tHE MArKEt AcHIEVEMENtS HIStorY
A chievemen t s
Friskis&Svettis began 30 years ago with an idea about exercise. The idea was that exercise should be easily accessible and fun, maintain a high level of quality as well as be available to everyone. It was an idea that could be applied to many different forms of exercise, but Friskis&Svettis created the word Jympan (Keep Fit) as the first expression of that original idea. Jympan implies simplicity, joy, quality exercises and an opportunity for anyone to just join in. Today, Jympan is just one of many forms of exercise that Friskis&Svettis offers. But it is still strongly associated with everything the brand stands for. Friskis&Svettis is a non-profit, keep fit association. This means that its mission is not to make money, but to achieve something that will do a lot of people a lot of good. In order to help meet this goal, officials in the association work for free. Friskis&Svettis wants as many people as possible to discover the joy of exercising and to make exercising a lifelong, pleasurable habit. The non-profit spirit is the Friskis&Svettis movement’s prime success factor. The organization consists of 156 non-profit, keep fit associations with half a million members and 15 000 officials. Each association belongs to its members and each association belongs to its national body, Friskis&Svettis Riks. The aim of the national association is to further the common interests of the movement and its members, as well uphold the Friskis&Svettis concept and quality of services. The member associations have given Friskis&Svettis Riks the mandate to own, protect and develop the Friskis&Svettis brand.
There are now thousands of studies about physical fitness, health and exercising. The majority of these show that physical fitness is beneficial for the wellbeing of people of all ages. An increasing number of people now choose an active lifestyle and the membership of Friskis&Svettis has more than doubled since the year 2000. Friskis&Svettis has become the new »community centre« where people of all ages come to exercise, interact with others and have a good time. Thanks to all of its unpaid officials, the association is able to offer a wide range of exercise classes every day of the week. Currently almost five per cent of the Swedish population belongs to Friskis&Svettis. Since 2000, the membership has increased by more than 110 percent. In 2009, the number of members was expected to exceed more than half a million. Friskis&Svettis has about 15 000 unpaid officials. That’s an increase of 80 percent since the year 2000. Every year, about 800 new people get involved as unpaid leaders and instructors in a Friskis&Svettis association. The number of unpaid hosts and receptionists is approximately 6 500 and about 1 500 people hold seats on the Boards or are engaged in the association’s various work groups.
Photographer: Thomas Alvreten
S H A H r o o z 24, host and Jympa instructor
5 0 s u pe r b r ands
His t ory Friskis&Svettis is based on the idea that the keep fit movement and health care system can use each others’ expertise in a better way. Friskis&Svettis became an example of how the two can work closer together and gather experience, knowledge and enthusiasm under one roof. Friskis&Svettis aimed to create a bridge between health care and preventive health care and wellness. Friskis represents the first aspect, Svettis represents the second. Friskis means activities for those who for various reasons cannot take part in the ordinary Jympan. Svettis is exercise for everyone else. But the ampersand »&« is most important as it represents the goal to transform people from Friskis to Svettis. Everyone gets the opportunity to find a suitable form of exercise, irrespective of whether they are injured, extremely fit, unfit, young or old. The goal is that everyone can find and adopt their own personal type of exercise – an ideal that is manifested by a policy of Öppna Dörrar (Open Doors) and Enkeljympan (Easy Exercises). Friskis&Svettis was started in Stockholm in 1978 by
H Y B E N 83, choses Jympa senior
Photographer: Thomas Alvreten
The ma r ke t
S P ID E R M A N (Yes, that's actually his name) 30, member
Johan Holmsäter. Only one fitness fan, Valter Axelsson, turned up for the first day’s session in the building Salénshuset. The number of members increased rapidly to 1 500 and in the autumn of that year the first training session for group leaders was held. Johan Holmsäter gave up his job at Friskis&Svettis in 1985. The first Friskis&Svettis facility opened in 1981 – Friskishuset at Gärdet. The annual summer mass exercise event started in the park, Rålambshovsparken, and attracted between 700 och 1 000 people to some of the sessions. In 1997, Friskis&Svettis and its publication Friskispressen carried out a campaign for a more handicap-friendly society. The Home Office’ fax machine was blocked when all the Friskis&Svettis’ members attempted to fax over their signatures on petitions. Since 2000, the associations have become heavily involved in creating the conditions for even more people to take fitness classes. Half of the associations have started up activities in their own premises. An internal survey carried out in 2001 showed that the biggest obstacle preventing local associations from being able to expand their activities was the lack of suitable premises. Today, most associations are able to offer keep fit classes every day of the week, all year round, to customers both young and old. Friskis&Svettis is the largest fitness organisation in Sweden. It consists of 156 non-profit associations. Of these there are 111 in Sweden, 37 in Norway and centres in Helsinki, Vanda, Copenhagen, Brussels, Paris, Luxembourg, London and Aberdeen.
The p roduc t During the current decade, Friskis&Svettis associations have become the new »community centre« in Sweden where people come to exercise, drink a cup of coffee and also do a little flirting. At Friskis&Svettis, age does´nt matter. The association has seen a strong tendency for many people to be encouraged to exercise together with people of other generations. It is more important for people to feel natural and to be able to come as they are. The range of exercises on offer is wide and varied within the areas of aerobics, spinning, outdoor exercising, general group exercising and workout in the gym. Despite the fact that the names are recognizable from other health and fitness environments, all of the exercises are given a characteristic Friskis&Svettis description. Wherever you go to exercise, and whatever type of exercise you choose, the idea is that you will recognize it as typically Friskis&Svettis. It’s fun to exercise in a planned and serious way. This is the thought that is also behind keep fit as represented by Friskis&Svettis. There is no limit to the variety of exercise programmes on offer, but one thing always remains the same – the special and welcoming feeling that permeates the whole organization.
Photographer: Thomas Alvreten
Fat ima 50 år, Spinning instructor
Re cen t deve l opmen t s The Friskis&Svettis concept is not only applied to all of its exercise programmes but also functions as the guiding star for the association in managing and developing its activities. It is always interested in new developments in the field of health and fitness, among other things through the continuous production of trend surveys and through the further development of its own concepts. The Friskis&Svettis vision is »People smile when they think of exercise«. And the organization strives to live up to that vision, whatever the type of exercise or association you happen to belong to. Every day the association sees evidence of people choosing an active lifestyle. The organizationen sees it as its mission to get more people into exercising. In order to make all members feel involved, it constantly works to enhance its brand platform, original concept and basic values. One result, among many, is Våra Vägval (Our Choices). This is intended to make it easier for primarily the Boards and programme managers in all Friskis&Svettis associations to take the right approach and make the right decisions for the future.
M a r ke t ing Friskis&Svettis has a way to inspire people to start to exercise and then to continue to stay in the movement. This method is based on offering first class exercise programmes, and then doing it with a touch of humour and an easy-come-easy-go attitude. And to a large extent this also applies to its style marketing. More and more people want to get involved on a volunteer basis in organizations with
high credibility in terms of values and brand. Friskis&Svettis is proof of that. Friskis&Svettis grows thanks to 15 000 dedicated and unpaid officials. Everyone wants to be involved and influence the association’s development and future. According to the latest brand surveys, 100 percent of the Swedish people are positive towards the brand while brand awareness stands at 98 percent. Friskis&Svettis has always received new members through its existing membership; people who feel welcome themselves, are pleased to welcome others. Friskis&Svettis tries as often as possible to promote its concept of a physically active lifestyle, based on the joy of getting the body in motion. Being visible in public forums, in newspapers, on television and radio, in lectures, conferences and other activities, influences the affiliated association´s decisions, inspires and creates change.
Br and va l ues A very important part of the task of the national association Friskis&Svettis Riks, is to nurture the associations’ shared values. These values consciously influence everything they do. To be active in a non-profit association means being true to those basic values in deed as well as in words. Friskis&Svettis uses «association speak« which controls how the affiliated associations think and ultimately how they act. Friskis&Svettis is not about doing right, but about having fun. It is not about changing your lifestyle, but about adding something positive to it. It is not about making exercise your main
interest, but about having life as your main interest. It is not about a group, but about individuals in a group. It is not about getting fit for fitnesses sake, but about getting the power to experience more. It is not about being inexpensive, but about giving value for money.
Things you didn't know about FRISKIS&SVETTIS • Friskis&Svettis affiliated associations offer 7 066 exercise sessions per week. This means 1 009 sessions per day, 42 sessions per hour or 0.7 sessions per minute. This means an increase of more than 614 sessions since 2006. • In 2001, Friskis&Svettis, together with other keep fit organizations, broke the world record in keep fit. A total of 64 782 people exercised at the same time. • Friskis&Svettis is active in nine countries. Wherever it may be, Friskis&Svettis, is always called Friskis&Svettis. • In 2009, Friskis&Svettis has amassed more than half a million members. • The biggest non-profit organizations in Sweden are Friskis&Svettis associations. Friskis&Svettis Stockholm has more than 60 000 members.
s u pe r b r ands 51
Friskis&Svettis began 30 years ago with an idea about exercise. The idea was that exercise should be easily accessible and fun, maintain a high level of quality as well as be available to everyone. It was an idea that could be applied to many different forms of exercise, but Friskis&Svettis created the word Jympan (Keep Fit) as the first expression of that original idea. Jympan implies simplicity, joy, quality exercises and an opportunity for anyone to just join in. Today, Jympan is just one of many forms of exercise that Friskis&Svettis offers. But it is still strongly associated with everything the brand stands for. Friskis&Svettis is a non-profit, keep fit association. This means that its mission is not to make money, but to achieve something that will do a lot of people a lot of good. In order to help meet this goal, officials in the association work for free. Friskis&Svettis wants as many people as possible to discover the joy of exercising and to make exercising a lifelong, pleasurable habit. The non-profit spirit is the Friskis&Svettis movement’s prime success factor. The organization consists of 156 non-profit, keep fit associations with half a million members and 15 000 officials. Each association belongs to its members and each association belongs to its national body, Friskis&Svettis Riks. The aim of the national association is to further the common interests of the movement and its members, as well uphold the Friskis&Svettis concept and quality of services. The member associations have given Friskis&Svettis Riks the mandate to own, protect and develop the Friskis&Svettis brand.
There are now thousands of studies about physical fitness, health and exercising. The majority of these show that physical fitness is beneficial for the wellbeing of people of all ages. An increasing number of people now choose an active lifestyle and the membership of Friskis&Svettis has more than doubled since the year 2000. Friskis&Svettis has become the new »community centre« where people of all ages come to exercise, interact with others and have a good time. Thanks to all of its unpaid officials, the association is able to offer a wide range of exercise classes every day of the week. Currently almost five per cent of the Swedish population belongs to Friskis&Svettis. Since 2000, the membership has increased by more than 110 percent. In 2009, the number of members was expected to exceed more than half a million. Friskis&Svettis has about 15 000 unpaid officials. That’s an increase of 80 percent since the year 2000. Every year, about 800 new people get involved as unpaid leaders and instructors in a Friskis&Svettis association. The number of unpaid hosts and receptionists is approximately 6 500 and about 1 500 people hold seats on the Boards or are engaged in the association’s various work groups.
Photographer: Thomas Alvreten
S H A H r o o z 24, host and Jympa instructor
5 0 s u pe r b r ands
His t ory Friskis&Svettis is based on the idea that the keep fit movement and health care system can use each others’ expertise in a better way. Friskis&Svettis became an example of how the two can work closer together and gather experience, knowledge and enthusiasm under one roof. Friskis&Svettis aimed to create a bridge between health care and preventive health care and wellness. Friskis represents the first aspect, Svettis represents the second. Friskis means activities for those who for various reasons cannot take part in the ordinary Jympan. Svettis is exercise for everyone else. But the ampersand »&« is most important as it represents the goal to transform people from Friskis to Svettis. Everyone gets the opportunity to find a suitable form of exercise, irrespective of whether they are injured, extremely fit, unfit, young or old. The goal is that everyone can find and adopt their own personal type of exercise – an ideal that is manifested by a policy of Öppna Dörrar (Open Doors) and Enkeljympan (Easy Exercises). Friskis&Svettis was started in Stockholm in 1978 by
H Y B E N 83, choses Jympa senior
Photographer: Thomas Alvreten
The ma r ke t
S P ID E R M A N (Yes, that's actually his name) 30, member
Johan Holmsäter. Only one fitness fan, Valter Axelsson, turned up for the first day’s session in the building Salénshuset. The number of members increased rapidly to 1 500 and in the autumn of that year the first training session for group leaders was held. Johan Holmsäter gave up his job at Friskis&Svettis in 1985. The first Friskis&Svettis facility opened in 1981 – Friskishuset at Gärdet. The annual summer mass exercise event started in the park, Rålambshovsparken, and attracted between 700 och 1 000 people to some of the sessions. In 1997, Friskis&Svettis and its publication Friskispressen carried out a campaign for a more handicap-friendly society. The Home Office’ fax machine was blocked when all the Friskis&Svettis’ members attempted to fax over their signatures on petitions. Since 2000, the associations have become heavily involved in creating the conditions for even more people to take fitness classes. Half of the associations have started up activities in their own premises. An internal survey carried out in 2001 showed that the biggest obstacle preventing local associations from being able to expand their activities was the lack of suitable premises. Today, most associations are able to offer keep fit classes every day of the week, all year round, to customers both young and old. Friskis&Svettis is the largest fitness organisation in Sweden. It consists of 156 non-profit associations. Of these there are 111 in Sweden, 37 in Norway and centres in Helsinki, Vanda, Copenhagen, Brussels, Paris, Luxembourg, London and Aberdeen.
The p roduc t During the current decade, Friskis&Svettis associations have become the new »community centre« in Sweden where people come to exercise, drink a cup of coffee and also do a little flirting. At Friskis&Svettis, age does´nt matter. The association has seen a strong tendency for many people to be encouraged to exercise together with people of other generations. It is more important for people to feel natural and to be able to come as they are. The range of exercises on offer is wide and varied within the areas of aerobics, spinning, outdoor exercising, general group exercising and workout in the gym. Despite the fact that the names are recognizable from other health and fitness environments, all of the exercises are given a characteristic Friskis&Svettis description. Wherever you go to exercise, and whatever type of exercise you choose, the idea is that you will recognize it as typically Friskis&Svettis. It’s fun to exercise in a planned and serious way. This is the thought that is also behind keep fit as represented by Friskis&Svettis. There is no limit to the variety of exercise programmes on offer, but one thing always remains the same – the special and welcoming feeling that permeates the whole organization.
Photographer: Thomas Alvreten
Fat ima 50 år, Spinning instructor
Re cen t deve l opmen t s The Friskis&Svettis concept is not only applied to all of its exercise programmes but also functions as the guiding star for the association in managing and developing its activities. It is always interested in new developments in the field of health and fitness, among other things through the continuous production of trend surveys and through the further development of its own concepts. The Friskis&Svettis vision is »People smile when they think of exercise«. And the organization strives to live up to that vision, whatever the type of exercise or association you happen to belong to. Every day the association sees evidence of people choosing an active lifestyle. The organizationen sees it as its mission to get more people into exercising. In order to make all members feel involved, it constantly works to enhance its brand platform, original concept and basic values. One result, among many, is Våra Vägval (Our Choices). This is intended to make it easier for primarily the Boards and programme managers in all Friskis&Svettis associations to take the right approach and make the right decisions for the future.
M a r ke t ing Friskis&Svettis has a way to inspire people to start to exercise and then to continue to stay in the movement. This method is based on offering first class exercise programmes, and then doing it with a touch of humour and an easy-come-easy-go attitude. And to a large extent this also applies to its style marketing. More and more people want to get involved on a volunteer basis in organizations with
high credibility in terms of values and brand. Friskis&Svettis is proof of that. Friskis&Svettis grows thanks to 15 000 dedicated and unpaid officials. Everyone wants to be involved and influence the association’s development and future. According to the latest brand surveys, 100 percent of the Swedish people are positive towards the brand while brand awareness stands at 98 percent. Friskis&Svettis has always received new members through its existing membership; people who feel welcome themselves, are pleased to welcome others. Friskis&Svettis tries as often as possible to promote its concept of a physically active lifestyle, based on the joy of getting the body in motion. Being visible in public forums, in newspapers, on television and radio, in lectures, conferences and other activities, influences the affiliated association´s decisions, inspires and creates change.
Br and va l ues A very important part of the task of the national association Friskis&Svettis Riks, is to nurture the associations’ shared values. These values consciously influence everything they do. To be active in a non-profit association means being true to those basic values in deed as well as in words. Friskis&Svettis uses «association speak« which controls how the affiliated associations think and ultimately how they act. Friskis&Svettis is not about doing right, but about having fun. It is not about changing your lifestyle, but about adding something positive to it. It is not about making exercise your main
interest, but about having life as your main interest. It is not about a group, but about individuals in a group. It is not about getting fit for fitnesses sake, but about getting the power to experience more. It is not about being inexpensive, but about giving value for money.
Things you didn't know about FRISKIS&SVETTIS • Friskis&Svettis affiliated associations offer 7 066 exercise sessions per week. This means 1 009 sessions per day, 42 sessions per hour or 0.7 sessions per minute. This means an increase of more than 614 sessions since 2006. • In 2001, Friskis&Svettis, together with other keep fit organizations, broke the world record in keep fit. A total of 64 782 people exercised at the same time. • Friskis&Svettis is active in nine countries. Wherever it may be, Friskis&Svettis, is always called Friskis&Svettis. • In 2009, Friskis&Svettis has amassed more than half a million members. • The biggest non-profit organizations in Sweden are Friskis&Svettis associations. Friskis&Svettis Stockholm has more than 60 000 members.
s u pe r b r ands 51
