I’ve never been one to actually make a new year’s resolution. I thought they were cheesy and have always felt that if I want to do something- lose weight, work smarter not harder, make more money, etc. I’m going to do it all year long not on the first day of a new year. January is also a month of melancholy for me. The holiday season is over, its time to go back to work and to be honest, in January there’s not much to look forward to but the 6 long months until the summer.

As we find ourselves here today, at the end of January, I felt it was interesting to see what the last month has looked like in the marketing world around new year’s resolutions. January was always a month when I avoided the gym- new gym goers that haven’t been since last January taking time on the machines (they’ll be gone in 2 weeks). And the countless weight loss ads on TV and news clips about how to de-stress and make more time for friends and family. Statistics show that 45% of Americans actually set new year’s resolutions (Anderson, 2015) but only 8% actually keep them (Fottrell, 2016). Those that do set new year’s resolutions, 44% said that health and fitness was the number one resolution for them in the new year (Fottrell, 2016).

The weight loss industry is valued at $20 billon (ABC News, 2012). It is estimated that consumers that make new year’s resolutions have around $5.6 billion to spend on those resolutions (Klara, 2013). For those marketing the health and fitness products and services, reaching this audience to generate demand could be very lucrative. Statistics show that 77% of consumers looking to get healthy start their journey with an Internet search (Pruitt, 2013). A quick Google search of the term ‘diet’ resulted in over 445 million results.

By now, most of us have heard or watch Oprah’s commercials on TV for Weight Watchers (Disclaimer- I AM an Oprah fan). Not only has she become their spokesperson and newest ‘loser’ (of weight that is!) for Weight Watchers but she also has a seat at the table and bought 10% of the business (Schultz, 2015). A commercial is currently airing that has her raving about how she eats bread every day on the plan (Pesce, 2016). A subsequent tweet about she ate bread and lost weight, broadcast to over 31 million Twitter followers, generated Oprah over $12.5 million on one tweet (Pesce, 2016). That’s an impressive feat and a nicely integrated campaign.

Did you make a new year’s resolution? Are you as sick of the weight loss commercials as I am?

References:

ABC News. (2012). 100 Million dieters, $20 billion: The weight-loss industry by the numbers. Retrieved from: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/100-million-dieters-20-billion-weight-loss-industry/story?id=16297197

Anderson, N. (2015). Six ways to make your new years resolutions stick in 2016. Forbes. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/nancyanderson/2015/12/26/six-ways-to-make-your-new-years-resolutions-stick-in-2016/#712a18021f90

Fottrell, Q. (2016). 5 People getting rich off your new years resolutions. Market Watch. Retrieved from:http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-people-getting-rich-off-your-new-years-resolutions-2014-12-30

Klara, R. (2013). How much are new year’s resolutions worth? Answer: They’re big business for brands. Advertising Age. Retrieved from: http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/how-much-are-new-years-resolutions-worth-146478

Pruitt. (2013). Tips for health and wellness industry advertisers: Prepare now for new years resolution customers. Retrieved from: http://advertise.bingads.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/28025/tips-for-health-and-wellness-industry-advertisers-prepare-now-for-new-years-resolution-customers

Schultz, E. J. (2015). Coming soon to Weight Watchers ads: Oprah. Advertising Age. Retrieved from: http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/coming-weight-watchers-ads-oprah/301241/