Local marketing is one of the most powerful tools for gym growth in 2025. It’s how gyms earn visibility, drive foot traffic, and turn everyday community touchpoints into brand-building moments.
Whether you’re operating a franchise location or an independent club, showing up in the lives of the people who live nearby, through schools, cafés, parks, or events, creates a real, lasting impact.
In this blog, you’ll find real examples of how top gym brands are executing powerful local strategies and how you can do the same:
- See how Planet Fitness used guerrilla tactics like life-sized cutouts to grab attention in public spaces.
- Learn how Crunch Fitness co-branded with cafés to attract foot traffic from shared audiences.
- Explore how Planet Fitness’s teen summer pass brought in students and built long-term trust with families.
- How Orangetheory Fitness Hinsdale–Willowbrook hosted a 10-year anniversary event with themed workouts, local vendor prizes, and special perks, bringing in both members and new signups.
- Get inspired by Barry’s premium print strategy, placing sleek trial passes inside apartment welcome kits.
Let’s dive in.
1. Guerrilla Marketing Campaigns
The most memorable local marketing doesn’t feel like marketing at all. It feels like discovery. That’s how guerrilla campaigns work: they surprise people in public spaces, trigger curiosity, and make your brand part of their everyday environment.
Planet Fitness, for instance, ran a creative public installation in Canada featuring life-size Sasquatch cutouts to reinforce its “Judgement Free Zone” message. Installed in high-traffic downtown Toronto spots in January 2024, these cutouts invited passersby to take photos and share on social media, sparking viral conversation and leading to 52 million+ impressions.
What made it effective:
- Visual punch: Sasquatch is unexpected—people stopped to look.
- Shareability: The cutouts naturally invited users to photograph and post.
- Brand message: Reinforced Planet Fitness’s inclusive, fun identity.
How you can replicate it:
- Choose a theme or mascot relevant to your brand (e.g., a friendly fitness character).
- Place it in areas with heavy foot traffic near your gym.
Include subtle branding and a solid call-to-action (like a QR code or hashtag). - Be ready to assist and casually distribute free trial invites from the location.
2. Hyper-Local Business Collaborations That Multiply Reach
One of the fastest ways to grow your gym’s footprint locally is by teaming up with businesses your members already visit. Coffee shops, wellness stores, and salons are nearby and trusted. When your gym aligns with a local favorite, you benefit from built-in credibility and exposure to an overlapping audience.
Crunch Fitness has leaned into this marketing strategy across several locations by launching co-branded “Sweat & Sip” activations. After morning workouts, members receive punch cards redeemable for discounted drinks at participating cafes, and in turn, cafe customers get access to trial class passes or discounted memberships.
Why this works:
- Encourages a post-workout routine that’s actionable and memorable
- Cross-promotions reach audiences through physical touchpoints like printed vouchers
Reinforces lifestyle branding (“fitness + wellness”) by connecting food and fitness
How you can replicate it:
- Identify 2–3 close-by cafes, juice bars, or wellness spots.
- Co-design a digital voucher or discount code (e.g., “Get a free smoothie after 3 workouts”).
- Display co-branded materials at both locations.
- Promote the partnership using posters, counter signage, banners + notifications on your gym app, and social media posts.
- Track conversions via voucher scans or tear-off sections linked to membership uptakes.
If you want to explore this strategy in more depth, with real examples and execution tips, head over to our blog: 20 Inspiring Gym Partnership Ideas You Need to Replicate
3. Community Pop-Ups That Put You in the Middle of Local Life
Community events provide a way to engage people outside your member base and strengthen your brand’s visibility within the neighborhood. But not all events are created equal. The ones that convert are those that feel genuinely useful, well-planned, and tied to a larger local cause or celebration.
For instance, Orangetheory Fitness Hinsdale–Willowbrook (Illinois) hosted a full-day community celebration to mark 10 years of operations. The event included special themed workouts, healthy snacks, and raffle prizes from local partner businesses. Both members and the general public were invited, and those who joined during the month received a VIP welcome kit with exclusive perks.
Why this works:
- Celebrated a meaningful milestone with the local community.
- Created a no-pressure environment for trial and conversion.
- Strengthened partnerships with local vendors through co-promotion.
- Provided a clear reason for walk-ins to sign up immediately.
How you can replicate it:
- Tie your event to an anniversary, new class launch, or seasonal theme.
- Involve nearby vendors — think massage demos, smoothie tastings, or DJ sets.
- Offer event-only sign-up benefits and promote them ahead of time.
- Use print materials (flyers, invites, posters) to build hype weeks in advance.
If you want to learn more about how to build a strong community around your gym, check out this blog: 4 Best Practices to Build a Fitness Community at Your Gym
4. Presence at Local Schools, Colleges, and Youth Sports
Schools and teens represent both an immediate and future market for gyms. When your gyms support student wellness, especially through no-cost initiatives, you position themselves as part of the solution, not just a business. And those relationships often convert into long-term memberships as teens graduate or bring in family.
Smart engagement with the youth community builds reputation, relevance, and parent interest for years to come.
Planet Fitness has been running the High School Summer Pass™ for several years, and it continues to be one of the most successful youth engagement strategies in fitness. Teens aged 14–19 are invited to work out for free at any Planet Fitness location across the U.S. and Canada between June and August.
In 2024 alone, over 3 million teens participated, logging 12 million+ workouts. Participating gyms posted flyers at schools, reached out to PE teachers, and ran local sign-up drives. Some even bundled the initiative with giveaways — from water bottles to school supplies — making the gym a hub for youth activity during the summer.
Why It Works:
- Provides structure and activity during school breaks.
- Builds early brand loyalty with both teens and their families.
- Creates community goodwill that carries over into the school year.
How you can replicate it:
- Partner with local schools to distribute flyers or guest cards.
- Invite student athletes or PE classes for demo workouts.
- Offer free summer access for teens with valid school ID.
- Host mini “fit camps” or challenge weeks with printed scorecards, stickers, and giveaways.
5. Print Marketing Campaigns
Print still has an incredible impact, especially when it’s beautifully designed and placed where the right people live or spend time.
Barry’s Bootcamp, for instance, has strategically partnered with high-end apartment complexes in urban hubs like New York, Los Angeles, and London. As part of move-in gifts or lobby giveaways, new residents receive printed Barry’s trial class passes, often embossed or paired with branded swag like towels or water bottles. These cards are presented in sleek envelopes or welcome kits, elevating the perceived value of the offer.
Why it works:
- Targets high-income, health-conscious renters who live nearby.
- Makes the gym feel aspirational and aligned with premium lifestyles.
- Requires no extra digital step — it’s a physical invitation people are likely to use.
How you can replicate it:
- Partner with nearby apartment managers or real estate agents to include your gym trial card in their move-in welcome kits.
- Design premium-looking cards — thick stock, embossed logo, or minimal matte finish to make the offer feel exclusive.
- Bundle the pass with a useful item like a branded towel, water bottle, or key tag to increase retention and value.
Conclusion
You don’t need a massive budget or a flashy campaign to win members. You just need to be consistent, creative, and visible in the places your audience already lives, shops, studies, and moves.
But local marketing is just one part of the puzzle. To really grow, you need a plan, one that brings together brand, audience, channels, budget, and execution into a cohesive system.
In our next blog, we’ll walk you through exactly how to build a complete gym marketing strategy for 2025, step by step. From setting goals and mapping out your audience to aligning your local campaigns with digital efforts, we’ll show you how to create a marketing engine that actually works.
Read here: How to Build a Gym Marketing Strategy That Works in 2025
