Posted by on Feb 18, 2015 in Products | 0 comments

My Gym Learning Mats Are Here!

Melissa & Doug Learning Mats have been a long-time favorite at My Gyms. They’re educational, fun, and colorful, and they’re heavy duty and wipe off easily so they can be used over and over again. My Gym has partnered with Melissa & Doug to make special My Gym branded learning mats. These mats are perfect for teaching kids fitness, colors, numbers, and counting in a fun and engaging way. These double-sided learning mats feature colorful activities for your children to practice and master in no time! The My Gym/Melissa & Doug Learning Mats are packaged in a set of 6 and come in 4 different skill sets: Colors and Tracing for ages 18M+ Numbers for ages 2+ Fitness for ages 3+ Muscles for ages 5+ Heavy-duty, durable, and flexible vinyl construction For ultimate colorful fun, use Melissa & Doug Straight Edge Learning Mat Crayons (sold separately); regular crayons will not wipe off. You can also use a #2 pencil. Packed in sets of 6 – (Open up at gyms...

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Posted by on Feb 16, 2015 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Kidpower Flyers and Announcements

As we mentioned last week, our Kidpower partnership is underway! Beginning today, you’ll see an announcement written into the curriculum for each class. Please be sure to make the announcement to all of your classes, from Little Bundles through Cardio Kids. It is imperative that our members understand the nature of this amazing partnership as we launch the Kidpower minutes in their classes in March. Along with the announcement, you’ll find the Kidpower Flyers on the print system (Class Specific > Flyers or keyword search: kidpower). Please print and distribute them to all of your members after each class throughout the remainder of February. Together, our collective efforts will strengthen the impact of this powerful and exciting...

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Posted by on Feb 13, 2015 in Marketing | 0 comments

Hyland’s Samples

You will be receiving the February shipment for our Hyland’s partnership.  This shipment contains all the materials you will need to execute the Hyland’s February 2015 program.  The samples/coupons should be made available to all customers, including those enrolled in classes, guests, and birthday party attendees from 2/1/15 to 2/28/15 or until supplies are gone, whichever occurs first. 900 Hyland’s Homeopathic Tiny Cold Tablets samples 900 3” x 5” coupons for Hyland’s products Please place counter card near samples and encourage parents who are interested in doing so to take the survey AND to feel free to take multiple samples along with the coupons. Upon commencement of the program, please snap a quick picture of the samples and literature display and send it to marketing@mygym.com. As a thank you for participation in the Hyland’s program, if you get 3 parents submitting feedback to the online survey page and mentioning your gym, you will automatically be entered into a raffle to win 1 of 5 $100 Amex Cards.  Please encourage...

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Posted by on Feb 12, 2015 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Birthday Party Training and Quality – Webinar

The weekend is almost here, and you know what that means…  Time to rock out some birthday parties!  Before you write your next program card, set aside a half-hour and click here to watch our latest webinar pertaining to Birthday Party Quality and Training.  The permanent link can also be found on the extranet, under the heading “Webinars and Tutorials.” Have questions?  Call, start a Live Chat, or email the Support Team –...

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Posted by on Feb 11, 2015 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Kidpower Update

As you all know, My Gym has partnered with Kidpower, a global nonprofit leader in promoting child protection and personal safety.  This partnership has given each of us the opportunity to participate in this meaningful cause – to bring safety skills and knowledge to our beloved members.  Show this video during your next weekly staff meeting so your staff can help educate your members as the partnership rolls out. There will be more information released next week, such as flyers available on the print system to distribute to your members, as well as announcements made in all of our My Gym classes in the coming weeks.  Let’s all join together and play our role in this amazing partnership! Half Page Kidpower Flyer – Color Half Page Kidpower Flyer –...

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Posted by on Feb 9, 2015 in Technology | 0 comments

Daily Digest of Online Activity

This is a follow-up to the update sent late last week about a new feature we are implementing, The Daily Digest. This coming Wednesday or Thursday, you will be receiving your first Daily Digest at 5:00pm.  PLEASE DO NOT USE THE INFORMATION YET, AS WE WILL BE PERFECTING THE DIGEST THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.  WE NEED TIME TO WORK OUT ALL BUGS TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU ARE RECEIVING IS 100% ACCURATE. Reminder:  Explanation of Daily Digest It is a daily email you will receive at 5:00pm in your time zone. It will have a recap of everything that happened online in the previous 24 hours. A list of all inquiries A list of all MGM Client Interface activity including guest classes, birthday parties, enrollments, and make-ups. We are excited about this tool and believe it will be another step forward in giving you the online activity information you need to better run your...

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Posted by on Feb 6, 2015 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Vaccinations and My Gym

With the recent cases of Measles around the US, many My Gymers have been receiving questions about My Gym’s stance/policy on vaccinations from clients.  Please take a moment to read and understand the information on this document, and review it with your staff as well. It is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (a government agency) that all children be vaccinated shortly after birth according to a specific schedule.  Childcare facilities such as daycares, preschools, and schools are regulated by the state and have specific vaccination rules and requirements.  With that said, nearly all US states do allow exemptions for those parents who do not wish to vaccinate their children.  These exemptions are usually based on religious beliefs or on medical reasons.  With an exemption, a child may attend these facilities, both public and private, even though s/he is not vaccinated. Dance studios, karate studios, gymnastics facilities, etc. are not state regulated and are not required to have a childcare license to operate.  My Gyms falls under this...

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Posted by on Feb 6, 2015 in Marketing, Products | 0 comments

New and Improved Mymo Mascot Costume Available!

Update:  Bring Mymo into your gyms and community for marketing, branding, fun, and added revenue! For the past several months, the Merchandise Division has worked closely with our new mascot costume manufacturer to develop our new mascot costume and to ensure that it’s the best quality, high value, affordable, comfortable Mymo mascot available.  Now it’s available for order; and, in just a short time, you’ll be using this extremely durable, well-padded, fuzzy full-body Mymo costume for grand openings, birthday parties, promotional events, and more. Professional quality, lightweight, and extremely durable Designed for maximum comfort and maximum mobility, ready to handle any level of crowd interaction Accurately depicts Mymo and all his features – The soft brown fur detailing looks great under the lights.  The determined facial detailing with strong gaze and open mouth will have the kids excited and lining up for hugs and high fives! Complete costume includes: Mymo Mascot body with zipper closure and connected mittens, separate mascot head, shirt and shorts, tail with wire that adjusts...

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Posted by on Feb 5, 2015 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Building Blocks: New Mind/Body Cycle

Next week marks the end of our latest Mind and Body Building Blocks cycle. Enjoy your respective Presentation Ceremonies, and don’t forget to give stickers for skill sheets (along with their usual ribbons) to all the kids for a job well done. Starting February 16th, you’ll embark on the next four-week Mind/Body cycle, as reflected in curriculum. Consequently, we’re making the materials – new Skill and Development sheets and the PDF for the Mind/Body poster – available now. You can find them in the Operations Manual, in the Systems > Building Blocks folder. The first four-week cycle will go through the week of March 9th, at which point there will be stickers to hand out at the end of classes, but no Presentation Week. The second four-week cycle will commence March 16th and run through the week of April 6th, at which point there will be a Presentation...

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Posted by on Feb 5, 2015 in Technology | 0 comments

Online Activity & Inquiries

We are continually working on the best way possible to deliver information to you that happens digitally/online.  In this new era, it is fantastic that a lot of functionality is now self-serve to our clients.  The goal is to disseminate the information to you in the quickest and easiest manner possible. To make sure everybody is up to speed, right now there a couple of ways to get this information: Inquiries The database inside the BOSS tools Via email that gets delivered to you Online Activity The Online Activity Report Via email that gets delivered to you We are continually working on ways to make the email delivery 100%.  As you might know, we recently changed the delivery of the emails above to come from Exact Target.  This gives us more visibility as to why an email didn’t get delivered and information on how to perfect.  This system is working much better, but it is not perfect.  We are doing our best to perfect delivery as much as possible. ...

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Posted by on Feb 5, 2015 in General | 0 comments

Equipment Division, International Shipping Update

Attention International My Gyms: Because of contract negotiations, the Los Angeles-Long Beach Port (the largest U.S. port complex) is not operating as it normally would.  Congestion has reached a crisis stage with twenty container ships stuck at anchor (as of Tuesday), and no relief in sight.  It is the same across the entire west coast of the US. We are working hard to ensure prompt equipment delivery to our International My Gym families.  At this time, if possible, please place your equipment orders well in advance.  You can read up on the latest article here: http://www.joc.com/port-news/us-ports/port-los-angeles/la-long-beach-oakland-pnw-congestion-reaches-critical-stage_20150203.html We apologize for any inconvenience and are doing everything in our power to expedite any current and future orders.  Thank you for your continued patience.  We will continue to push to move deliveries out as quickly as possible. MGE...

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Posted by on Feb 5, 2015 in Marketing, Support & Programming | 0 comments

How to Insert an Image into a Website Article

1. Click on the Image icon. 2. Copy the URL to your clipboard and paste it into the URL box, then press OK. (For the Olive Garden PNO, the image URL is http://image.exct.net/lib/fee910787c6d0c/m/2/OG-PNO-header.jpg) 3. The image should now appear in your article. These directives can also be found on the operations manual in the Olive Garden PNO 2015...

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Posted by on Feb 4, 2015 in Marketing | 0 comments

Did someone say Parents’ Night Out?!

Yep, you guessed it!  Olive Garden is back; and, with the announcement of the Parents’ Night Out sponsorship on February 20th, there are some important steps to be followed in order to ensure all of our gyms are “in step” as agreed upon by both My Gym and Olive Garden. Last year, despite some compliance issues at some of our gyms, the program went very well.  However, as a result of some of those issues, Olive Garden is asking for significant backup and proof of performance this year.  The bottom line is that, if a gym is not compliant and executing each of the steps, Olive Garden will not pay.  Execution of this event is very easy, and it won’t take too much time at all.  Please review the materials and checklist to assure your full compliance.  This will not only assure you get paid; it will be key in furthering our national presence and our conducting more events like this in the future. Olive Garden is announcing this...

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Posted by on Feb 2, 2015 in Marketing, Support & Programming | 0 comments

Sponsored Parents’ Night Out

We know everyone is anxiously awaiting the Sponsored Parents’ Night Out directives, marketing materials, and the big announcement of who is sponsoring the event. Please know that these materials will be coming out this week! We appreciate your patience, as we’ve been working to finalize everything and streamline the partnership for easy execution of the program this...

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Posted by on Jan 29, 2015 in Marketing | 0 comments

Marketing Materials Available!

Our March Madness campaign materials are available for use in Exact Target. Also, the social media images can be found in the Marketing Manual in the March folder that contains Digital Uniformity. March Madness is our first optional campaign for 2015. If you decide not to use those materials, generic materials will be available for use. Millions of Kids Agree… Summer Fun is #1 at My Gym! With MGE and all gyms conducting synergistic messaging during the National Campaigns, we will be stronger and more impactful than ever, and we will continue to build the My Gym brand and drive business to the gyms! To help you execute the Summer Fun Campaign in your own gym(s), the following are ready for you to access. In the Print System on the Extranet: Full-page flyer Half-page flyer Color and black & white versions 4×6 postcard Got Print formatted postcard template also available Poster To be printed locally and hung in lobby/front window Printed ads for placing in local family guides are...

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Posted by on Jan 29, 2015 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Sweeten up your Day with Valentine’s Day Games

The sweetest day of the year is approaching!  Make it even sweeter with fun love/heart/valentine’s themed games and activities for your staff and kiddos.  There are Valentine’s ingredients available in camp programming as well as on our Holiday and Seasonal Ingredient document.  Check out the video for a few additional ideas.  Bonus – all the supplies were purchased from a dollar store....

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Posted by on Jan 28, 2015 in Technology | 0 comments

Client Interface Update

Please note that we have made changes to the Client Interface email process. Moving forward, both the customer and gym will receive the same, single email containing all pertinent and related information. Class Enrollment Email This email contains all of the necessary information regarding enrollment, including the policies and parent’s initials indicating that they have read and understood them. No major changes have been made to the Birthday Party, Guest Class, or Makeup Confirmation emails other than combining the transaction email to the customer and...

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Posted by on Jan 26, 2015 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

2015 Training Seminars

We are currently planning the 2015 Training Seminars.  Below are the dates and locations so you can begin to plan accordingly.  We are so excited to see everyone soon!  Please click here to submit your ideas for possible topics to present at the upcoming training seminars.  Please send your ideas in no later than Feb 2, 2015.  Mark your Calendars!  More information on hotels and logistics will be coming in the weeks ahead.  Dates and Locations: 1. Northeast:  May 1-2, My Gym Timonium, MD 2. Midwest:  May 29-30, My Gym Chicago, IL 3. South:  June 5-6, My Gym Lake Mary, FL 4. West:  June 26-27, My Gym Pasadena,...

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Posted by on Jan 22, 2015 in Technology | 0 comments

Website Inquiries

Dear Franchisees, We have just launched a new system that allows Exact Target to send the emails to the gyms when we have received an inquiry on our website.  We are also using Exact Target to deliver the email you receive when a client has booked anything online.  This is going to give us much better visibility when there are delivery issues because we will have reports from Exact Target on which emails were delivered, when they were opened, etc., etc.  Additionally, emails sent by Exact Target will also now be better protected from ending up in SPAM. We have just completed extensive testing, and we are confident that this new upgrade will solve the issue.  However, if you see any problems, we want to research them immediately, so please email the information directly to Jamie at jbertisch@mygym.com. Please remember, inquiries you receive are also put in the BOSS tools in the “Edit Your Website and Schedule” section.  In addition, all bookings performed by your patrons online are available...

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Posted by on Jan 20, 2015 in Marketing | 0 comments

My Gym-GROUPON 2015 Preferred Program

GROUPON for My Gym Franchises in the U.S. and Canada: If you are planning to run a GROUPON marketing program this year, we have some great news for you! Effective immediately, MGE has set up a preferred turnkey program with GROUPON!  If/when you are ready to initiate a deal, this streamlined partnership will enable you to easily contact GROUPON to create the campaign you want to run without having to “reinvent the wheel”! MGE has supplied GROUPON with all of our approved photos, our style guide, updated language, and key information.  And, while you are not required to use them specifically, we have researched and pre-created My Gym deal templates featuring offers that have been the most successful over the last few years.  Just customize with your location information and away you go! As part of the arrangement, Gyms will also have one point of contact at GROUPON, assuring that your campaign is maximized.  And, best of all, depending on your market, deal, and history with GROUPON, each My...

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Posted by on Jan 20, 2015 in General | 0 comments

Grand Opening

We are pleased to announce the Grand Opening of our 12th location in Canada.  Jody and John Fehr are wrapping up an extremely successful grand opening in Edmonton, AB and are looking forward to starting classes on Monday.  Warm wishes and congratulations can be sent...

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Posted by on Jan 19, 2015 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Upcoming Webinar: Birthday Party Training and Quality

We will soon be holding a 30-minute webinar on Birthday Party Training and Quality.  This webinar will be focused on achieving and executing high-quality birthday parties and will be suitable for all levels of staff to attend.  So, whether you’re a veteran My Gymer looking to achieve/maintain top-tier excellence or you have a newer staff just learning the birthday party ropes, mark your calendars now – ‘cause this webinar is for you! IMPORTANT NOTES: We make every effort to place these webinars during times we feel will work for most of the My Gym Family.  Of course, this is not always possible, so a recorded version of the webinar will be posted in the Tutorials section of the extranet.  This recording is not intended as a replacement for attending the live event.  The recorded webinar should be used only as a reference. We have disabled the mic and speakers function for this webinar; the only way to participate is to call in. Your attendance is appreciated at one of...

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Posted by on Jan 16, 2015 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Preschool Prep Supplemental Holiday Curriculum

We know that nothing excites kids more than the holidays! The Preschool Prep Supplemental Holiday Curriculum offers a great way to get your students excited for the holidays with themed projects and activities! From Christmas wreaths to spooky Halloween hands and Groundhogs Day masks, the supplemental curriculum is an excellent new addition to our program! To use the curriculum, supplement your Arts, Crafts, and Science Station with the holiday activity for that week and then continue on to the scheduled activities the following week. The Supplemental Holiday Curriculum for Preschool Prep can be found in the Operations Manual off the extranet under Preschool Prep...

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