Bally & Zoom Media & Marketing Exclusive Long Term Media Agreement

Gail Chiasson, North American Editor

Bally, one of the world’s largest fitness organizations with U.S. head office in Chicago, has signed a long-term agreement whereby Zoom Media and Marketing – recent purchaser of ClubCom – becomes Bally’s exclusive provider of customized digital media solutions as well as Bally’s exclusive advertising sales & promotional partner.

The deal marks a major expansion with Zoom, which already had 1,800 static billboards and 800 backlits in changing rooms and common areas in Bally’s fitness locales. Zoom will now add 1,500 digital screens to include all 350 Bally locations across the U.S..

The Bally digital media network (Bally TV) will include overhead audio-visual entertainment, personal entertainment programming, and digital signage.

“People coming in will have musical entertainment from our overhead screens, chosen from our bank of 75,000 music videos, and with advertising every quarter-hour, ” says François de Gaspé Beaubien, Zoom chairman. “And then they’ll have their local screens giving internal messages and ads without audio while they’re working out. The agreement also gives us exclusivity for all forms of advertising and promotion and even sampling.”

Zoom will provide advertisers with systematically integrated advertising and sponsorship opportunities throughout each of the digital programming offerings. Overall, the Bally network will be one of the largest private digital media networks in the U.S. with over 10 million monthly viewers captivated for nearly 90 minutes per viewing for a yield of over 180 million annual viewing hours.

“The creation of the Bally TV Network in association with ClubCom and Zoom Media will tremendously enhance our members’ experience and provide a unique platform for educating our members,” says Stephanie Burnham, associate vice-president of marketing and planning for Bally.

The addition of Bally brings to almost 1,200 the number of ClubCom gyms in the United States and 2,000 around the world.

Dennis Roche, U.S. president of Zoom Media and Marketing, New York, says, “Adding Bally to the ClubCom digital network gives Zoom an unparalleled national platform for advertisers interested in reaching the fitness audience.”

The Bally digital media network will be fully installed and integrated beginning late Fall and completed by the early Spring of 2009.

Bally operates full service fitness centers offering expansive strength and cardiovascular training areas as well as extensive personal training, group exercise and nutritional consulting and services.


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