As Lose it! hadn’t always relied on user-generated content, the brand announced the program on its app to help their pre-existing users learn about the opportunity to share their own experiences. The hashtag was mostly used by people who already use the app, before others who don’t necessarily use the same program caught on to it too, expanding its popularity.
To provide an incentive to users, the brand offered $500 to those who used the hashtag, along with several prizes for runners-up. This would provide extra motivation to participants, in addition to the opportunity to take part in a movement designed to help people worldwide.
The competition also spanned across two of the biggest social media networks, Twitter and Instagram, making engagement easier for users and promoting participation from a wide pool.
Appealing to Users
Lose It! appealed to its users by clearly explaining the reason for the hashtag before encouraging them to take part. The brand let its users know that the initiative would help other people struggling with weight loss understand ways in which they could improve their experience.
Additionally, the brand imported a “disruptor” narrative, stating that, while the common approach to weight loss is to use linear instruction, more importance should be given to the fact that everyone has a different route to achieving greater fitness. The hashtag would be a way for users to highlight their own unique experiences.
The brand had the benefit of the app-based weight loss program having wide endorsement from personal trainers and health professionals. After the announcement of the hashtag, there was further endorsement from other credentialed people in the field, which helped to raise the status and engagement of the initiative.
Lose It! gave the PR campaign a face when the CEO released a video in which he let users of the app and participants know that the weight loss road can be bumpy, and he hoped that through efforts like these, that fact would be more widely accepted and people would experience less self-judgment while trying to lose weight.
The Success of the Campaign
The success of the campaign helped Lose It! users to learn more about how to optimize their weight loss experience, while the brand’s offerings became more accessible to a large group of social media users. The hashtag trended on Twitter, indicating massive user engagement.
The brand was also able to build on its already impressive pedigree, having helped over 25 million people to lose more than 40 million pounds since its founding in 2008.
The weight loss industry is riddled with advertisements that tend to ostracize the target market. Campaigns like this one help to make the experience more inclusive while capitalizing on the PR power of user engagement.
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