Launching PLANET FITNESS into cultural relevance in partnership with an internet hero
Planet Fitness turned its 11-year Times Square New Year's Eve sponsorship into a cultural moment by listening to the internet and giving them exactly what they wanted.
When viral sensation Neace Robinson's "1, 2, 3… release 'em" line became the people's choice for the Ball Drop countdown, we didn't just acknowledge the trend. We flew her to Times Square and let her lead the “funeral for 2025.”
By collaborating with an internet hero, we launched Planet Fitness into massive virality and cultural relevance, delivering record-breaking organic performance for the brand.
BRAND CHALLENGE
Every year, Planet Fitness already owns one of the biggest stages in culture. As a sponsor of the Times Square New Year’s Eve Celebration, their challenge wasn’t visibility. It was how to use that platform in a way that felt authentic, human, and true to what their community stands for.
CREATIVE SOLUTION
When Neace Robinson went massively viral just weeks before New Year's Eve for her funeral singing performance, complete with her now-iconic "1, 2, 3… release 'em" line, the internet immediately crowned her the voice they wanted for the Ball Drop.
For Planet Fitness, this wasn't a trend to hijack. It was an opportunity to listen to culture and give the community what it was already asking for.
To bring this project to life, we acted with extreme speed by moving from the initial viral spark to a live activation in just two weeks. We flew Neace to New York City and put her in front of the New Year’s Eve Ball, turning an online cultural conversation into a real-world experience. We built the activation to feel organic and socially-native, allowing Neace's authenticity to shine and giving her fans what they knew she deserved.
RESULTS
Across three posts, the fandom showed up in force, flooding the comments, sharing the moment, and celebrating Neace’s rise from internet favorite to Times Square star. By collaborating with an internet hero, Planet Fitness saw enormous virality and cultural relevance for the brand. The content delivered record-breaking organic performance for Planet Fitness with 40M+ views, 7.5M engagements, 26K new followers, and an astonishing ONE MILLION shares.
This shared cultural win proved that Planet Fitness understands that New Year's Eve isn't just about starting fresh, it's about showing up for people. And when you uplift culture, culture uplifts you back.