The Nautilus Group has appointed a number of Interpublic Group companies, led by Foote Cone & Belding (FCB), to manage a consolidated worldwide advertising and marketing program beginning the fourth quarter of 2004.
The agency assignment will be led by the Seattle office of FCB, which will be in charge of strategic planning and creative direction and will tap into the resources of several Interpublic operating units, including ID Media, Marketing Drive, The Hacker Group, Marketing Corporation of America, and other IPG companies.
The agency assignment will leverage a marketing program projected by The Nautilus Group to exceed $95 million for Nautilus(R), Bowflex(R), Schwinn(R)Fitness and Stairmaster(R) brands to support all channels where the brands are marketed. FCB will initiate a first-ever advertising campaign to drive preference for the highly-popular Nautilus(R) brand of fitness equipment.
“We needed an external partner with the broad and deep resources of Interpublic and the creative savvy of FCB to get the most out of our company's marketing and advertising investments,” said Tim Hawkins, chief customer officer and chief marketing officer for The Nautilus Group.
“We have excellent experience in direct response television and will continue to invest heavily there. However, we'll seek more synergy and integration to support multiple marketing channels going forward as we pursue revenue and share growth in North America and globally,” Hawkins said.
“We're delighted to be chosen by The Nautilus Group, the pre-eminent name in this exciting category,” said Gene Bartley, president and chief operating officer of FCB North America. “We have dynamic leadership in our Seattle office and unequaled resources within Interpublic to put to work for The Nautilus Group.”
Nautilus became synonymous with strength equipment 30 years ago by bringing to market strength equipment using selectorized weights and special cams that place more resistance within lifting strokes where muscles are the strongest. Meanwhile, Bowflex became widely recognized through direct response television advertising of its highly popular home gyms that help men and women achieve quick and easy results. Research shows both brands have substantial growth potential as the company adds to its innovative strength and cardio equipment product line.
According to Kass Sells, president of FCB Seattle, “At FCB, we have a philosophy we call 'Creativity at Work' and we're looking forward to putting it to work on Nautilus's terrific brands.”
