Faced with two separate business models for fitness innovator Crunch and working closely with Crunch’s in-house design and marketing teams, IdeaWork had a myriad of site development challenges with which to contend. However, with over five years’ experience working with Crunch, and extensive knowledge of Crunch’s complex systems and inner-workings, IdeaWork was uniquely qualified for this undertaking.
“There are two brands of Crunch: the large gyms owned by Crunch, and the smaller, individual franchises, called Crunch Essentials,” says Jay Schwartz, owner and founder of IdeaWork Studios. “These brands have different offerings, which need to be clearly illustrated. Our objective was to accomplish this, as well as cater to the needs of existing members, making the site useful and purposeful for all of them. The work was very complex and intricate, and we’re really pleased with the finished product.”
The result is a website that provides highly personalized content for new users and visitors, based on chosen location, as well as member specific content, focusing on what members want to see. Each Crunch location is customized for its specific offerings, showcasing classes, schedules, and booking options. A ‘nearby gyms’ widget is also integrated, giving even more options to users, and relevant Crunch specials and sign-up deals are tailor-served. Members can create a personalized iCrunch account, where they can manage and track their gym activities, “favorite” classes, instructors, and trainers, reserve classes online, create and track goals, and pay. On this hyper-personalized side, members will see their individual dashboard, and promotions and updates specific to their favorite classes, keeping the focus on relevant content for specific site user types.
“The benefits this new site provides to our members are extraordinary,” says Christina DeGuardi, SVP of Marketing, Branding and Communications at Crunch. “It also empowers us to better serve our members and to more effectively acquire new customers. The customized content management system has streamlined our business processes exponentially. Ideawork’s understanding of our business and our brand is an incredible asset to us and that was so important to the development of our new site. The site itself was a huge undertaking, it truly was a catalyst for improving how we do business both in the club and online every day.”
IdeaWork Studios was awarded four prestigious awards in 2012 for additional work on behalf of CRUNCH Fitness, including the CRUNCH Fitness Gym Finder for Facebook, which earned a Gold ADDY Award from the Coastal California ADDY Awards as well as an award from The American Web Design Awards, hosted by Graphic Design USA. Furthermore, the CRUNCH Shoot Me. Please and CRUNCH 21 microsites were both Gold Award Winners at The Horizon Interactive Awards.
IdeaWork Studios, Inc. is a full-service interactive agency headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, with offices in New York, and Las Vegas. IdeaWork prides itself on being the antidote to the big agency experience, proving that big things can come from small offices; the team focuses on excellence and efficiency, delivering big agency-quality work, but without the big agency bureaucracy. IdeaWork specializes in fitness, hospitality, nightlife, gaming, luxury, and entertainment industries. For more information visit them online www.ideawork.com, or like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ideawork.