Reformer Pilates Advertising Strategy: Paid Media

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The Client

YMCA St Paul’s Group is a charity that operates across London and beyond, empowering young people and communities by providing the support, spaces and opportunities they need to thrive. Through fitness studios, sport and recreation facilities, and welcoming community hubs, they create inclusive environments that promote wellbeing and long-term positive impact.

One of the newest additions to their services is the launch of three modern Reformer Pilates studios in Wimbledon, Surbiton and Hawker, Kingston. Designed to support both seasoned Pilates enthusiasts and those new to Reformer Pilates, the boutique fitness studios offer an inclusive and welcoming space for people at every stage of their wellness journey.

The Goal

The aim of the Reformer Pilates advertising campaign was to introduce new audiences to YMCA St Paul’s Group and increase awareness of their studios through a cost-effective Black Friday promotion. By tapping into the growing demand for Reformer Pilates, the campaign set a clear target of 60 sales across the three studios, with the intention of converting new customers into long-term members and building lasting engagement beyond the brief campaign period.

The Strategy

Ads on Meta and Google Performance Max were used to deliver a highly targeted campaign tailored to each studio location during a highly competitive Black Friday period. The targeting strategy was built around YMCA St Paul’s Group’s ideal Reformer Pilates customer, supported by insights from previous campaign performance, to ensure the campaign reached audiences most likely to convert.

Insights from earlier campaigns showed that offer-led creative consistently outperformed more brand-focused messaging, driving a higher volume of conversions at a lower cost per acquisition. Acting on this insight, Bigwave developed bold Black Friday creative that leaned heavily into the offer, using clear and direct messaging to cut through the noise and create urgency amongst users.

The Results

Thanks to the compelling offer, creative strategy, and reactive optimisation, the Reformer Black Friday campaign exceeded expectations across all three studios. YMCA St Paul’s Group significantly surpassed their sales targets, achieving 162 new customers, more than 100 above the original target of 60.

Learnings from this success have since shaped a refined strategy, giving Bigwave and YMCA St Paul’s Group confidence that targets will be exceeded again in the January 2026 Reformer Pilates campaign.

Here's what YMCA St Paul's Group had to say about our service

Our experience working with Bigwave has been highly positive. The team consistently demonstrated strong strategic insight, prompt responsiveness, and a clear commitment to progressing campaigns to launch, even when initial challenges resulted in delays. As a charity, effective budget management is essential, and we greatly valued Bigwave’s careful consideration of this throughout the project. Their collaborative approach ensured that campaign impact was maximised while remaining within agreed financial parameters. We appreciate the professionalism, reliability, and partnership Bigwave has brought to our work together.

Sarah May Kershaw & Davina Travis
Head of Communications and External Relations & Marketing Business Partner

YMCA St Paul's Group

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