Bionic, the Swiss market leader in EMS (electrical muscle stimulation), combines a modern training method with personal training in a premium location. EMS stimulates 90% of your entire musculature and provides a highly efficient and very intensive fitness training in only 20 minutes. With 10 studios in Switzerland and an international presence in Sweden and USA, at Bionic you never train alone: a personal trainer makes sure that your EMS training is fully effective and motivates you to achieve your goals.
Every Bionic studio provides everything that is needed for your training: from specially designed fitness clothing and fresh towels to high-quality care and cosmetic products. Since Bionic is a one-on-one personal training, there are no overcrowded changing rooms.
During 2017 the social media channels of Bionic have been unified in their content and communication's tone. Before, each studio was responsible for its promotion and activity on the social media – this led to multiple accounts and different art directions, something that was optimised and put under the wing of the new marketing team. A first campaign was then conceived and produced for the fall and winter season of 2017.
Although the image repository of Bionic until that point had a high quality production value (pictured above), the same pictures have been used over multiple years, contributing to the brand awareness of Bionic but eventually generated a feeling of visual stagnation by the time 2017 started, especially for a brand with a luxurious and exclusive offer. The marketing team arranged new processes to establish a steady production of new visual content.
The guidelines for a specifically tailored social media campaign were set as 1.) produce something fresh that doesn't necessarily require a black pitch background, 2.) depict a closer look of what is a Bionic training, 3.) display a more inspiring imagery.
To fully commit to the new art direction, Zurich-based fashion photographer Bon Wongwannawat was asked and contracted to produce the new images. As outlined by the guidelines, goals of this shooting were to showcase a more in-depth look of what a Bionic training entails (arrival at the studio, training, leaving of the studio) and depict a fashion-like direction with the following criteria:
1.) Detail-to-wider perspective:
The training is to remain authentic and "technical", with close ups or detailed shots to promote explanation of specific aspects of the training. The perspective will widen through the steps, from the training to leaving the studio and going outside, to emphasize long lasting effects of Bionic.
2.) From technical to abstract:
The pictures will increasingly tend to be more abstract through the steps, especially for the "outside" part. This is to embody the effects of being fit, ready, empowered that remain with you. This acts as transition from the realistic shots of the training to the mood images and fashion-like poses.
3.) Flexibility for future sets:
Nothing wrong with depicting Bionic in dark backgrounds, but more a need of flexible visual guidelines to produce new content, especially for social media.
Nothing wrong with depicting Bionic in dark backgrounds, but more a need of flexible visual guidelines to produce new content, especially for social media.
Concept: Kilian Bründler, Vinh Pham Dang, Bon Wongwannawat
Camera & Editing: Parinya "Bon" Wongwannawat
Models: Francesca G., Diego A.
The white background was intended to contrast the Bionic suit and stage the abstract scene of being empowered because of the training.
Following the photo shooting, pictures were selected and cut in 1080 x 1080 px format to be best visualised on Facebook and Instagram. An editorial plan was also drafted in order to organise the content with the marketing initiatives. The end result can be seen over @bionicsport.
Concurrently to the photo shooting, videos were also produced to best inform the steps of a Bionic training. From the get go these were conceived for the social media channels – in square format and with a length of max. 60 seconds. A total of five new videos were produced (with one previously recorded from another collaboration and one that acts as the "full" version of all the steps), together with subtle VFX elements. The videos were shot at the Bionic studio in Tödistrasse 46, the most recent one to open in Zurich at the time of the video shooting.
The narrative and subsequent storyboards went through multiple iterations – on one side the need to explain as clear as possible, on the other the intention to produce something "smooth" (fast to consume, enjoyable, easy to take in). The pace was set by framing the narrative from the perspective of a customer with 30 minutes of free time over the lunch break: one of the key benefit of Bionic is the length and effectiveness of the training, a 20 minutes session with the effects of a weekly workout.
Scenes were storyboarded with the square format in mind and with as many details as possible to make production smoother. A major inspiration derived from the gearing up scene of "Commando" (1985), where Arnold Schwarzenegger readies himself for action and dons a military vest – the EMS vest coincidentally looks very similar to this jacket, which led to shoot the scene in a similar manner with the close up of the zip.
Concept: Kilian Bründler, Vinh Pham Dang
Directed by: Vinh Pham Dang, Gioele Di Stefano
Camera: Giovanni Fortunato
Editing & Sound mixing: Gioele Di Stefano
#01 – Online booking and on the way to the studio
#02 – At the studio and preparing for training
#03 –Training and leaving the studio
#04 – The Bionic experience ("full" version)
Head over to @bionicsport to see the whole campaign and what has been produced up until now.