Battle of the Brands
Targeted consumer marketing tactics tip the scale
for one super-sized weight loss program
Jenny Craig targets women seeking to lose weight
Jenny Craig
Unique Web visitors: 173,000
2010 net revenue: $432 million
Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem, major players in the $60 billion weight loss market, have much in common when it comes to their direct marketing approach. Both brands invest heavily in
celebrity spokespersons and have voracious social media appetites.
The two companies place significant weight in advertising during
the summer months; yet the brands seem to be looking to appeal to
different consumers, and both have areas they need to get in shape.
“It’s an interesting comparison because each one outweighs the
other in certain aspects,” says Giles McGrath, creative director at
online performance marketing agency MediaWhiz. “Take each
brand’s homepage,” he says, “Jenny Craig lays out materials condu-
cive to actually going through and learning about offerings. Where-
as when looking at Nutrisystem’s homepage, your eyes practically
explode—there is messaging all over the place.”
McGrath goes on to say that while Jenny Craig’s homepage was
clearer and easier to navigate than Nutrisystem’s, he found it took
a “nosedive” when clicking on the “How it works” link. “I clicked
on the link and there was an immediate pop-up. It was difficult to
discern what they were talking about. I clicked on the pop-up and
Nutrisystem focuses on both men and women
Nutrisystem
Unique Web visitors: 207,000
2011 net revenue: $401.3 million
was even more confused as there was no information about their
products,” McGrath adds.
And here’s where Nutrisystem gained some points. Although
it’s initial homepage is unfocused, the site “walks you through
four easy steps—it really has the process down,” says McGrath,
wondering if Jenny Craig isn’t merely “resting on its laurels” and
“just assuming people know how its services work.” McGrath also
questions Jenny Craig’s artistic approach, wondering about the
function of the big zipper on its site. He adds dryly: “I guess you’re
supposed to think you can finally zip up your pants after you complete Jenny Craig’s program. But this zipper doesn’t move.” McGrath
also slams Jenny Craig’s logo, which he points out is too similar to
Time Warner’s logo.
Matt Rizzetta, CEO of North 6th Agency, a brands communication firm, found Nutrisystem’s marketing strategy to be much more
“in your face” than Jenny Craig’s, whose marketing strategy he says
is “a bit more gentle and focuses on a more consultative approach.”
Consultative, perhaps—but also mysterious; details on pricing and
products are tricky to come by on Jenny Craig’s website. “The com-
