Until 2014 Brian Waring was CMO at Virgin Active, prior to which he oversaw UK marketing at Starbucks. At the beginning of 2014 Virgin Active launched what it claimed was the first-ever brand building campaign for a gym. Waring said the campaign was meant to appeal to people’s hearts, not just their pockets. A self-proclaimed marketer “through and through”, Waring had already worked on Virgin brands while at Virgin Entertainment Group in the 1990s. He is now a consultant.