels and even a game involving guessing the number of Tootsie Rolls in a jar.

Afterward, NFP sent a survey to their general managers to see how everything went and to get their thoughts. Overall, the feedback was positive. Responses noted that the team members had a great time and that members seemed to have fun and enjoy themselves – and they noted that members seemed thankful. Taking all of this into account, the group has decided that Member Appreciation Day will be an annual event at all National Fitness Partners clubs.