PayAsUGym, the UK’s largest virtual gym chain, has appointed partnership marketing experts LIME Communications to manage its brand partnership program during 2018, after a successful trial at the end of 2017.

PayAsUGym first approached Lime in October 2017, asking them to approach relevant brands to help drive brand awareness and new customer acquisition. Since then, Tough Mudder, Gap Fit, O2 Priority, Simply Cook and eHarmony have signed up as partners, with more in the pipeline.

For the Tough Mudder relationship, PayAsUGym offered all Tough Mudder customers a 25% discount off a three month Monthly+ pass, while Tough Mudder offered all PayAsUGym customers 25% off Tough Mudder entry tickets. They also ran a joint competition with a prize of two Tough Mudder season passes, with everyone entering receiving a 25% discount off any future UK Tough Mudder event. The partnership was communicated across Tough Mudder’s newsletter, Facebook and Blog and across PayAsUGym’s social channels.

While no single UK gym operator has enough venues to serve a national customer base (even the largest gym chain only has around 150 clubs), PayAsUGym says it has built a network of 3,000 gyms and health clubs, which delivers scale and reach for brand partners.

Neil Harmsworth, COO & Co-Founder of PayAsUGym, says: “PayAsUGym is a unique proposition, and we are seeing a huge increase in customers looking for a gym services that offers total flexibility. We see partnerships being a huge part of helping us to raise awareness of what we have to offer in what is a very crowded and busy market place. We are really pleased to have Lime on board to help us achieve our objectives for the year ahead.”

Tim Hook, Head Of Brand Partnerships at Lime, adds: “Partnerships have become a huge focus for brands, due to the role they can play with helping drive brand awareness and acquisition, often at a fraction of the cost of traditional media. They also allow brands to talk to new audiences and unlock exciting and topical content and offers.”

PayAsUGym claims to be the UK’s largest virtual gym chain, with almost 3,000 participating gyms – almost half of all gyms and health clubs across the country – meaning it has a gym in 96% of postcodes in the UK

Consumers can use the network to exercise anywhere, anytime at thousands of gyms, pools, fitness classes and spas. They can sign up for unlimited membership to the whole network or pick and choose discounted day passes or bundles without the need to sign up to a contract with no admin, no induction process and the option to cancel anytime.

Lime Communications is a brand partnerships and sales promotion agency specialising in connecting brands with entertainment, sport and leisure. Clients include Mars, P&G, Pizza Express, Merlin, Rakuten and Interflora.

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