2011 European Health Club Industry Web and Social Media Report

The 2011 European Health Club Industry Web and Social Media Report, supported by The Gym Group Consortium discusses the transformational affect that I believe the social web will have on the European health and fitness club industry. It is clear from the conferences that I participate in that there is an appetite among European health club operators to understand how the growth in the web, and especially the ‘social web’ can be harnessed.

The report brings together interviews from individuals both outside and inside the fitness industry, and a case study on charity: water, which is harnessing the social web to achieve remarkable things. It also discusses the findings from the industry’s first social media audit, capturing insights from 50 club brands across 10 countries. My thanks to the following people that helped compile the data:

•    Fred Hoffman, France

•    Arthur Huizer, Netherlands

•    Kirsty Matthews, Spain

•    Armando Moreira, Portugal

•    Gianluca Scazzosi, Italy

•    Jarek Semrau, Poland

•    Nickolai Tauscher, Germany

•    Leila Timergaleeva, Russia

The report also provides some social media guidelines for those in the early stages of embedding the social web into their organisations.

Free to download

As with my last report, the entire report is free to download from the Oxygen Think Tank. The Gym Group, along with some of its strategic suppliers, have sponsored the report which has allowed me time to research the social web in some depth. I believe that clubs, regardless of their size or geographic location, need to prepare themselves for how they will be harnessing the social web. To me, it therefore makes sense that the information should be freely available and not hidden behind a report fee.