The challenge
@pilates 24/7, the Australian Pilates franchise, had around 20 franchised studios doing 20 different versions of marketing. Intro offers, membership prices, branding and ads changed from studio to studio. Pre-launch and launch campaigns were inconsistent across social, paid media and email. Emails were broken, and ads were generic and weren’t cutting through.
The website was the biggest gap. Studio pages weren’t optimised for local SEO, had no FAQ or structured data, and weren’t set up for AI search. Nothing was built to help people find a studio or sign up.
They needed one brand, one offer, a launch process that worked every time, and a website built to be found.
What I did
I came in as Virtual CMO, two days a week, with every studio under my remit to look after and grow. I set the strategy and led the work, alongside the brand manager and customer service manager, who delivered a lot of the execution. I mentored them both along the way.
I so appreciate you mentoring me throughout our @pilates time together. I was able to grow and learn creatively, strategically, across all of my brand marketing, creative marketing. I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor during the time.
Jules Majman, Brand Marketing Manager, @pilates 24/7
Franchise brand and marketing standardisation
Built a brand guide, tone of voice guide, social media guide and advertising guide for every studio to follow.
Moved every studio to one 30 day intro offer and two core memberships, 12 month and 6 month. Holiday area studios kept a few variations, because we understood the customer in every location.
Took the case for standardising to the board, then walked franchisees through it and got their sign off. Some weren’t keen at first. Every one of them came on board.
Local SEO and AI search for Pilates studios
Optimised every studio page for local SEO, for searches like “Pilates studio near me” and “Pilates near the beach”. None of the studios had been optimised before.
Added question and answer content and structured data to every studio page, so each location can be found in Google and surfaced by AI search tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews.
Built each page around its own suburb and customer, so every studio has its own local presence.
Website conversion optimisation
Audited the website and every studio’s web presence, then gave the team a long list of changes to lift conversion.
Worked with the dev team to rebuild every studio page, including membership options and benefits.
Fixed the main navigation and how customer reviews were presented, so visitors saw social proof when they were deciding to sign up.
Conversion and traffic both lifted substantially.
Studio pre-launch and membership campaigns
Brought in a performance team I knew could convert, and onboarded them into the business. Google and Meta ads got sharper, more accurate and far more engaging.
Wrote the creative briefs for cut-through Meta ads and briefed the videographers. Studio owners filmed outside their own studios saying “we’re opening soon”, then shared what made their studio special once open, down to the landmarks nearby.
Built the email and SMS flows for everyone who registered interest, from first sign up to the countdown to opening. Many became members before the doors even opened.
Ran weekly catch ups with the paid media team and fortnightly with organic social, covering tactics, conversions, follower growth and reporting.
Where I worked
I looked after more than 20 studios across Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and New Zealand. These included Palm Beach, Southport, Miami, Maroochydore, Roma and Toowoomba in Queensland, Brighton and Geelong in Victoria, all three Adelaide studios (Unley, North Adelaide and Campbelltown) and Hamilton in New Zealand. I also started the pre-launch work for Subiaco in Perth.
The result
The network grew from around 20 studios to about 40 while I led marketing.
Every studio runs on one brand, one offer structure and one clear message.
Every studio page is now optimised for local search and AI search, with traffic and conversion both up substantially.
Pre-launch campaigns turned sign ups into paying members before studios even opened.
The business grew so fast that marketing moved in-house. That’s the best outcome I could ask for.
Pilates franchise marketing: your questions answered
How do you standardise marketing across a Pilates franchise?
Start with the brand foundations. Build a brand guide, tone of voice guide, social media guide and advertising guide that every studio follows. Then standardise the intro offer and membership options, rebuild every studio page on one structure, and get franchisee sign off before rollout. That is the approach I used for @pilates 24/7.
How do you get a new Pilates studio memberships before it opens?
Run a pre-launch campaign. Drive sign ups with Meta and Google ads built on local creative, such as the studio owner filmed outside her studio saying it is opening soon. Then nurture everyone who registers interest with email and SMS flows right up to opening day. At @pilates 24/7, many people became members before the doors even opened.
What is local SEO for Pilates studios?
It means optimising each studio page to be found for searches like “Pilates studio near me” and “Pilates near the beach”. That takes local content for each suburb, question and answer content, and structured data, so Google and AI search tools understand where each studio is and what it offers.
Can a part-time Virtual CMO run marketing for a multi-studio franchise?
Yes. I did it two days a week. I set the strategy and led the paid media, social and email work, while the brand manager and customer service manager delivered a lot of the day to day execution.
Running a Pilates franchise or multi-studio brand? I help franchise and multi-site fitness brands standardise their marketing, grow memberships and fill new studios before they open. Book a discovery call.