Exposing the lies, steroid use, and unethical marketing.
Deceit is a foundation for much of the fitness industry.
Think back to the early 90s when television bombarded us with fitness infomercials. They sold us the idea that a simple piece of fitness equipment would give us abs in a matter of just “five minutes a day”.
Absolutely no scientific evidence was required. The only evidence we needed (apparently) was how amazing the fitness models in the advertising look.
Social proof is what we marketers call it.
Or bullshit.
It was probably the first time the models had used that piece of exercise equipment. Instead, they dedicate their lives…
It’s easier to market actors who actually look like superheroes.
The Rock is ridiculously muscular for a 48-year-old.
Born into this world as Dwayne Johnson, he is Hollywood’s biggest male star. According to Forbes, The Rock was the world’s highest-paid actor in 2020.
Hollywood has a history of casting muscular men in lead roles, going back to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone in the 1980s.
This trend is becoming even more prominent over the past ten years, as superhero films have taken over Hollywood. According to this list, there have been more than 50.
Is that what the consumer wants? Apparently so, because there were another eight released in 2020…
The publications where your writing is most likely to be seen.
Ultimately, we all want people to read our writing.
That’s why we write, right?
Sure, you can write journal entries to read to your cat, but this is Medium.
The problem is that most articles are lost in obscurity, lucky to make a couple of dollars.
Time is money. It takes time to write articles. Therefore, the bang for your buck is because you’re paying with your time.
Mind you, it’s harder to be published when publications accept few articles. But if you are, it’s like the holy grail writing—instant audience.
Hence this article and reach. I was interested in…
It’s a world of fake likes, bots, and celebrities endorsing products they've never used. Is influencer marketing still effective?
Influencer marketing is one of the biggest marketing trends for the past five years.
If you spend much time browsing Instagram or YouTube, no doubt you will have come across a celebrity with a sponsored post promoting some random brand.
The use of bots and fake accounts to artificially create a following have plagued the practice, many brands starting to question whether they receive real value for their spend.
As consumers, we’re also getting sick of inauthentic posts from celebrities endorsing products we know they would never use.
So, are influencers still relevant, or is the practice losing its credibility?
What is Influencer Marketing?
…
Be remembered, recognised, and liked by customers.
A common mistake from beginner marketers is confusing their business's brand image with their brand identity. I get it. They sound similar and are related concepts.
But they are not the same thing.
Brand identity is what we think our brand is, and the brand image is what customers believe our brand is.
This article explores what a brand identity is, its importance to a business in creating a reputation, and marketing strategies that a business can use to create and grow its brand identity.
How the brand identity influences the brand image
A brand’s identity is its intent to cultivate a specific image in consumers’ minds.
This…
12 ways to market your business on the internet.
The internet is a massive part of modern life. You’re might be thinking, “Thank you, Captain Obvious!”
You‘re reading this on the internet, after all.
We use the internet for all sorts of things — to socialise, learn, or entertain ourselves. It is where many of us spend a lot of our time.
Because we’re spending so much time online, the internet is a powerful tool for businesses to communicate with customers and potential customers alike.
This is called digital marketing, and there are many opportunities for businesses to put their brands out there are attract customers.
Where do we…
I guess nobody ever called the fitness industry ethical…
If you have any interest in fitness, then you probably know exactly who Gymshark are.
Even if you’re not into fitness, you might have been exposed to their marketing via social media or heard about their success.
The rise in popularity of fitness culture and Instagram has provided the perfect platform for Gymshark’s growth over the last decade.
An early adopter of influencer marketing, Gymshark used fitness personalities to showcase the Gymshark brand to their following. This established the credibility of the Gymshark brand quickly with its target customers.
Gymshark was cool.
But then there’s a problem.
Many of these…
Optimising recovery from exercise without overdoing the protein
How do we build muscle? By stressing muscle fibres through lifting heavy things and then consuming protein, our muscles recover stronger.
How much protein do we need? With anything gym related, differing opinions are depending on who you talk to. But the correct answer is not “as much as possible".
But the optimal amount is more than the average person is consuming.
This article talks about what science says about how much protein we need to build muscle and provides tips on how to get quality protein sources into your diet.
Protein builds muscle
Protein provides the nutritional foundation for muscle gain through…
How a nation‘s talent and passion for rugby became a $3+ Billion brand.
Despite a small population of around 5 million, New Zealand is the best in the world at rugby. The national team, the All Blacks, has become a famous popular brand around the world.
The All Blacks’ dominance transcends rugby; they’re arguably the world’s most consistently successful team across any sport, despite playing several games a year against top-ten ranked teams such as Australia and South Africa, home and away.
This success has led to an All Blacks brand valued as worth billions of dollars, with a US private equity firm looking to buy into New Zealand rugby.
How is New…
Flopping is out of control, and it’s ruining my experience watching basketball.
Flopping is a scourge on the NBA.
The regularity of players rolling around in agony, like they’ve been hit by a truck, has become worse (maybe) than soccer (football). It has become increasingly frustrating to watch — especially if you want LeBron to play.
Although many of his fans refuse to admit how much he flops, you can look to LeBron’s last two games for perfect examples, which we’ll get to.
Players are developing the skillset to bait refs into getting a call instead of getting better at basketball.
Flopping goes against the spirit of the game, but the benefits…
