“But you don’t do this exact work anymore, right?”
She looked at the floor. “No. I don’t.”
Salsa music played in the kitchen and Valentina sang along off-key. From the backyard, Gabe heard the sounds of hammering. One of the projects Dominic had alluded to?
Gabe was hungry, but Michelle was giving him an expectantlook. She seemed so pleased with herself, he sat on the sofa without any further questions.
Michelle started with an analysis of the research, throwing around terms likesocial listening,unmet needs, andgaps in the marketplace.
“New York City is a crowded market for gyms,” she explained. “You want to show your consumers that you have a differentiated approach that will meet their needs better than your competitors will.”
Gabe nodded. He vaguely remembered this stuff from when they’d launched Agility in LA, but, of course, Fabian had been in charge of this part, and Powell had weighed in heavily with his ideas.
Michelle continued by highlighting the opportunity to refresh the brand with a new logo, a revamped website, and a clearer mission statement, to reach the people Gabe really wanted to help. The storyboard included mock-ups of potential designs.
“We’d have to market-test them with consumers,” Michelle explained. “But it’s a start.”
Then she focused on the second section of her pitch, The Idea.
“The focus of your gym is on helping people achieve a full range of movement, right? Let’s lean into that for the ad campaign, getting aerialists and contortionists and the like and photographing them in regular fitness wear and working out on gym equipment. And we’ll get people in a range of ages and body types, races and ethnicities, genders and abilities, to show that your gym is inclusive and everyone is welcome there.”
The board included a brainstorm of taglines, like “Bodies in motion stay in motion,” “A movement solution for every body,” and “Harmony of movement.” He liked all of them better than “Agility can be yours!” He was pretty sure Powell’s team had come up with that.
Michelle launched into the Activation Plan, spinning out a story using the visuals on the board.
“People pay for experiences,” she said. “For the launch, let’s invite them into the gym for a live experience. You know those immersive theater shows where audiences are included within the performance itself? We could work with a theater company to conceive the story and characters, and get an athletic brand to sponsor the costumes, which will just be gym clothes with their logo on it. The performers will be like the ones in your ads, but people will see them come alive here, interacting with the gym and the equipment. It can be a story of movement, of achieving full range of motion. Consumers will associate this story with the Agility brand. And maybe you hold the event every so often as a surprise, like a secret pop-up performance. New Yorkers love a live show, but they especially love one that’ll give them bragging rights.”
Michelle finished with a rundown of final suggestions, then waved her hands with a flourish. “And there you have it. Agility Gym takes New York.”
Gabe’s mind whirled with the images and ideas she’d presented. He could see it so clearly, and it excited him more than anything marketing-related ever had before. Trung, who managed Agility’s client schedule, would be ideal to take part inthe campaign, and Gabe was sure they’d love the chance to get back to their acrobatic roots. Michelle was a genius.
“Wow. I just... wow, Mich. This is way more than I expected, especially after only a few days.”
Her smile was a little sad. “I like doing this.”
“And you’re amazing at it.” This felt important to tell her. Gabe knew she’d been burned in the past, but she had a gift for this kind of work.
“But you haven’t said yet if you think it’s the right direction,” she pointed out.
He hadn’t. Because as much as Gabe loved the idea, he could already imagine Powell’s reaction. The investor likely wouldn’t think it was “cool” enough. He’d insist on more celebrities, more idealized bodies, more flash. Michelle’s idea got to the core of what Gabe had set out to do. Unfortunately, it didn’t match what the gym actually was.
Although it did match what he’d always wanted it to be.
That was when it hit him. He was still getting steamrolled, still letting someone else influence his decision-making. When he’d been younger, his dad had made all the choices for their family. Gabe had been forced to go along with them, regardless of what he wanted. School, friends, baseball, college—his dad had placed all of those second to family obligation, which, during Gabe’s teen years, consisted of working at the stationery store.
Ever since Gabe had met Powell, the investor had done the same thing, pushing Gabe and Fabian to include stuff like fight choreography training, to make choices that would appealto celebrity clients, to open a New York City location even though Gabe had been adamantly against it.
Gabe had gotten away from his father, only to replace him with Powell.
The thought gave him a sick feeling in his gut, so he shoved it away.
“I like it,” he told Michelle, because he did. “I think it’s brilliant and fun, and will speak to people. But we’ll have to run it past Fabian and Powell too.”
“Understood. And remember, this is just the preliminary concept. There’s still a lot more fine-tuning involved, or we can go back to the drawing board.”
“Right. Thank you for... all of this.”
And because the words weren’t enough, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss.
