Case Study Greenvale Leisure Centre
www.pulsefitness.com
Pulse delivers innovative sales, marketing and operational management support solution to the newly refurbished Greenvale Leisure Centre, Magherafelt. Effectively and efficiently proving that an innovative membership sales campaign and effective marketing strategy can drive membership sales – Pulse achieves 10,550 members in the first 6 months!
Following a multi-million pound
refurbishment project that took three years to
complete, the new Greenvale Leisure Centre
officially opened its doors in September 2012,
with Pulse in the driving seat as the newly
appointed leisure management company to
fully operate and manage the facility.
The original local authority leisure centre
dated back to the 1970’s where it provided
local residents a popular swimming venue.
Over the subsequent years the council had
invested and extended the facility to offer
other sports and fitness activities too. In
2009 the decision was made to refurbish
and extend the dilapidated building and
re-build a magnificent leisure centre that
would be the envy of all Northern Ireland
leisure centres.
The new leisure centre truly offers a fantastic
mix of health, fitness and well-being
activities for the whole family, including
a 50 metre swimming pool, a dedicated
learner pool, a family fun pool and a flume.
A 120 station Pulse fitness suite offering a
mix of the latest cardiovascular, resistance
and freeweights equipment plus Pulse’s
gym management software SmartCentre, a
luxurious rejuvenating spa and a spacious
sports hall equipped to accommodate many
sports including badminton, basketball and
football. Plus, the centre also boasts a soft
play kingdom, children’s circuit gym, unique
interactive fitness suite and lots more!
Case Study Greenvale Leisure Centre
www.pulsefitness.com
Project management
The first objective for Pulse was to have a
clear and proactive communications strategy
during the development to influence and
engage key stakeholders. This was achieved
via digital media such as a 3d animation, a
facebook page, a micro website and email
campaigns. Outreach work and PR were
also key elements of the mix presenting
and sharing a visual representation of the
proposed new facility to key members of
the community via public speaking, press
communications and newsletters.
Using knowledge gained from their own
portfolio of clubs Pulse took on the role
to influence and provide opinion with
justification on design and layout for the
redevelopment to ensure that the facility
provided the correct mix of health and
fitness activities for the diverse range of
users, plus contained the best infrastructure
and technologies to ensure initial set-up
and ongoing operational costs were kept to
a minimum and ultimately would become
sustainable for the future.
Pulse also presented practical well considered
advice on fitness equipment selection,
interior design, branding, health and safety,
IT infrastructure, security, maintenance and
replacement costs.
The ongoing Pulse solution will include
all facility management issues such as
daily operational management, sales and
marketing, membership management,
retention, personnel recruitment and
accredited training.
Pulse was ideally placed as the management partner for Magherafelt District Council sharing synergy on deliverables, objectives and ultimately delivering an exclusive facility at an inclusive price to the local community.
Pulse services delivered
Pulse services delivered overview
Dedicated account manager
Site survey visit and report
Detailed business plan
Leisure consultant to the building refurbishment project
Equipment selection and layout advice
2d and 3d gym designs including interior branding
Sales and marketing management
Total operational management
Recruitment, appointment and management of 60 personnel
Health and safety management
Direct debit and member management
Web solution with online fitness class booking and member joining portal
Integrated Freeview television and iPod compatible fitness equipment
Energy efficient fitness equipment – saving of up to £3,000 per yr
Virtual trainer gym management software – SmartCentre
Unique children’s interactive fitness equipment
Exerp facility management software to support all aspects of a leisure facility including direct debit management, CRM, EPOS, timetabling etc
Access control system (Gantner RFID)
IT infrastructure
Comprehensive ongoing staff training program
Attractive service and maintenance program
Dedicated service engineer
Effective three phase sales and marketing strategyAn integral element of the Pulse contract was and is to provide a comprehensive and creative marketing plan that encompasses a new brand, pre-opening marketing initiative, launch activity and will support with ongoing marketing activities and promotional campaigns.
Pre-sales marketing activity
Pulse’s in-house design team created a
simple, striking and colourful Active brand
along with a set of coherent sub brands
each one representing a different activity or
service within the leisure centre. The new
brand is clearly visible across all marketing
communications and throughout the new
leisure centre.
A strong mix of digital media and print
marketing activities drove the innovative
pre-sales campaign which saw 1850
households (equating to over 9,000 adults
and children) join for the upfront payment
of £365 for the year.
Launching the new facility Print, ambient and broadcast media
advertising supported the opening and in
particular the opening weekend of
the new leisure centre. The opening
weekend saw 2000 visitors drawn to the
facility to participate in free swimming,
fitness taster sessions , group classes
and family fun activities.
All marketing activity continued to drive
the urgent call to action to join on the pre-
opening offer with an online countdown
prominent on the website and supported
with in-paper advertising.
Ongoing marketing and promotional campaigns The new facility is thriving on referral
generation due to its extensive membership
base and delivery of exemplary services.
To support this Pulse’s in-house web
team have created an informative website
which includes fitness class bookings and
membership join online capabilities.
Additionally Pulse has designed a suite of
promotional materials for the different
activities and services available, a quarterly
newsletter distributed to in excess of
33,000 households and a strong in-paper
advertising campaign.
At the moment all artwork produced
highlights the fantastic facilities available as
opposed to a traditional membership offer. In
time a promotional incentive or membership
offer may be required and Pulse is confident
they will be capable of delivering this -
benefiting from a trialled and tested campaign
from one of their other operational clubs.
In addition to the marketing plan, Pulse also
employs membership sales advisors and uses
the integrated technologies of SmartCentre
and Clublead to achieve positive interaction
and retention strategies with members.
Results10,550 members in 6 months
1850 households joined on the pre-opening offer
Business plan exceeded by 50%
A total membership base of 12,450
More than 1100 swimming lessons each week
More than 30 local schools participate in our swimming program each week
An average 35,000 visitors per month to the facility
Case Study Greenvale Leisure Centre
Pulse Fitness, The Bromley Centre, Bromley Road, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 1PTT: 01260 294610 E: [email protected] pulsefitness.com p
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Partnership working
The partnership between Magherafelt District
Council and Pulse commenced in 2004
when Pulse equipped the old fitness suite at
the existing leisure centre and took over the
responsibility for sales and marketing. Since
then the partnership has flourished; Pulse
has proactively been involved in all aspects of
the multi-million refurbishment project as a
leisure consultant steering and influencing the
delivery team to ensure the leisure demands
of today and tomorrow’s users would be met.
The latest contract signed in May 2012
sees Pulse appointed in the strategic post
of Leisure Management Company bringing
to the position more than 30 years of
experience and knowledge from the
leisure sector.
Partnerships are being forged in the local
community too with Pulse delivering the
benefits of a healthier and fitter lifestyle to
organisations such as schools, sports clubs
and local businesses.
“Appointing Pulse to operate Greenvale
Leisure Centre enables us to invest and
improve our resources in other key
recreational facilities in Magherafelt. We
are confident from our existing relationship
where Pulse has always delivered 101%
coupled with their wealth of experience
they will continue to deliver quality services
to the local community on our behalf,”
comments Andrew Cassells, Director of
Leisure at Magherafelt District Council.
“We have been pro-actively working in
partnership with the council for nearly
10 years, delivering the latest fitness
solutions and comprehensive sales and
marketing management. We are delighted
to be taking the partnership to the next
level and we are committed to running an
efficient and profitable facility that delivers
exemplary services at an affordable price
to the local community,” comments
Chris Johnson, Managing Director for Pulse.
Pulse were ideally placed as the management partner for Magherafelt District Council sharing synergy on deliverables, objectives and ultimately delivering an exclusive facility at an inclusive price to the local community.
“We are confident from our existing relationship Pulse will continue to deliver quality services to the local community on our behalf”