Firm Scales Up Online Pr Efforts After Vandalism

Winter Haven Gold’s Gym Nets Positive Response

(WINTER HAVEN, Fla.)  Early in the morning of April 13, an unknown vandal dumped a five gallon bucket of fish guts just outside the front door of Gold’s Gym on Cypress Gardens Boulevard. The mess seeped into the front lobby of the health club, causing a major stench and requiring professional clean-up. The gym’s marketing and public relations firm, Tallahassee-based BowStern Marketing and Communications, decided to put a positive spin on the event by taking to the gym’s Facebook page with a pun-filled post focusing on making a best of the fishy situation.

Sharing a picture pulled from the gym’s security camera, the public relations firm asked fans of the page to help catch the culprit by sharing the picture and offering a one-year membership to anyone who let them know who the perpetrator was. Captioned with puns like, “Help us cast a wide net and share this photo for all to sea,” the picture was shared more than 30 times and seen by more than 3,000 people in the first 24 hours.

“The challenge was to take a really unpleasant experience for the gym and its members and make it positive,” said Kelly Robertson, CEO of BowStern. “By acknowledging the situation quickly and working to engage fans and members in a humorous way, we were able to mitigate any negative feedback or criticism Gold’s Gym Winter Haven may have received.”

Fans of the gym’s Facebook page applauded the gym for the clean-up effort and for the clever online response, commenting “Catchy and clever write up,” and “You are cracking me up, if I wasn’t already a member, I would join.” Other fans got onboard with the puns and offered their own like, “The puns keep getting Betta” and “I hope this guy feels gill-ty.”

“Competition among fitness centers and gyms can be fierce,” said Dave Gurnsey, Owner of Gold’s Gym Winter Haven. “We’ve long been a leader in this community and won’t let anyone bait us into looking anything other than exceptional.”

To view the full comment thread, click http://on.fb.me/1JtOpOC or visit Facebook.com/GoldsGymWinterHaven.

For more information on BowStern’s work, visit BowStern.com or email krobertson@bowstern.com.

BowStern Marketing Communications
BowStern is a fully integrated marketing firm headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida. The company specializes in producing award-winning, creative concepts to effectively communicate messages to audiences across a variety of industries including fitness, healthcare, housing, transportation and education.

Golds Gym Winter Haven
Golds Gym Winter Haven is a leader in the fitness and health club industry in Polk County. The facility is open 24 hours a day, offering personal training, group fitness and full amenities. Golds Gym Winter Haven opened in 2001 and is locally-owned.