Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. fitness industry was in flux—home workouts had become the norm, and gyms were struggling to reassert their relevance. Our challenge: reposition Equinox, a luxury fitness brand, during a pivotal moment of cultural and industry recovery.
In a competitive pitch judged by creative directors and professionals from agencies like Wieden+Kennedy and BBDO, our team won in a landslide. The project was praised for its bold insight, strategic clarity, and creative execution.
—
Client: Equinox, conceptual campaign pitch created as part of my graduate coursework in Advertising and Brand Responsibility
Year: 2021
Project Credit:
Collaboration between Trent Birch, Gillian Hazelton ,Kate Thompson, Sydney Volchok, and myself
Deck design by Leah Olson
Strategic Insight
We identified a cultural tension around selfishness—a behavior traditionally viewed negatively, but now ripe for redefinition. Our strategy flipped the narrative: selfishness isn’t shameful. In fact, it’s the ultimate investment.
Equinox would become the brand that validates, reflects, and celebrates this mindset.
Audience Segmentation
The Aspirers
Always on, always seen; their lives are a performance.
Life is a game, and they play to win.
Purposefully selfish, investing in themselves as a statement of value.
VO:
"Aspirers are concerned with their own welfare, and they are very (if not excessively) interested and invested in themselves—the way they look, the places they go, the people they rub elbows with.
They are deeply dedicated to themselves and their own success. They might also be called egocentric, egoistical, self-centered, self-obsessed, and narcissistic. And that doesn't bother them one bit."
Strategic Objectives
1. Embrace Selfishness
Show audiences that Equinox reflects their lifestyle and mentality.
Overcome the perception of exclusivity by aligning with their values and aspirations.
Overcome the perception of exclusivity by aligning with their values and aspirations.
2. Invest in Selfishness
Drive membership purchases by reframing Equinox as a high-value, high-return investment.
Counter the convenience of at-home fitness with the prestige and experience of in-person luxury.
Counter the convenience of at-home fitness with the prestige and experience of in-person luxury.
3. Celebrate Selfishness
Sustain engagement by making selfishness culturally desirable. Position Equinox as the brand that champions this shift.
VO:
“It is entirely fair to say that Society views our target market as selfish.
Society tells us that “selfishness” is a culturally undesirable quality. So, if someone tells you that "You are being selfish," there is no doubt that you have just been criticized.” Society says that if you are being selfish, you're a jerk.
Selfishness gets a lot of bad press.
Some even go so far as to say that “selfishness is the most unattractive virtue a mortal can possess.”
Society tells us that being selfish is wrong. They say that if someone is taking care of themselves, looking out for number one, then they are not a team player, they are not supporting the community, they don’t give a damn. They are selfish.
And that is amoral.
But selfishness is not always a transaction. It is not always “this for that.” It is not always at someone else’s expense.
Sometimes it is just about you. Keeping you healthy, strong, and primed. Looking out for your everyday, caring for the center of your universe, and keeping it in balance.
Society says that a world that revolves around you is wrong. But it is YOUR world, your universe. And it all revolves around you. The fact is that YOU are the single most important part of your world. Because without you, your world doesn’t exist. So, yes, it is about being concerned with your own welfare, being interested in yourself. But it is also about dedicating the resources (time, energy, and money) necessary to maximize one’s personal well-being and success—creating and sustaining a world where you are primed to thrive.
And in that spirit, taking a moment, minute, hour, day, just to take care of you isn’t wrong.
In fact, it is critical. So embrace selfishness.”
Creative Execution
“Embrace Selfishness”
Sidewalk Infinity Mirror Installations
Symbolizing endless self obsession and ambition
“Rolex Fit” Collaboration
Reinforcing luxury, timelessness, status, and selfishness as an investment
VO:
“For our second tactic, our objective is to get Aspirers to purchase Equinox memberships. Now, as Gillian mentioned earlier that with the pandemic, people got pretty comfy in their at-home gyms. So we need to convince our audience that there is value to selfishness investments, and Equinox is right up there with the best investments.
And we can do that by aligning our brand with one of the most notorious and well-respected brands on the planet. A brand synonymous with luxury: Rolex.
Not many people have them. Everybody wants one.
For over a century, Rolex has been crafting the most beautiful, coveted, and collectible watches on the planet.
We couldn’t think of a better pairing: world-class watches and world-class fitness. Which is why we are partnering with Rolex to create the first-ever, best-in-class, limited edition Rolex fitness tracker: Rolex Fit.”
The Equinox Gala
Selfishness deserves to be celebrated
Campaign rollout
