Home For brands Gyms and fitness
Gyms and fitnessStudent marketing for gyms and fitness.
Right after Christmas is when students sign up for January. Here is how gyms, studios and fitness brands reach them on campus before they choose.
September and January are when students choose a gym.
Students choose a gym in their first weeks of college, alongside a bank, a phone network and the places they go out. They choose again right after Christmas, when they sign up for January. Before Christmas is when many set their January training plans, and students who train buy protein every week.
In 2024/25, 177,710 of Ireland's 278,880 higher education students were aged 23 or under (HEA Key Facts and Figures 2024/25). 48,485 of them were new to college that year, so every September brings a new intake choosing a gym for the first time.
The decision is local and social: the gym on the way to campus, the one friends join. A poster on campus with a student offer and a QR to join, placed before the January sign up, puts you in that conversation.
Where campus postering and sampling fit.
- 01
Before January
A3 posters in the weeks before Christmas, when students set January plans.
- 02
Freshers' sign ups
Posters and a Freshers' stand booked through the students' union in September.
- 03
Near your gym
Placement on the routes between campus, student housing and your door.
- 04
Student offer
A student membership or free trial on the poster, with a QR or code you can count.
- 05
Sampling
For sports nutrition brands, samples on campus where the college or students' union allows it.
- 06
Opt in WhatsApp
An opt in list for class times and offers, with an easy way out in every message.
When it works best.
- September and Freshers': first gym choice.
- November to December: January plans are set.
- January: sign ups.
- April to May: summer memberships, before students leave.
Exactly what you get.
No guesswork: these are the parts of every StudentLink campaign.
- 01
Artwork
We adapt your artwork for students or design it, and send it for your approval before print.
- 02
Print
A3 posters, plus a full reserve set for replacements.
- 03
Placement
Campus buildings, students' union areas, library approaches, canteen corridors and the student neighbourhoods nearby, within each campus's rules.
- 04
Monitoring
Two checks during the run. Anything removed, damaged or covered is replaced from the reserve at no extra charge.
- 05
Proof
Photos when the posters go up, and a campaign report at the end.
- 06
Payment
A deposit secures the dates and your category. The balance is due on the campaign report.
One advertiser per category per city.
One advertiser per category per city for each campaign window. If you book, no competitor in your category runs with us in that city at the same time.
Our own placements include Trinity College Dublin and TU Dublin Grangegorman. Other campuses are planned campus by campus, within the rules of each campus. See Irish colleges.
Talk it through. Call or WhatsApp Philip on 087 054 9971, email hello@studentlink.ie, or use the brief form below. Tell us the product, the cities and the dates, and we will come back with a plan and a quote.
When should a gym run a student campaign?
Two windows matter most: September, when new students choose, and the weeks before Christmas, ahead of January sign ups.
Can we put a free trial or student price on the posters?
Yes. A student offer with a QR or unique code lets you count the sign ups that came from the campaign.
Do you place near our gym, not just on campus?
Yes, on approved boards in the student neighbourhoods between campus and your gym, as well as on campus within each campus's rules.
Is the category exclusive?
Yes. One advertiser per category per city for each campaign window, so no competing gym runs with us in that city at the same time.
How do we start?
Call or WhatsApp Philip on 087 054 9971, or email hello@studentlink.ie with your location, dates and offer.
Got a poster run in mind?
Call or WhatsApp Philip on 087 054 9971 and he'll walk you through it personally.
087 054 9971Prefer to write it down? Use the form and you'll usually hear back within one working day.