Kevin O'Brien (Weight Watchers)
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On this episode of Marketing News Canada, Darian Kovacs interviews Kevin O’Brien, the President and General Manager at Weight Watchers Canada.
As the President of the Canadian operation, Kevin has led the team in growing the Canadian business. The brand is focused on helping Canadians benefit from the proven Weight Watchers program. Many Canadians have been part of the Weight Watchers program for years, and others are just beginning their journey in eating right and finding the motivation to live a healthier lifestyle. The brand is constantly looking to innovate both its in-person and digital experience and is also looking into new segments and business relationships to drive growth.
Weight Watcher's biggest mission statement is to have people understand that being healthy is not just about achieving a certain weight, it is about living a certain lifestyle. It is about understanding what is in the foods we are putting in our body and understanding the importance of exercise. Kevin stated that “it is hard to out-exercise a bad diet.” Being healthy includes having a healthy mindset, getting enough sleep, being active and achieving balance.
The brand is based on losing weight healthily. They could design a diet plan that would make people lose weight quicker, but they want to help people lose weight and keep it off too. They design their programs to be sustainable and simple to integrate into your current lifestyle. The original program was on paper where users had to record their eating and exercise habits. Currently, Weight Watchers is now an app, the idea is to have users feel as if they have a lifestyle coach in their pocket.
The Pandemic was an interesting period for Weight Watchers because people were no longer able to go to workshops and had to simply rely on the app. However, something to note about this time was the amount of growth the company saw due to the number of people wanting to focus on their health with their newfound free time. People felt during The Pandemic that they lost some control in their life, and controlling their weight was a way to gain some back in their day-to-day lives.
One of the ways Weight Watchers varies from other weight loss programs is its simplicity. Compared to MyFitnessPal and Nume, where you are expected to know the calories and other nutrition facts in the food you're eating, Weight Watchers does not. Using the points system, you have a daily points allowance that you must stay within, this allows you to eat unlimited healthy foods but requests that you limit the unhealthy ones.
In marketing, Kevin stated that it is important to know your audience. An example of this was when the brand used DJ Khalid as a spokesperson for the brand, they only used this in the US, because they knew it would not resonate the same way in Canada.
Kevin is dedicated to health and fitness. He does not only care that people lose weight, he cares that they keep it off too. Weight Watchers is about a lifestyle improvement and not just about looking a certain way compared to other brands. Kevin’s dedication to growth for the brand makes him the ideal person to be the President and General Manager of Weight Watchers Canada.
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