As the Southern hemisphere experienced a change in season – from winter to spring – on September 22nd, the Northern parts of the world entered autumn. The transition, known as the autumnal equinox, from summer to fall in the North marks the beginning of a season filled with festivals and celebrations in the United States. With important holidays like Thanksgiving and Halloween around the corner, it’s time to draw up plans for promoting your brand and bringing in more members to your gym. Here are a few ideas to help you with your fall promotion:

Halloween

Although fitness and Halloween are not connected in any way, clever marketing during this season can help you succeed in promoting your gym. You can try something simple like offering discounts on registration fees, free products for every new member that is referred, or even a choice of service free with every registration.

Why not hold a costume contest among existing members to improve retention rates? Try to make it a month-long contest, in which you take pictures of members when they get to the gym in their favorite Halloween costumes. Give out a prize on Novembers 1st for the best costume.

You can also extend the Halloween costume contest to non-members too. Select a designated day and time. Send out flyers a couple weeks in advance that show the top 3 winning prizes and other incentives that will be given away for free for the best fitness costume. On this day, you can even invite other local residents, that do not want to dress in costume, to try out your gym by offering a free workout session or physical assessment in exchange for bringing in their favorite Halloween candy. Then give the Halloween candy away to a local church or charity that helps provide children with a safe environment for trick and treating.

Fall Back Time Change

Come November 3rd, most states will welcome the Fall Back Time Change, which marks the end of daylight savings. Promote your gym using this theme by distributing flyers within a certain radius of the gym. Try attracting new members by offering a free 1-2 weeks pass along with a session with a personal trainer and a holiday survival guide for the fitness conscious.

Make a huge promotion by offering a 60% off on registration for a limited period of time on this day, so as to make the most of the extra hour the day brings. You can even try using witty slogans asking your audience not to "fall back" to their regular, unhealthy routine during the following holiday season.

Veteran’s Day

One of the best ways you can bring in more members to your gym and honor our military personnel is through a Veteran’s Day organized fund-raiser. For instance, you can hold a "Boot Camp" training week for non-members and members alike and contribute 50% of the proceeds from registration go to charity. Choose a charity that helps war veterans and their families. Some organizations that make a huge difference in the lives of our veterans and their families include are Home for Our Troops, Operation Homefront, and the Wounded Warrior Project.

Thanksgiving

This holiday opens new doors for gym owners to promote their brand in a completely different way. As we all know, Thanksgiving means plenty of calorie-rich food, which eventually results in additional pounds for gym members. You can get members involved by asking them to each contribute healthy Thanksgiving recipes of their choice and then compile the list into a book. Bring your brand into the spotlight by organizing a fund-raiser selling the book.

Why not submit an article on Thanksgiving and fitness to a popular fitness website? This is sure to help you gain some publicity, as you will be able to reach a huge audience. You can even try something simple like a new holiday-themed advertisement. For instance, come up with a brand new slogan that fits with Thanksgiving and get it printed in a direct mail campaign or promote it over social media.

Black Friday

The biggest shopping day in America, Black Friday may not be the best day for business for most health clubs. However, you can turn it around by coming up with clever promotion ideas. Since most consumers are going to spend their money on products, try partnering with a local departmental store. For instance, you can offer a free registration or discount coupon for certain fitness products they sell.

Try beating your own history of discounts by offering higher discount percentages on registration for a limited period of time. But make sure you plan your opening hours to make it convenient for people who need to finish their Black Friday shopping.

Over to you…

What is your has been your best autumn promotion or marketing campaign?