PR Lessons from Weight Watchers

Does your PR program have what it takes to make you the Jean Nidetch of your niche? Who’s she, you ask. Tsk tsk.

Ms. Nidetch is the grandma of all weight-loss programs, a founder of Weight Watchers International. At 87, she’s still preaching the gospel of her unique brand: slow and steady weight loss. Ms. Nidetch was a New York homemaker, a size 44, when she decided to drop the pounds at a nearby weight-loss class. Would you want to walk through the door of a building whose sign reads “Obesity Clinic”? Ms. Nidetch didn’t either, so she created her own support group with a more palatable title: Weight Watchers. It was an overnight sensation.

I saw first hand how well it worked because I not only joined the program but publicized it. My first PR stint, almost 40 years ago, was for Weight Watchers of Chicago. Back then, it was a relatively new concept and the media ate it up. I wrote case history after case history of men and women who had a double-digit and an occasional triple-digit weight loss.

The same marketing and PR principles that helped make Weight Watchers a household name apply today. Here’s how you can make them work for you.

Differentiate yourself from competitors. An admitted compulsive eater, Ms. Nidetch knew from experience that “diets” don’t work so she created “meal plans” that included breakfast, lots of fruits and vegetables – a little bit of everything from the different food groups but in moderation. The goal was to lose 1 or 2 pounds a week and keep it off for life with a “maintenance plan.”

Offer something extra. Ms. Nidetch started the business in her home, charging $2 a week (a price of a movie ticket), but soon realized that some participants needed extra support. She increased the number of weekly classes and told everyone they could come as often as they like. It was a concept that stuck. Membership burgeoned – eventually into the millions.

Tell your story. Ms. Nidetch had a great story to tell and she knew it. She did a ton of media interviews and wrote an autobiography, The Story of Weight Watchers. Ms. Nidetch encouraged those who reached their weight loss goals to share their stories and hired them as her class instructors. In the business world, storytelling is one of the most effective ways to convince and convert.

Build your tribe. Back in the '60s and '70s, tribe-building relied on testimonials, publicity and advertising. Those tactics still work for Weight Watchers, but social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and blogs make it even easier to engage and share. Ms. Nidetch also understood the power of word-of-mouth marketing, which is more persuasive. If you can get people talking about your brand, it’ll drive traffic to your door.

Create a persona. Ms. Nidetch went from an overweight brunette to a blonde bombshell. She understood that looking great was part of the persona that would enable her business to grow. Guess what? When Heinz bought her company, they hired her as their spokesperson. To this day she is revered, and was recently mobbed by well-wishers at a Weight Watchers convention. Lesson learned: create and build the right persona for your brand, and it can help take your business to the next level.

Think big. When Weight Watchers turned 10, Ms. Nidetch threw a party. But not just any party. The party was held at Madison Square Garden, and it gathered a ton of press that helped propel the business to the next level. Ms. Nidetch listened to her advisors and started selling Weight Watcher franchises (like the one I worked for). And Ms. Nidetch was never shy when it came to working with the media. Ms. Nidetch realized the press could be her best ally, and they were. Ultimately, Weight Watchers International became a billion-dollar business with franchises in 24 countries.

Today, Ms. Nidetch is still slim, though she needs a walker to get around. Twice divorced, Ms. Nidetch lives modestly in a retirement community apartment surrounded by photos of herself with celebrities. It was never about the money but the gratitude, she says.

There’s a lot you can learn from Ms. Nidetch's experiences, both professionally and personally. Some of her strategies just may work for you.

Jennifer Hudson, a spokesperson for Weight Watchers. Photo courtesy of WEBN-TV photostream.

Tagged as: public relations, Weight Watchers, marketing and branding

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Chris Ruys is founder and president of Chris Ruys Communications, Inc., a marketing/public relations firm that specializes in high visibility campaigns using both traditional and social media strategies. She invites you along on her journey to become a social media master in “Getting Social.”