Celebrity Fitness App 28 By Sam Wood taps Impact PR to spearhead New Zealand launch

Australian celebrity fitness programme 28 By Sam Wood has appointed Auckland public relations agency Impact PR to spearhead its multi-channel New Zealand launch.

The health and nutrition programme was started by celebrity personal trainer Sam Wood (pictured above), former star of The Bachelor Australia and has grown to be the largest of its kind – used by almost a million Australians to date.

Its rapid growth has seen the platform recently merged with a health technology company in a $71 million deal.

New Zealand will be the first international market for the technology with plans to expand into the United States, Canada and Europe.

Wood says boutique indie agency Impact PR NZ has been appointed to manage its public relations and influencer engagement strategy throughout New Zealand: “Media relations has been a significant driver of our success in Australia to date and it will form a foundation for the development of our brand during our trans-Tasman expansion programme.

“We were looking to partner with a market specialist agency with an affinity for the health, fitness and tech sectors and that understood what we were trying to achieve as we launch in the first country outside of Australia.

“Initial campaign results have been far beyond our expectations and suggest the New Zealand consumers are rapid adopters of technology as a tool towards addressing the same growing rates of obesity that we are experiencing.”

Fleur Revell-Devlin, Impact PR managing director, says the combination of DNA profiling, artificial intelligence (AI), app gamification and wearable tech offered by the programme is set to offer a new methodology to help fight the obesity epidemic and associated co-morbidities such as diabetes and heart disease.

She says Wood, who is also a best-selling author and has over 1.1 million followers on his social platforms, has achieved international acclaim for the app and his inclusive and holistic approach to health and fitness: “The programme has the potential to make a tangible difference in the lives of thousands of Kiwis and there is a strong alignment with our experience in the healthcare sector and growth objectives of 28 by Sam Wood.

Revell-Devlin says the nationwide campaign will utilise public relations and influencer engagement to establish the brand in New Zealand: “We are looking to utilise earned media opportunities TV, radio, print and digital platforms to rapidly build organic awareness and encourage subscriptions of the new programme.”

Photographer (Sam Wood image) – Tobias Rowles