Last Word
Brand
power
Steve Orton, director at
Bodypower, on expanding
a brand beyond the
confines of a show
W
hen we speak to Steve
Orton in early February
2019, he’s in the middle of
preparing to launch a podcast for
fitness show Bodypower, which
takes place in May at the NEC.
“It will ultimately be talking
about their first experience of
Bodypower,” he tells EN. “One of
the girls first came to the show
when she was 18. She was being
bullied at school, got into fitness,
came to the event, met people
that made her feel comfortable
and she’s now one of the biggest
influencers on social media.”
“Bodypower changed her life
for the better.”
It’s perhaps disingenuous to
say that the podcast is for the
Bodypower event, instead it’s
arguably an extension of what has
become a global fitness brand –
with a presence in the UK, China,
India and South Africa and a
range of product and services
available to its enthusiastic
international community.
Bodypower launched in the
UK in 2009, with an initial focus
on bringing US celebrities from
the worlds of fitness and power
sports to the UK.
“It was just the start of the
nutrition industry in the UK,”
Orton explains. “We started as
power sports. It developed to
bring elite athletes over and from
82 — March
there it has developed almost a
cult following.”
Such is the passion for the
brand – in India at least, where
Orton’s brother Nick is leading
the launch of several gyms –
that some fans have even got
Bodypower tattoos. There is an
online store for the Bodypower
brand, which sells accessories and
sportswear for men and women.
The Bodypower account has
accumulated around 150,000
followers on Instagram, and much
of the popularity of the show has
come from partnerships with
influencers on social media.
“We bring a number of
social influencers and fitness
influencers along to the event,”
Orton continues. “They promote
that they’re going to be there, so
their followers come along.
“Throughout the year I
wouldn’t say we’re hugely active
in the fitness industry but when
you get to 12 weeks out from the
show the talk is about Bodypower
and everyone’s going to meet up.
“The brands and the athletes
will be there and it’s really what
an event should be – an industry
get-together. There are people
Bodypower
director Steve
Orton (right)
who speak on social media
day-to-day and they have the
opportunity at Bodypower to
meet up face-to-face.”
The emphasis on community
has resulted in strong results
through affiliate marketing,
alongside more traditional forms
of promotion for the event, and
the team has also launched the
Bodypower Collective, which
allows up-and-coming figures in
the fitness industry to speak at
the show in exchange for creating
content for their social media.
“Our aim is to inspire people
to be healthier and fitter,” says
Orton. “If we have educators
there, and athletes there, it’s
motivating and inspiring people,
so they buy into that brand as
well as just an event.”
Orton foresees the future of
his event as being increasingly
experiential, a ‘theme park of
fitness’, with a range of dedicated
zones and activities for attendees.
“Once you get into an industry
you realise what isn’t being done
and what could be done,” he
concludes. “We’re always trying
to be creative and look at how we
can evolve the event.” EN