What is Gymshark?
Gymshark is a fitness apparel company based in the UK. The company composes one of the biggest rags to riches stories of our time. Founder and now CEO Ben Francis started from scratch in his garage with the plan of making fitness shirts that he would like to wear to the gym. Ever since presenting at fitness convention Body Power Expo Gymshark took off receiving immense popularity around the globe.
How did influencer marketing develop at Gymshark:
How did Ben manage to grow the fitness brand with the help of influencer marketing into what it is known as now with a valuation of well over one billion dollars. One reason is that Francis and his team took a fundamentally different marketing approach to anything known at the time. Concentrating on building a fitness community through influencer marketing instead of direct marketing. Characteristics they searched for were: Active on social media, into fitness and spreading a positive message.
Exclusivity was key for gathering a pool of fitness influencers!
Through recruiting people to their Gymshark ambassador program Gymshark gathered a crowd of people pushing to improving themselves. Additionally, those ambassadors each had a community of followers with interests that aligned with Gymsharks target audience. From an influencer standpoint becoming Gymshark ambassador is on invite only which makes it highly attractive and something special. Finally, The brand started sending influencers apparel and paid them to on their social media channels: Influencer Marketing was born.
What makes the concept so successful in the fitness apparel industry?
Concluding, to me the main factor of their influencer marketing is community, going to the gym with fellow athletes, amateurs and people striving for greatness. It is a place full of respect for effort, inspiration and admiration for one another’s fitness. As a result, I think that is what set Gymshark apart, they understood those basic values and suited their influencer marketing accordingly. Finally, that approach led them to being one of the biggest fitness focused brands in the world.
