Just like the chocolate and peanut butter in a classic Reese's peanut butter cup, the two different concepts of creating better employee health and fitness as well as promoting a business in a community can often go hand-in-hand.

Lots of business managers by now have become aware of the correlation between employee fitness and health and decreased insurance claims, better productivity, and general all-around good business practice. But one thing they may be overlooking is that employee fitness can provide a community component. This is, to be sure, an ideal situation, but with a little effort, a business can get community visibility and promote employee health at the same time. Furthermore, in some cases, a natural campaign for fitness will earn a business greater visibility naturally, without any effort on the part of top managers.

Around the Block: Natural Branding with Fitness Breaks
Here is one natural way that a business gets visibility entirely based on the will of its workers. Say, for example, that a group of workers concerned with their collective fitness decide to implement a daily walk campaign on their 15 minute morning break. Here, a manager can make or break this initiative, and either promote the idea or stifle it.

This group of workers, who complete daily desk activities in an urban location, begin walking around several adjacent office blocks every morning. Those pedestrians who encounter them notice their confident strides and easy chatter, as well as their ID badges, and gather that this business is doing well, at least in terms of worker morale. The group may stop in at other local businesses, and over the long run, build more awareness that can lead to some good local business partnerships.
On the other hand, a manager who has a short-term view of productivity, and a “miser’s mindset” toward the workday will not allow this positive campaign to happen.

Building community installations
Another way that employee fitness can take a good turn for public relations is through a natural campaign to build fitness equipment into the landscape. If, for example, a group of employees regularly meets to play basketball, a savvy manager can recognize this interest, and provide for on-site installations or basketball facilities in an adjacent open lot. With the right supervision, these installations can provide more convenient workouts for employees, while offering a tool to the community that bears the name of a business or company.

Community days
A business can also use an existing community days program to offer basic fitness tools to both employees and the public. A raffle or lottery style can be a popular approach. These small gifts do not have to cost a lot of money, as a range of items like jump ropes,resistance bands, medicine balls, and other simple tools can often be found for just several dollars each. Bulk buys may further increase the savings on an investment that can keep a business in the public eye.

These ideas are just the beginning of “marrying” branding opportunities with what research shows is a much-needed innovation in 21st-century business: building the morality and capacity of employees through specific, well implemented fitness campaigns.

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