- Brian Morrissey

NEW YORK Equinox has relaunched its Web site with an eye toward extending its ties to customers beyond the time they spend in its gyms.
 
As part of the new Equinoxfitness.com, members can access tools that enable them to book exercise bikes, set workout goals and manage their training plans. They can even download the playlists used during their classes via Apple's iTunes online music store.
 
The premise of the new site is to fuse Equinox's online presence with that of its gyms, which justify their high price points through service, design and integration with patrons' lifestyles, said David Geller, vp of marketing at Equinox.
 
"We wanted the site to be a daily destination for our members and a source where they could harness their personal and fitness lives," he said.
 
To do that, Equinox digital agency Organic crafted MyEq, an application designed to increase the value of members' workouts. MyEq features an option to create personalized training plans that can be synched with Outlook. Users also can get text message alerts reminding them of workouts.
 
Such a tool not only increases the value of an Equinox membership, it also provides an entree into Equinox's personal training services, said Conor Brady, ecd at Organic, which spent months visiting Equinox clubs to observe their culture.
 
"It's a way to get people into that mind-set of structured training," he said.
 
Equinox caters to a high-end clientele. Its average member has a household income exceeding $150,000 and holds a white-collar job like banker or lawyer, Geller said. Membership costs in New York can top $150, in addition to an initiation fee.
 
Organic urged Equinox to move beyond the "brochureware" favored by most competitors and use its Web presence to go beyond just showing off the gym and also giving members useful tools.
 
"It's interesting that a brand like this will invest in creating an application," he said. "It becomes a premium service for its members."
 
With members coming to it by and large several times a week, Equinox can weave itself more into their lifestyle, Geller said. It is working on a section of the site, for instance, that will feature content from leaders in design, technology and fashion.

"Our members have been asking us how Equinox can be more integrated into their lives," he said.