The Disneyland of Fitness

Running on a treadmill and taking pictures with Mickey Mouse seem to have few things in common. Yet when Equinox added spa services and celebrity DJ music to their state-of-the-art fitness center, it almost instantly became an industry leader. Both Equinox and Disney have the ability to enhance ordinary experiences by creating a lasting impression. To put it simply, they have what is called an integrative brand experience.

Since its opening about twenty years ago, Equinox has expanded into 65 locations around the country. Its $130-$200 per month fees are more than double the price of an equivalent membership at 24 Hour Fitness. Equinox hence specifically targets individuals with annual salaries of $100K+ and strategically offer locations near stock exchanges and metropolitan centers.

While both target fitness lovers, Equinox and 24 Hour Fitness inherently sell two different services: the latter is about product features and the other is about brand experience. Yet given an equal amount of spending, experiences generally tend to make people feel more satisfied than products (we remember that trip to Vegas more than the $200 dress we bought at a department store). So when people are sold a premium based on experience rather than on product features, the price becomes less of a factor.

So how does Equinox capture the experience-seekers?

In this case, price creates quality—higher membership fees mean less people crowded around machines and classes. This means newer machines, cleaner yoga mats, and more attentive trainers. Even the décor in the gyms resembles a modern retail boutique with its glass walls and harmonized colors. Let’s also add that they have refrigerated eucalyptus towels you can put against your neck when you need to freshly restart your workout.

Despite these perks, the brand experience doesn’t stop at fitness. Like Terry Richardson’s racy ads for Equinox, the brand stands for a lifestyle—as cliché as it sounds. It may be apt to notice here that the top management at Equinox come not from other fitness companies but from Victoria’s Secret, W Hotels, and yes, Disney ABC Television Group.

At Equinox, members people watch, listen to music, get pampered with a massage, shop for Kiehl’s scented hand cream, and sip organic drinks at the juice bar. Outside the gym, the social outlets like the Q blog and MyEQ app augments the experience beyond the five senses.

While some may understand Equinox’s value-added services as purely luxury benefits, they act on a principle called “Baker/baker paradox”. In short, we tend to forget things that lack context like the last name Baker, but we’ll remember the same person if he was a baker as a profession. The difference between 24 Hour Fitness and Equinox is that the latter is able to combine activities to form a network of memorable experiences.

The things we do at Equinox are parallel to what we do in real life. Creating that seamless association is vital to members wanting to make fitness a habit and for the brand to remain profitable. To sum up, an integrative brand experience connects the different activities of the company both online and offline, but more importantly, connects customers’ everyday life to the story of the brand.