Les Mills lifting the bar with export excellence

Media release September 3, 2013

TVNZ NZ Marketing Awards- Les Mills lifting the bar with export excellence

The success of the Les Mills SMARTBAR™ has continued as the innovative weights system picked up yet another award, this time at the TVNZ New Zealand Marketing Awards.

The SMARTBAR™ won the Export Industry Award and was also a finalist in the Judges Awards for innovation.

The SMARTBAR™ was designed to be a multi-functional piece of training equipment which would revolutionise fitness workouts. The barbell incorporates cutting-edge ergonomic design and patented “gator” fastening mechanism which holds weight plates in place and allows for faster transitions.

Since launching in March 2012, the SMARTBAR™ has gained widespread recognition for its innovation and revolutionary design, picking up a prestigious purple pin award at the New Zealand Best Design Awards, The Red Dot Award for design, and securing Les Mills International the supreme award at the 2012 Westpac Business Awards.

Les Mills Enterprises CEO Vaughan Schwass says it is fantastic to be recognised among marketing peers for the creation and marketing of a product that has been a real game-changer.

“The launch of the SMARTBAR™ provided a pivotal step in establishing Les Mills as a complete health and lifestyle solutions provider. There are now thousands of SMARTBARs™ in clubs worldwide and it continues to move from strength to strength, delivering great results for us out in market.”

Developed in conjunction with Christchurch design company, 4ormfunction, following extensive research and in-field testing, the revolutionary barbell weights system was the first in a range of equipment from Les Mills International and has paved the way for further innovation and product development – the Les Mills SMARTSTEP™ launched earlier this year and further products are planned for 2014.

The Marketing Awards judges said: “Les Mills’ SMARTBAR™ is a great example of leveraging a strong brand into an adjacent category. With a product based on exceptional design, a fully integrated launch campaign the results have been impressive and opened up an entirely new business revenue stream for Les Mills.”

The SMARTBAR™ is now available in 50 countries. It is being used in group fitness classes such as BODYPUMP™ and the new team training program LES MILLS GRIT™SERIES. It is also being adopted for use by personal trainers and on gym floors around the globe.

ENDS.

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