WeightWatchers 2005 Annual Report Download - page 18

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Media Advertising
Our advertising enhances our brand image and awareness and motivates both former and potential
new customers to join Weight Watchers. We have historically taken advantage of a range of traditional
offline advertising vehicles such as television, radio and print. Over the past five years,
WeightWatchers.com has developed a strong capability and presence in Internet advertising. Our
advertising schedule supports the three key diet seasons of the year: winter, spring and fall. We allocate
our media advertising on a market-by-market basis, as well as by media vehicle (television, radio,
Internet, magazines and newspapers), taking into account the target market and the effectiveness of the
medium.
Direct Mail and Email
Direct mail is a critical element of our marketing because it targets potential returning members.
We maintain databases of current and former customers in each country in which we operate, which we
use to focus our direct mailings and email. During fiscal 2005, our North American company-owned
meeting operations, or NACO, sent over 21 million pieces of direct mail. Most of these mailings are
timed to coincide with the start of the diet seasons and are intended to encourage former meeting
members to re-enroll. WeightWatchers.com has made a substantial investment in developing email
targeting capabilities and its email promotional vehicles and programs will be an increasingly important
customer acquisition vehicle for both our Internet and offline businesses.
WeightWatchers.com Website
The WeightWatchers.com website is an important global promotional channel for our brand and
businesses. The website has become an important vehicle for communicating our services and products
in greater detail than could be achieved in more traditional advertising vehicles. In addition to being a
gateway for our Internet subscription products, the website contributes value to our meeting business
by promoting our brand, advertising Weight Watchers meetings and keeping members involved with
Weight Watchers outside of meetings through useful offerings, such as a meeting locator, low calorie
recipes, weight management articles, success stories and Internet forums. In 2005, our Meeting Finder
feature generated on average over 850,000 meeting searches per month in the United States alone. The
Meeting Finder makes it easier than ever for our existing and potential members to find a convenient
meeting place and time. WeightWatchers.com now attracts an average of approximately 4.0 million
unique visitors per month in the United States alone.
Public Relations
The focus of our public relations efforts is through our current and former members who have
successfully lost weight on our program. Leaders and successful members engage in local promotions,
information presentations and charity events to promote Weight Watchers and demonstrate the
program’s efficacy. We currently have over 300 trained media ‘‘ambassadors’’ in the United States as
part of our grass roots public relations network.
Recently, we launched a science-based public relations initiative to capitalize on Weight Watchers
position as the only clinically proven commercial weight management program. This has included an
increased investment in third party scientific research, the launch of a science center on our website
and increased efforts to share our consumer and program insights with leaders in the scientific and
medical communities as well as the general public.
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