CX Technology Implementation of the Year 2025

Fitness First Middle East, one of the region’s most established and trusted health and fitness brands, has been awarded ‘CX Technology Implementation of the Year’ at the 20th Edition of the CX Strategy Summit & Awards 2025. The accolade recognises the brand’s large-scale digital transformation project – Project Genesis – aimed at revolutionising the way members engage with the brand across all its touchpoints.

This milestone reinforces Fitness First’s position as an innovation-driven market leader, with over 40 clubs across the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar, and a forward-thinking approach to digital member experience.

At the heart of this transformation was the creation of a fully centralised Customer Experience Centre powered by a cloud-first ecosystem. The initiative included AI-driven dashboards, multichannel communications (voice, WhatsApp, email, webchat, and social), dual CRM integration, and a centralised appointment and ticketing system – all designed to personalise the member journey and streamline internal efficiencies.

“We are incredibly proud to receive this award, which reflects the scale, innovation, and impact of our digital transformation,” said Mark Buchanan, CEO of Fitness First Middle East. “Our members are at the core of everything we do. With Project Genesis, we’ve not only upgraded our infrastructure—we’ve reimagined what a seamless, intuitive, and data-driven fitness experience looks like.”

Key achievements include:

• 15% increase in lead conversions
• 20% increase in first call resolution (FCR)
• 2X increase in average membership tenure (from 3.8 to 6.2 months)
• 4% reduction in member attrition

Fitness First also ensured that the new ecosystem is fully aligned with evolving data and compliance regulations, creating a scalable and future-proof customer experience platform.

With this award win, Fitness First is now setting its sights on deepening member engagement through continued innovation, with a focus on personalisation, behavioural insights, and data-led decision-making across its expanding regional network.