ROR Partners

About ROR Partners

ROR Partners, standing for Return on Relationships, operates as a data-driven performance marketing company with a specialized focus on land-based businesses within the active lifestyle sector. Founded in 2020, the firm serves clients such as health clubs, fitness studios, and medical service providers across North America. The company was co-founded by Tom Lapcevic, the former CMO of 24 Hour Fitness, and Greg Dowd, a former President at the data aggregator Epsilon. Their combined experience in fitness, digital marketing, and data analytics forms the foundation of the company's strategic direction. Lapcevic has a history of building and selling digital media and equipment companies in the fitness space, while Dowd brings over 20 years of experience leading marketing agencies.

The firm's business model centers on leveraging extensive data and proprietary algorithms to deliver targeted, omnichannel marketing programs that optimize advertising spend for its clients. ROR established its data capabilities by acquiring Epsilon's fitness and active lifestyle agency, which included a significant data division. This core asset, referred to as the "identity spine," contains data on over 262 million U.S. adults with more than 700 demographic and socioeconomic attributes. The company makes money by providing full-service marketing solutions, including strategy, media buying, creative content, and analytics, effectively acting as a comprehensive marketing partner for its clients.

ROR's primary service involves enriching a client's first-party data (such as member information and activity) by matching it against its massive data repository. Using proprietary modeling and AI, ROR identifies individuals who are most likely to make a fitness-related purchasing decision, allowing for highly targeted advertising across hundreds of channels. This approach aims to pinpoint audiences with precision, considering factors like geographic accessibility to a club, rather than relying on broad radius-based targeting. The company's offerings span digital and traditional media, consumer research, and reporting and analytics. To expand its service offerings, ROR has made strategic acquisitions, including WindFarm Marketing in 2021 to enhance its inbound marketing capabilities, and Incline Marketing in 2025 to add expertise in organic search solutions for home service providers. In 2024, with backing from private equity firm Gemspring Capital, ROR launched ActivImpact, a platform designed to provide mid-sized brands and agencies with the same sophisticated data and media optimization tools.