How TPM Helped SCIENCED Athletics Build a Brand to Reach Athletes at All Levels
The Background
Seán McKeown found himself, along with dozens of his sports scientist, coaching, and physiotherapy practitioner colleagues, out of a job when Fortius Sport & Health unexpectedly announced its permanent closure in December 2020. The challenges of the pandemic had been too much for the nonprofit, but McKeown was certain a viable business model still existed.
He reached out to coworkers and clients alike and started spinning up ideas for his own business – a facility with a science-backed, integrated approach to sports and physical health. Seán wanted to democratize the expertise, technology, and application of sports science and make it available to anyone interested in improving their physical health instead of restricting it to professional athletes and Olympic competitors.
Seán secured a facility and the equipment he needed quickly and soon found himself with just five weeks to build a brand.
The Challenge
With the days ticking away to opening day, Seán knew he needed more than just the conversations he’d had with his Fortius clients to make the new business, which he called SCIENCED Athletics, a success.
His experience at Fortius was a jumping-off point for Seán’s vision. While Fortius had offered an approach to physical fitness that integrated physiotherapy, coaching and strengthening, and sports science, the only way for clients to access the full breadth of its programs was by purchasing add-on services.
Seán wanted to tear down silos between different areas of expertise and eliminate the idea of needing upgrades to get the best treatment plan. His vision was that experts from each discipline would be involved in creating a program suited to a client’s individual needs, with all the components of SCIENCED Athletics’ offerings working in harmony.
But with no digital experience or marketing background, Seán found himself struggling to even coherently convey this vision to others. Who was SCIENCED Athletics’ target audience? How would he reach them with his message? There was no way he could communicate it to a broader market.
He met with Total Product Marketing chief Dean Ara, expounded on his dream in a flood of technical and scientific jargon, and found a receptive ear. An experienced athlete himself, Dean recognized what Seán was trying to say and applied his marketing expertise to distill the concept into a core message. Seán had the beginnings of a brand.
The Solution
- Children and young people looking to improve their physical fitness
- Manual laborers with repetitive stress injuries
- Professional athletes seeking a competitive edge
- Older adults dealing with degenerative conditions and hoping to maintain their independence
The language on the page TPM produced was clean and simple enough to reach people in need of his services to improve their health and quality of life, but not so basic that it would drive away the experienced athletes he hoped to work with. It was clear; it was engaging; it was accessible. Seán was sold.
He tapped TPM to take over the task of establishing an online presence, identifying the demographics he needed to reach, and building campaigns that would engage those audiences.
The Audience
The Brand
The Website
The Promotion
The Results
When the time came for SCIENCED Athletics to open its doors to the public, Seán was not disappointed. Interest in the new business was healthy – especially given that it was starting during the heart of the pandemic. The company took in $50,000 in revenue in its first quarter, a figure that was heavily boosted by former Fortius clients signing up for ongoing treatment plans. Seán expected it would be the company’s strongest quarter for a while.
But TPM’s push for social media promotion had not been wrong. SCIENCED Athletics’ revenue grew 25% in the first four months after the social media campaign launched. By 2023, SCIENCED Athletics was hitting the $50,000 milestone from its inaugural quarter every month.
vs. and industry average of $4.01; via Google
Client Profiles
