Indie digital creative shop AnalogFolk has been appointed experience agency of record for Equinox-owned Blink Fitness, which operates a chain of about 90 gyms across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and California. The win follows a review.
An unnamed person said that AnalogFolk also recently picked up work for Nike’s U.S. Football division but the agency declined to confirm or discuss that win. Nike did not return a request for comment.
The agency did post a video to its Instagram page that appears to show Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, a Nike ambassador, training.
As for Blink Fitness, AnalogFolk will handle digital experience and innovation across the business, including digital products and in-gym experience. The agency noted in a statement that there is “potential” for them to produce “campaign work down the line.” The account will be operated out of AnalogFolk’s New York office with its first work slated for a January release.
“We are thrilled to be working with Blink Fitness,” Kunal Muzumdar, managing director and partner at AnalogFolk, said in a statement. “It is rare to find partners that are truly focused on investing in future-forward experiences that redefine their category, and the Blink Fitness team is doing just that. Whether through the in-gym experience or digital innovation, we look forward to diving in and continuing the brand’s tremendous growth.”
Premier fitness brand Equinox launched Blink in 2011 as a more affordable membership-based gym option.
Sean Cosier, senior director of digital experience and innovation at Blink, said in a statement that the brand aims to lean “heavily on digital experience and innovation to differentiate our business” from the rest of the category.
“In AnalogFolk we found the perfect partner to join us on our journey,” Cosier added. “Their uncanny ability to balance strategy and creative, while maintaining a forward-thinking vision, was one of the many reasons they were the right agency for Blink to collaborate with.”
According to Kantar Media, Blink Fitness spent $623,000 on advertising last year and $63,000 in the first half of 2018. Nike spends about $51 million annually in the U.S., per Kantar research.