Mettler Center Identity and Website

When the Mettler Center, a chain of three fitness/physical therapy centers in Central Illinois, saw their need for a website redesign, they hoped to start fresh with a comprehensive website experience for their members that would more accurately convey their essence. (Their current website was created, designed, and updated occasionally by Mettler staff.) The folks at Mettler also wanted the new site to be used as a sales tool in conjunction with other marketing initiatives, eventually becoming a powerful force for new membership signups.

Mettler contacted Blam! Bang! and initial conceptual talks for a website began. But it wasn’t long before our staff realized that a significant disconnect was occurring between the fitness center’s visual identity, and the actual “Mettler experience”.

The current logo was the product of another design firm whose solution didn’t seem to tap into the heart or atmosphere of the Mettler organization. The visual identity seemed inappropriate and off-target, becoming increasingly irrelevant as the organization continued to grow and branch out. Our designers at Blam! Bang! made sure to dig deep into the culture and personality of the Mettler Center, to ensure the same mistakes weren’t made again.

So, as a firm, we decided to backtrack to the fundamental visual problems of representing Mettler, before a tackling the website design and architecture. Instead of just adding on a new visual “coat of paint” to the current offerings, our team worked to get back to Mettler’s core values. And thus began the first steps of a 14-month rebranding initiative that affected every visual aspect of the Mettler Center, from the bottom up.

We began with research and interviewing key Mettler players: employees, the founders, and even members—for feedback on what Mettler’s “voice” would be, and what the center meant to all principal stakeholders. This information really helped fill in the gaps in deciding what a new identity would need to do. At this point, it was clear that updated visuals wouldn’t be enough to meet the client’s needs. Mettler needed working marketing documents that distilled their essence, and reminded all significant players of what the organization’s core strengths and goals were. Blam! Bang! drafted several documents that formed the foundation of Mettler’s facelift.

We developed a marketing mantra that eventually became the identity tagline—encompassing not only Mettler’s current place in the market, but also its future. This cornerstone, “For Whole Life Fitness”, formed the basis of the entire Mettler rebranding effort— identity system, website, brochures, ads, packaging, interior/exterior signage, and apparel. By breaking down the Mettler Center offerings into three distinct groups—Fitness, Therapy, and Nutrition—it served to simplify their multi-stage message, all co-existing under the umbrella of “Whole Life Fitness”.

After establishing these conceptual foundations for the identity, it was just a matter of Blam! Bang! executing these concepts, and remaining on the same page as the Mettler staff decision-makers. The situation was ideal, as Blam! Bang!’s concepts came at the same time as Mettler was internally renewing their organization’s goals and personality.

The end result was that the Mettler Center saw a huge boost in membership, almost 28% between May, 2003, and February, 2005, at their main location.