Who doesn’t love a good launch party? The opportunity to team-teach with fellow Instructors, connect with your regular members AND those you don’t normally teach, welcome fresh faces to the club – and of course the bonus of not having to learn all the choreography at once…(!)
Following on from the success of last year’s World United fitness celebration, Unstoppable is a brand-new campaign to help you reconnect with your participants while bringing hype and excitement to your club. Events can be hosted any time during the month of October – feel free to do as many as you like! Here are our top tips to rock your Q3 party…
- Promote your event on social
Promoting your Unstoppable launch on social media is a great way to reach a wider audience, create hype around your classes, and maintain a dialogue with members beyond the end of the workout. Instagram and Facebook stories are especially great ways to share the details, especially if you can screenshot your slot on the timetable! Promote your Unstoppable classes to members with this bespoke toolkit.
- Organise give-aways
Launches are a great opportunity to partner with local suppliers and source free give-aways for your members. At Les Mills clubs in New Zealand, participants often come away from launches with free fruit, smoothies or coffee vouchers. It’s a win-win for both parties, as clubs get to give members free gifts and the suppliers get access to potential new customers!
- Pick a theme (and tell your members)
We all know those members who LOVE getting dressed up for launches! (Yes front row – we’re looking at you). Plan your theme in advance, coordinate your outfit with your fellow teachers and make sure the members are in on the fun too!
- Dial-up the fun factor
As above, more than anything, we all want launches to be FUN. Let’s face it, the first time teaching the new release is unlikely to be perfect, and that’s okay! Your members won’t know (or care) if you get something wrong – but they will remember how brilliant you made them feel. If you make your objective to create a super-fun and inclusive experience, you’re more likely not to get fazed if you do miss a rep or cue.
And if you do completely fluff the choreography and have no idea what comes next? "Shouting ‘Remix!’ is a great way of acknowledging you goofed something without apologizing and feeling bad," says UK Trainer Sean Rafael. (We love this!).
- Teach with someone new
While it’s always fun to teach with your mates, launches are also a great time to teach with someone new. Apart from the excitement of having fresh energy on the stage, it’s also an opportunity to pick up some new cues (or jokes). As veteran Instructor Mark Sinclair (NZ) says: “People deliver the information in different ways. I always listened to others to work out what I could use in my classes or how I could put a different spin on it. I think that the best Instructors are actually the biggest thieves!”
- Focus on Connection
“Remember why members have come back to live classes,” says Trainer Denice Burr (UK). “It’s not solely for the exercise – there are plenty of fantastic online options available to them! They have come back for the social connection, the banter and the feel of being ‘together’.”
US Trainer Jen Pontarelli adds: “If you’re wearing masks in class, find new ways to establish connection (because it's so different when people can't see us smiling). Eye contact and using names becomes more important than ever.”
Les Mills Ambassador Reagan Kang says that prioritizing connection is his secret to building class numbers: “I focus on making people feel like they’re the only person in the room. I learn names and I try to talk to everyone in the room, to make them feel connected so that the next hour is just you, me, the music and the workout. I want them to forget everything else that’s going on in their lives so we can just focus on what we're doing. Then when they leave the class, they feel a lot better about themselves.”
- Take the party online as well
Whether you’re hampered by local restrictions or keen to engage fitness fans who still feel more comfortable at home, there are plenty of ways to stage a digital fitness event that packs a punch.
That’s why we’ve made it possible for clubs and Instructors to stream workouts and run online fitness classes via our live-streaming solution. The rules around a livestream class are the same as for a live class. The class needs to be taught by an active, certified Instructor in that specific Les Mills program on behalf of a club licensed for that Les Mills program. Unlike the live class, the Instructor does not need to be inside the club, but you do need to livestream through a club account.
Details on how to run a successful digital event can be found at the Unstoppable homepage, along with top tips on how to make the most of livestreaming for your club.
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