We are pleased to announce the Grand Opening… …and return of longtime franchisees Phil and Monica Parsons. The Parsons opened the Sterling, VA location on March 15th and recently completed their first week of classes. Phil and Monica previously owned two other My Gyms that are still thriving today. The Parsons can be congratulated at sterling@mygym.com. Pictured below are Corey, Cortnee, and...
Read MoreExact Target Webinar If you were unable to attend one of the “Exact Target: Best Practices” webinars held earlier this month or would like a refresher, you can view it in its entirety by logging onto the extranet and clicking on Webinars & Tutorials and then scrolling down to the Exact Target section. MGM Auto Emails In Exact Target global emails, anything with “MGM” in the title is considered a system email that should not be modified or sent through Exact Target. The MGM emails that should not be modified or used are: MGM Birthday Party Reminder – Version 1 MGM Cancellation Follow Up – Version 1 MGM Credit Card Expiring – Version 1 MGM Failed Payment – Version 1 MGM Guest Class Attended Not Enrolled – Version 1 MGM Guest Class Missed – Version 1 MGM Guest Class Reminder – Version 1 MGM Happy Birthday Wishes – Version 1 MGM Makeup Class Reminder – Version 1 MGM Classes Follow Up – Version 1 ...
Read MoreIt may no longer be Movember, and, yes, the “Keep Calm and Carry On” concept has been around for some time now (WWII to be exact), but we continue to hear suggestions for moustache and “Keep Calm” type products, so here they are . . . These fun shirts are sure to grab attention and make people laugh, and they’re super soft and comfortable too. The “Keep Calm and My Gym On” shirt is on the same popular heather red Kavio (toddler and youth) and Tultex (adult) shirts as the My Gym Rocks shirt. The “Mymo-stache” shirt is on cool silver shirts from Rabbit Skins (same as toddler registration shirt), Fruit of the Loom (same as youth Birthday Shirt), and Anvil (same as Premium Staff Tee). These shirts are being introduced as special order items initially, but they will be stock items afterward. Order by 3 pm Pacific Time on Monday, 3/31, and your order will ship the week of 4/7. Click here to order...
Read MorePer our previous updates, Back At You is no longer our Google AdWords and Facebook support vendor. Please remove them as administrators of your Facebook fan pages ASAP. Step 1: While viewing your fan page, go to Edit Page and select Manage Admin Roles. Step 2: Click the X next to Back At You. (There may be more than one.) Step 3: Click Save and type in your Facebook password to confirm the...
Read MoreCome on, sing along, you know the tune… Spiderman, Spiderman, Does whatever a spider can, Spins a web, any size, Catches thieves just like flies, Look out! Here comes the Spiderman. Now that we have your attention… Spring into action with the new Spider-Man theme party! Spider-Man is one of the most popular superheroes around, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie is releasing on May 2; so this theme party is sure to be a hit at My Gym. We’ve created quite the “web” of programming for you and your staff to get caught up in! Exciting new elements are paired with modified classic My Gym elements to create the ultimate Spider-Man experience for your birthday parties. For example, youngsters will participate in a relay as they race to a phone booth (red and black mat), put on their Spidey suits (oversized MG shirt), defeat the Green Goblin (hanging bolster), crawl back to the phone booth through the sewer (tunnel), change back into Peter Parker, and race to their...
Read MoreAs promised, MGE Marketing will be providing bimonthly e-newsletters featuring the latest exciting news about My Gym, parenting, fitness, and nutrition with special features on people and places of interest, and a whole lot more. The March 2014 issue is available now. Remember, this “magazine” is designed to allow you to customize it by adding your own local news articles, specials, and other announcements to make it specifically relevant to your clientele and community. You can find this month’s issue in Exact Target under “Global Emails.” It’s all the news that’s fit and...
Read MoreGAW Update Per our update of February 27, the vendor agreement for Google AdWords (GAW) and Facebook support between Back At You (BAY) and MGE has officially ended. Going forward, MGE has established a preferred vendor relationship for GAW support with Search Commander, Inc., a Portland, Oregon based web marketing company. In order to maintain optimum service while adhering to our Marketing Fund budget, we have established a systematic way for gyms to receive GAW support and guidance from Search Commander, Inc. During an initial free consultation, you and Scott Hendison (CEO of Search Commander, Inc.) will discuss the available options and determine the best course of action for your gym’s GAW account. This may include anything from maintaining your existing GAW structure to use of a more advanced, outside management of your GAW campaigns. As of March 13, franchises may contact Search Commander, Inc. in two ways: 1) To schedule a free initial 30-minute consultation, please click here. During this initial consultation, Search Commander, Inc. will review your...
Read MoreAs per our update of January 28th, My Gym has partnered with Hyland’s Homeopathic Kids for free product sampling campaigns this year. Our first program in February, which featured Hyland’s Homeopathic Cough Syrup, is now complete. If you have any remaining samples in your gym, you may continue to hand them out or discard them. Our second program for March/April will feature Homeopathic Allergy Relief samples, which, like all Hyland’s products, are all natural and safe for children. Beginning the end of this week, all U.S. locations will be receiving the new samples and coupons. These shipments will arrive in two stages to accommodate gym storage constraints. The first shipment will arrive around March 14 – 17, and the second shipment will arrive approximately April 1st. The shipments contain all the materials you will need to execute this program. The samples/coupons should be handed out to customers through the end of April or until supplies are gone, whichever occurs first. March/April Samples and Coupons will be sent in two stages...
Read MoreSummer is almost here, and it’s time to gear up for My Gym camp. ShopMyGym has lots of products for this fun summer tradition. Many gyms like to give out products at the time of registration, so all these items are available from ShopMyGym now: *NEW* 2014 My Gym Camp T-Shirt – Featuring the “Get Ready for Summer Fun” marketing campaign logo – Youth and adult sizes My Gym Camp Registration Pack: Youth 2014 camp shirt, camp tote bag, camp water bottle “Flying High” My Gym Camp T-Shirt (from 2013) – Youth and adult sizes My Gym Camp Tote Bag My Gym Camp Water Bottle My Gym Beach Ball My Gym Temporary Tattoos My Gym Stickers It’s going to be a great summer! Click here to order...
Read MoreMillions of kids agree… My Gym is the place to celebrate Sports and Fitness Month! Soon it will be time to prepare all of your marketing for May’s Sports and Fitness Month. To help you execute the themed campaign in your own gym(s), the following are ready for you to access: In the Print System on the Extranet: Full-page flier Half-page flier 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 to be ordered through the Custom Artwork Request form, as sizes vary. Please select “2014 May Sports Campaign” under “Artwork Type” when placing your order so that artwork will match in style. In Exact Target – Global Emails: Global email (generic email for you to customize with your own message and offer) titled “NCMAY Sports Campaign General Use Email” In the 2014 National Marketing Campaign Folder: My Gym Operations Disc / My Gym Operations / National Marketing...
Read MoreNational Marketing and Sponsorships US Family Guide Over the last 2 years, we have been running national advertising banner ads on the US Family Guide network of local family guides. We began in 2012 with the Vote for Fitness campaign and then ran ads again in 2013 for the 30th Anniversary campaign. Given the low cost and great results (millions of impressions and tens of thousands of click-throughs), we have continued to advertise nationally within their guides. We are excited to expand on our partnership with US Family Guide network and mom blogger teams by offering all owners a complimentary online marketing campaign on the local family guides in your markets. That’s right, “complimentary” – meaning there is no charge to you, our franchisees. US Family Guide operates 488 local family guides and has a team of over 2,300 mommy bloggers (and growing) offering direct, measured response marketing programs. The programs not only reach local parents but provide increased search engine ranking for the entire My Gym group as...
Read MoreYou Oughta Be in Pictures! As we have all seen, our recent Olive Garden partnership delivered a LOT of media attention for My Gym. We were featured on the Today Show, Fox News, countless Local News stories, and ABC Good Morning America! What you may not have seen in your respective markets, however, is the abundance of recent PR and media stories featuring our gyms as a result of their following the directives MGE Marketing sent out in the November 25, 2013 update regarding reaching out to our PR Firm, SSA. A few examples of My GYM on television! Check ‘em out! WIS-TV NBC Columbia SC WCBS -TV New York WGN-TV Chicago IL WTVF-TV Nashville TN CITY-TV Winnipeg CA This can be a great tool for raising enrollment through local branding and marketing and is part of the Marketing Fund services provided to you. If you have not already done so, please review the My Gym Media, PR, Blogger, Vendor Services Directives to get SSA working for you...
Read MoreMillions of Kids Agree… Future champions are made here! Olympics Themed Campaign Wrap-Up Update Great work to everyone on executing a fantastic Olympics themed campaign! We really saw a lot of gyms utilize the Olympics themed Exact Target emails, fliers, logos, the BOSS splash page, campaign merchandise, and creative programming to produce the overall synergy among our gyms from operations to marketing! Thanks to everyone for sharing their creative setups, medal ceremonies, and weekly meeting videos related to the Olympics on Facebook. You guys went for the gold and are all standing atop the podium! With February drawing to a close, so is our Olympics themed campaign. It’s now time to switch out the Olympics themed templates, email signatures, and Facebook images and go back to our “standard” logo and templates. You will find the Facebook cover and profile image as well as the email signature at the bottom of this update. Our next campaign, “Get Ready for Summer,” is ready to kick off in April. All materials for...
Read MoreTraining Videos Update For those who would like to view the training videos on a cell phone or tablet, there is a browser that makes the viewing experience as clear as possible on almost all mobile devices. Please go to your app store and download the Puffin browser. ...
Read MorePlease be advised that MGE will be ceasing business with Back At You (BAY) for Google AdWords and Facebook support, effective February 28. A new GAW structure, protocol, and support relationship will be implemented by approximately March 15. Any gyms needing help with GAW between March 1 and March 15 should contact the marketing division at marketing@mygym.com. Google AdWords Beginning March 15, Search Commander, a new vendor to My Gym, but one who has multiple years of Google AdWords and other Internet marketing expertise, will be providing consultant services and support structure for GAW. Search Commander is a Portland, Oregon based online marketing company. Over the past several weeks, tests have been conducted with several gyms using the services and support of Search Commander. A new, cost-effective approach and system to this area of marketing is being finalized to meet the wide-ranging needs of My Gym franchisees. Facebook In March, we will be launching new Facebook content strategy managed by MGE Marketing. We will no longer be pre-loading content to franchisees’ Facebook...
Read MoreThe Building Blocks Programming Developmental Index is a great tool available to gyms in the ongoing quest to enhance learning among students, parents, and staff. For examples on how to use this comprehensive tool to enhance your Building Blocks program, staff training, enrollment conversations and marketing, click...
Read MoreHow would you like to have a bunch of moving billboards advertising your gym all around town? We have an affordable way for you to achieve that: Introducing the My Gym logo car magnet! This high quality, full-color My Gym logo car magnet is an effective way to get exposure in your community. These magnets can even be personalized with your gym information. Gyms have shared with us some creative ways to use the magnets for gaining exposure in the community. Follow these suggestions; and, before you know it, you’ll have your own mobile fleet of advertisers: Give the magnets to your staff to put on their cars. Give magnets away at community events, camp expos, etc. Give magnets to parents of all new members (with the registration pack) and birthday party children (with the birthday shirt) to thank them for their business. Run a Facebook Contest to gain awareness of My Gym in your community and drive customers to your Facebook page. Details are outlined below. Do you...
Read MoreExact Target Webinar This is a 45 to 60-minute webinar on Exact Target Best Practices. During this webinar, we will go over the most frequent functions and issues faced in Exact Target, followed by an open floor Q&A. Feel free to email mperez@mygym.com with the topics you would like us to cover, and we will dedicate time to the 3 or 4 most popular subjects (depending on time). 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. We anticipate that this change will make for a smoother webinar...
Read MoreAhoy! Head for the high seas with our two new pirate party themes! Kids love acting like pirates, and parents have been requesting pirate theme parties, so we’re excited to announce that programming and products are now available for the Jake and The Never Land Pirates and Pirate’s Treasure themes. The Jake theme is suggested for children ages 2-6, and the Pirate’s Treasure theme is suggested for ages 1-2 and 7+; though, of course, families can have either theme for any age. You can easily customize the programming for both themes to fit the wants and needs of your families; so, for example, if you have an eight-year-old who wants a Jake party or a two-year-old who wants a Pirate’s Treasure party, go for it . . . no need to have them walk the plank! The party programming can be found on the extranet in the Core Programming > Birthday Parties > Themed Birthday Parties Folder. Merchandise for both pirate themes is available on ShopMyGym.com. Like the other...
Read MoreAs per our announcement on February 6th, all Exact Target accounts have been purged of global emails and refreshed with only essential ones. You should now see only the 27 global emails listed at the bottom of this update. IMPORTANT NOTE When customizing a global email to send to your database, you must first make a copy and save it to “My Emails.” PLEASE DO NOT MODIFY THE GLOBAL EMAIL. You can copy global emails to “My Emails” in three easy steps: Steps 1 & 2: Select the global email you would like to customize, and press Copy. Step 3: Give the email a name; then press Save. Your new email is now saved in My Emails and is ready for customization. Additionally, we strongly encourage you to clear your “My Emails” folder of any emails using previous styles. All gyms must be using the current brand for marketing. Regarding Claim Client Interface Email In the February 10th update, Online Booking – Customer Reminders, we mentioned an available Exact Target...
Read MoreIt’s a kind gesture when gyms give the birthday child a My Gym Birthday T-Shirt as a gift at his or her party. It’s a great reminder for children of celebrating their special day at My Gym (not to mention a nice bit of exposure for My Gym when the shirt is worn at school and around town). Well, we figured that it would be even more special to have a shirt that shows children performing fun and well-known My Gym birthday party activities. Trapeze, Space Flight, Trampoline, Birthday March, and Circle Time . . . they’re all on the new “I’m the Star” Birthday Shirt. What a great way for kids to preserve memories of fun from their My Gym parties! The “I’m the Star” Birthday Shirt comes in a girls version (bright pink with a girl on the front) and a boys version (blue with a boy on the front). The design on the back is the same for both. We also have toddler sizes now! Toddler...
Read MoreWe know that many of you are experiencing an incredibly cold winter, so we want to remind you that ShopMyGym has several products to help you stay warm in the gym or outdoors during this season. These include the following My Gym branded products: I Heart MG Coffee Mug My Gym Socks My Gym Beanie Roll-Up Fleece Blanket Long Sleeve Staff Tee Lightweight Full-Zip Hooded Sweatshirt Jacket Champion Crew Neck Pullover Sweatshirt Champion Full-Zip Hooded Sweatshirt Jacket Tultex Pullover Hooded Sweatshirt Tultex Zipper Hooded Sweatshirt Jacket These products are conveniently featured in the “Cold Weather Products” category on ShopMyGym.com. Click here to order...
Read MoreLAST CHANCE TO SAVE EXACT TARGET GLOBAL EMAILS! The purge will take place this coming Sunday, February 16, 2014,carrying over to Monday, February 17. (Certain functions can be modified only during M-F business hours.) This means Exact Target may be inaccessible to you for several hours within this period! BUT LET’S BE CLEAR: What will the purge delete? Only the emails located in “Global Emails” will be deleted. Any emails you have saved to your own folders outside of the Global Emails folder (My Emails) will remain. Immediately following the purge, we will republish a select number of global emails, and we will release seasonal emails on an appropriate schedule in order to avoid cluttering the system. What about graphics in the “Global Portfolio” folder? This section will be reorganized for easier navigation as part of the purge. Should I delete outdated emails from the “My Emails” folder? You certainly may want to for ease of use; but this is not mandatory at this time. Still confused? Review the...
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