Weight Watchers calls on Oprah Winfrey to help sell wellness after abrupt name change to WW left people confused

“I think they need to truly reintroduce what this is,” Nagel said. “I’m not a branding expert, so take it for what it’s worth, but they have to find balance between not disenfranchising historical customers and appealing to new customers.”

Part of Weight Watchers’ new strategy includes keeping members longer, even as the company struggled to recruit new members. Grossman said retention continues to track at “well over nine months.”

More people are opting for Weight Watchers’ digital-only plan, which is less expensive than the traditional membership that includes the company’s signature group meetings. This shift is pressuring the company’s overall revenue. It’s also hurting merchandise sales, since many products are sold in meetings.

Grossman said she personally is “very focused” on improving the meetings business, or studio as the company calls it. Weight Watchers hosted open houses in January and will soon open a studio inside a Kohl’s store in Chicago.

Next year, the company plans to introduce a new diet plan. Meantime, the new WW will need to fine tune its message — both to prospective members and lapsed ones — and communicate that the new name is a new-and-improved version of the Weight Watchers everyone knows.

“If you were starting a new brand now, sure, you could become more of a lifestyle program,” said Ries, co-founder of consulting firm Ries & Ries. “You have to deal with who you are today. It’s very hard to change a brand.”

Read More

from Go News Viral https://ift.tt/2T4qyV7