Planet Fitness has named Brian Povinelli as chief marketing officer, effective Feb. 10, per a press release. A marketing executive with more than 30 years of experience at brands and agencies, Povinelli joins the gym chain from Marriott International, where he served as global head of marketing and brand.
In addition, Planet Fitness appointed Wyndham Hotels & Resorts executive Chip Ohlsson as chief development officer. Both executives have experience helping consumer-facing brands expand while collaborating with franchisees, the announcement said.
“Their collective skills and expertise will be critical as we continue to execute our strategic imperatives, including accelerating club openings, redefining our brand strategy and pulling it through our marketing to leverage our size, scale and industry leadership,” said Planet Fitness CEO Colleen Keating in a statement.
Povinelli was described as having extensive know-how leveraging data and insights to drive growth — a key skill for executives who are increasingly called upon to manage data-driven marketing efforts in the face of proliferating regulations.
At Marriott, Povinelli managed a marketing budget of over $1 billion and was responsible for partnerships and demand generation in the U.S. and Canada, as well as loyalty, portfolio and brand marketing. He also interacted with franchisees, which could prove useful at his new gig, as 90% of Planet Fitness locations are owned and operated by independent business people.
“Planet Fitness is an iconic and differentiated brand with broad demographic appeal. I look forward to joining the company at this pivotal moment for the brand and am excited to work with the team to strengthen the brand’s leadership position and expand access to fitness and wellness for all,” Povinelli said in a statement.
Planet Fitness at the end of 2024 had approximately 19.7 million members in 2,722 clubs across the U.S., Canada, Panama, Mexico, Australia and Spain. In Q3 2024, the company’s same club sales grew by 4.3% and it delivered 5.3% revenue growth. The company named redefining its brand strategy and pulling it through marketing a top priority in a call discussing the earnings results with investors.
“We’re evolving our strategy to go beyond getting people off the couch. We’re broadening our audience to include current and previous members, non-members and competitive members,” Keating said on the call. “We continue to see a significant percentage of our joins who are former fitness members, so we want to convey that we welcome beginners and returning gym-goers.”
To that end, Planet Fitness late last year launched a new brand platform, “We’re All Strong on This Planet.” The campaign included a 30-second spot created by Special U.S. and directed by Nina Meredith that focused on a diverse group of gym-goers with different fitness goals.
