Fahlgren Mortine

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Media interviews are a live demonstration of a brand’s positioning. Every answer a CEO gives either reinforces or dilutes the story the company has worked to build. The smallest moments often carry the most weight.   Recently, Planet Fitness CEO Colleen Keating was the subject in The New York Times’ Corner Office. Getting a feature in The New York Times' Corner Office is coveted. Thus, one would hope that landing such a placement comes with ample preparation. But for this CEO, it struck me as a missed opportunity to discuss how she brings their brand's positioning to life. Planet Fitness has built its brand as a judgement free zone. This positioning has been at the core of the national gym’s marketing and branding efforts since 1992. Early in the interview, Keating trumpets the chain’s “’judgment-free zone, no gym-timidation’ sense of community.” That’s why it’s confusing when later in the interview, in response to a question about what Keating bench presses, she responds: “Oh gosh, I think I’d be ashamed to share.” This response feels off brand. We expect our CEOs to embody the brands they lead, so it follows we would expect her response to be direct and unashamed. Whether she’s a power lifter or someone just starting her strength journey, a genuine response would have been both encouraging and on brand. If I were preparing a CEO today to ensure they could speak to their brand strategy and messaging, I would ask them these three questions: 1     – We know that the best test of a brand is how the customer experiences the product, service, organization, etc. So, let’s start with: how do you personally interact with the brand as a customer, a consumer and what is a story that illustrates your personal interaction? When asking this question, it would be easy to lean into preparing with “tell us about your exercise/workout program?” 2     – We’ve invested a lot in our brand; as the leader of that brand, why or how does our brand story resonate with you, in your own words? 3     – What are ways you see this brand that you’ve help build come to life every day? Questions #2 and #3 need to be answered conversationally, the way people actually talk to each other, not in “brand speak.” Throughout the rest of the Corner Office interview, Keating appears down-to-earth, member-focused and committed to her physical fitness. I’m confident that Keating and her team anticipated and prepared for questions about her own fitness program and in that preparation, it was possible to help her navigate to a more effective, genuine response than what she shared. Effective PR teams will guide careful and intentional leaders through an understanding of their brand that, once inhaled, will naturally and authentically come through in conversations, presentations and interviews.

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