Zoom bags Canada's biggest fitness chain for Digital OOH expansion

June 20, 2011 by Dave Haynes

Zoom Media has bagged a nice deal in Canada to get its digital screens running in the country’s dominant fitness chain, GoodLife.

The high-definition overhead entertainment and digital signage system will run in some 275 venues and be operated by ClubCom, a subsidiary of the Montreal-based digital OOH company, reports Marketing magazine. The content will be developed by Zoom and tailored to addressable, individual GoodLifes.

Essentially, Zoom is launching a television network within gyms, says Zoom owner and CEO Francois de Gaspé Beaubien, adding that advertisers often provide the company with existing television commercials or material that’s already running online.

The Flexcast network allows advertisers to not only reach a captive audience, but also one that is affluent, healthy and active, says de Gaspé Beaubien, who has taken a more hands-on role within the company since the departure of former president and chief operating officer, Andy Querin.

de Gaspé Beaubien said he is in the process of looking for Querin’s replacement, and hopes to make a decision within the next eight weeks.

Actually, I think Zoom is also looking for a VP Sales, as the company also bingo’d media sales vet Dean Lacheur after a year and change in that position. There is no one listed in that role on the exec management team at the moment.

Zoom has been putting static billboards in the common areas and locker rooms of GoodLife for a decade, but this is the first use of digital by Zoom in there. I don’t know if digital has otherwise been used in that chain but do know from direct experience the concept has been raised with GoodLife for many years.

The GoodLife deal will mean, says Marketing, that Zoom Media will have a total of 1,600 digital screens in place by the end of this year.