Australia – Virgin Active has appointed Connected Media as its lead media agency in Australia after a competitive four-way pitch, the companies announced on Thursday.
The independent agency will oversee media strategy, planning, buying, optimisation and reporting for the fitness brand across all above-the-line and digital channels.
Virgin Active, which opened its first Australian club in 2008, currently operates eight gyms in Sydney and one in Melbourne. Its newest site, a 2,500sqm social wellness club in Bondi Westfield, is the first of its kind globally for the brand and includes a gym floor, group classes, hydrotherapy spa, cold plunge, infrared and traditional saunas, recovery zones, co-working spaces and the Ü Health Food Café.
Connected Media’s remit includes driving sustained membership growth by boosting both the volume and quality of leads, as well as strengthening brand awareness and affinity. During the pitch process, the agency presented detailed account and market analysis, identifying audience overlap and media inefficiencies, messaging gaps, personalisation opportunities and the use of intelligent business reporting such as AI-driven traffic insights.
Michelle Rolston, head of marketing at Virgin Active Australia, said, “Connected Media’s strategic approach was closely aligned to our own, demonstrating a clear understanding of our goals and target audience. They challenged us and brought fresh perspectives, backed by strong modelling methodology. We look forward to working with the team to accelerate Virgin Active’s market presence and communicating the benefits of our state-of-the-art social wellness clubs.”
Meanwhile, Connected Media founder and CEO Laura Hamod Barnes, commented, “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Virgin Active, especially through a referral from someone who has seen first-hand how we work. Much of our growth has come this way, and we take pride in the consistency of our pitch success. Virgin Active is an incredibly strong brand and we can’t wait to bring the expertise of our Connected Media team to their business.”
The appointment follows the agency’s recent win of tonies, the children’s interactive audio platform, for media planning and buying across Australia and New Zealand. Connected Media was also named a finalist in this year’s Google Excellence Awards and works with clients including Sanitarium, Australian Institute of Management, Canon Australia, Skinstitut, SMAI, Luxaflex, Octet and Trend Micro.
