An event powered by a big organization can help invigorate a small massage clinic, resulting in new clients and new ways of retaining current clients.
Right now, massage therapists can partner with World Wellness Weekend, billed as a global event with local activities, taking place Sept. 21–22.
The purpose of the weekend is to unite professionals from various wellness disciplines and across the globe, to speak as one voice and encourage the public to take care of themselves.
Wellness professionals register for a free account online, and then have access to marketing ideas and networking. They can register an event, promote it on social media, be included on a global map of participants, and read the blog entries of leaders in the wellness arena — all free of charge.
The focus of the weekend is on wellness rather than health. World Wellness Weekend founder Jean-Guy de Gabriac said he defines health as the relationship between a person’s body and a doctor, and wellness as a “responsible relationship between one’s body and oneself,” as stated on World Wellness Weekend’s website.
World Wellness Weekend rests on what de Gabriac, who also manages customer service consulting and training company TIP TOUCH International, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, calls the five pillars of wellness: sleep and restoration, nutrition and nourishment, vitality and movement, serenity and mindfulness, and purpose and solidarity.
Benefits to MTs
Spas, hot springs, dance studios, massage clinics, gyms and more in locations including Mexico, India, the U.S., Norway, Greece and dozens of others — 2,300 venues in all — have registered their events with World Wellness Weekend.
Benefits of partnering with World Wellness Weekend include:
• The ability to create special offers or promotional packages tied into the weekend, to reach new clients and encourage current or former clients to rebook;
• Media visibility in the form of press and social posts;
• Inclusion on the World Wellness Map upon registering online and organizing a free wellness activity.
• A page on the World Wellness Weekend website to describe weekend-related events. This page can be shared on social media or in email marketing.
U.S. Expansion
Massage franchise company Massage Envy is the first U.S. sponsor of the event.
De Gabriac told MASSAGE Magazine via email that his organization was looking for a partner in the U.S. to help World Wellness Weekend take off like it has in Europe and Asia, and Massage Envy seemed like a natural fit.
“They have made therapeutic massage services and skin care solutions accessible to a network of more than 1.5 million members in franchised locations nationwide, which makes them the largest purveyor of massage in the whole world,” he said. “Massage Envy was built on the foundation of helping people feel their best. Their motto “Keep your body working” is exactly in line with our philosophy [of] it feels great to be well!”
All of the approximately 1,200 franchise locations are participating by offering free skincare analysis and 10-minute samples of Total Body Stretch and Rapid Tension Relief sessions, Debbie Glorius, a Florida Massage Envy multi-unit owner, told MASSAGE Magazine in an interview by phone.
“We want to help educate our ‘maybe’ guests and our guests who have been there before, about the wellness aspect and how getting regular massages, skin care and stretching can eliminate the things you go to the doctor for, and how important [wellness] is to your daily life,” she said.
Glorius said the benefits of participating in World Wellness Weekend aren’t limited to big companies. “We encourage anyone in wellness to participate,” she said. “It brings awareness to the public. It brings awareness of how and why the benefits of wellness correlate to your daily life.”
For more information, watch this short video on World Wellness Weekend.
About the Author:
Karen Menehan is MASSAGE Magazine’s Editor in Chief.