For some time now, almost since its inception, Peloton has avoided communicating why it is relevantly differentiated from other exercise platforms. Even though Peloton has a unique and significant purpose and promise, the brand has neglected to tell anyone. The brand’s promise and essence are seemingly secrets. You tend to learn about “why Peloton” by osmosis, after signing up and/or buying the hardware. By withholding Peloton’s reason for being, Peloton has cycled through a multitude of strategies and communication tactics, none of which have powered into financial climbs. And, for years, Peloton’s organizational acrobatics have been quite remarkable in frequency.
According to AdWeek, Peloton has lost a CMO, once again.
“Lauren Weinberg, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), has exited the role after just 16 months. During her tenure, Peloton’s marketing budget was slashed by 19%. Weinberg’s exit makes her the third CMO to leave the company since 2020, following Dara Treseder and Leslie Berland. Weinberg had joined the company in December 2023 – and was one of the senior female executives featured in Forbes‘ recent article on Peloton.”
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AdWeek also points out that “Letena Lindsay, Peloton’s Vice President of Global Communications, is also departing after seven years with the company.”
Brand management is not message management, yet should, of course, include communications. Brand management has not been a strong suit for Peloton. It is important to understand that running your business is how you run your brand and vice versa. Brand management is business management. Answers to Peloton’s enduring, profitable growth dilemma are not as simple as home workout versus gym workout or attracting more men to the platform relative to women. For whatever reason, the basic principles of brand management have not been employed, and the Peloton brand continues to suffer.
When Peloton began, Peloton provided a solo at-home workout within an avid, tight-knit, online community. With coronavirus lockdowns, in-home physical activity became critical. COVID-19 boosted Peloton as people were in isolation but craving exercise and group exercise. All Peloton did was leverage the lockdowns. Peloton’s instructors delivered in-home classes from their homes. Peloton soared from selling bikes and treadmills to homebound people, with no view of when the lockdowns would end. But the lockdowns did end. Potential users, who were still waiting for that back-ordered bike to appear, returned to pre-pandemic exercise behaviors.
To compete with other platforms, Peloton’s schedule of classes now includes outdoor runs and walks, yoga, meditation, Pilates, barre, stretching, core, weight training, bodyweight-only training, bike and tread bootcamps, and dance cardio. Peloton added pre- and post-natal classes. Kettlebell training, foam-rolling, elastic bands, shadow boxing, mobility, and bootcamp hybrid workout classes exist. The brand offers apparel and accessories. There is the row machine. However, “variety of classes” is a brand feature, not a description of Peloton’s functional benefits or emotional and social rewards.
Since the pandemic, fewer sign-ups with purchases of Peloton hardware cannot be completely blamed on the removal of lockdowns.
Peloton’s marketing could use improvement. Neither the CMOs nor their C-suite leaders have focused on what makes Peloton relevantly differentiated.
Brief context recap here:
First, Peloton’s marketing focus was price-for-the-bike. Peloton marketing was price-for-bike-as-hero. Price marketing can be brand-detrimental. And it does not create a relevant differentiator. It is all about a cost, not about a commitment, not about a loyalty-building approach. And, for many, Peloton was simply not a good value. Why? Probably because the Peloton costs (money, time, effort) outweighed the Peloton experience, which was never discussed.
Then, the brand segued into a Netflix strategy of acquiring customers above all else. Peloton’s CEO at the time arrived from success at Netflix. But Peloton is not a streaming brand. Having a digital platform, digital component, or app does not make a brand Netflix.
Streaming brands – even Netflix – make one of marketing’s biggest mistakes. Streaming brands lust after the customer they do not have while ignoring the customer they do have. Streaming brands focus on growth only by attracting new customers. Streaming brands have not realized that a brand cannot survive on customer acquisitions alone. To generate quality revenue growth, a brand needs to both attract new customers and build brand loyalty among its current customers. And, even though Netflix is showing spectacular results, the approach is not sustainable: at some point, there will be no one else to sign on.
After the Netflix strategy, Peloton began a campaign that sold the exercise category but not the brand. Selling the category rather than selling your brand is brand-business mismanagement. Selling the category means brand-business leadership does not know what is relevant and differentiated about its brand. Selling the category when your brand does not know its relevant differentiation plays into competitors’ hands.
The sell-the-category campaign featured Peloton instructors. There was a lot of hype around that Peloton campaign. Yes, the instructors are compelling individuals. But, having an instructor telling customers that they should get off of their butts, listen to their inner voice and move may not sell Peloton memberships or hardware. In fact, Bowflex, another indoor fitness training offering, was communicating the exact same message as Peloton TV advertising at the exact same time. The Bowflex message stated: The best you is inside, listen to that inner voice and move.”
To support this point, Campbell’s once tried this “sell the category” approach by advertising “Soup is Good Food.” Customers agreed. Except they bought Progresso Soups, to which you did not add water. The Progresso Soups seemed heartier, less watered down. Kellogg’s once advertised the benefits of breakfast. Customers agreed and went to McDonald’s. Starbucks just fleetingly communicated this category selling strategy when it aired commercials telling us that today is a good day for coffee. True, and perhaps Dunkin’ was a better value.
Peloton’s selling of indoor exercise is a good thing. Selling movement is a good thing. But what makes the Peloton movement different? Is movement the reason for buying into Peloton?
Athletic shoes can offer movement as a benefit, too. So can free weights or NordicTrack. What are the benefits of the Peloton movement? It is mystifying that Peloton does not appear to want us to know why we should move with Peloton rather than from the array of competitive offerings of in-home fitness. There are many Peloton functional, emotional, and social benefits worth telling.
Most recently, Peloton’s marketing focus has been on attracting more males to the platform. A strategy based on a demographic cohort leaves out the core customer. Of course, a brand needs new customers, but please attempt to attract these new customers based on needs, not gender or age. And always ensure that you still adore your core.
Peloton’s mission is “Peloton uses technology and design to connect the world through fitness, empowering people to be the best version of themselves anywhere, anytime.” Why is this not the basis for a brand-focused strategy? Of course, one does not cite a brand’s mission verbatim in communications. But there are some profound sentiments implicit in the brand’s essence. Selling on the “why” instead of the “what” is always a better bet. The ad agency should be pressuring for a specific, needs-based Peloton brand brief. Advertising’s role is bigger than generating awareness and familiarity.
For decades, research has shown that a key benefit of advertising is customer reinforcement—reinforcement that you made the right decision with your purchase. This was highlighted in a Wall Street Journal article about Zillow house buyers who continue to receive post-purchase emails from Zillow. Those post-Zillow house purchasers feel as if they made the right choice after reading what is on the market in the emails.
The authors of a Harvard Business Review article described Peloton’s business model. They concluded that although participants are in different locations, they exercise “…with a virtual community of peers and instructors” and “… the brand’s meaning extends beyond what they would experience with the bike alone.”
This is true. However, to increase owners/subscribers, Peloton must share its meaning with prime prospects and reinforce its meaning with users. There are probably a lot of people who would appreciate the opportunity to participate in Peloton’s worldview. Peloton’s uplifting, positive, you-can-do-it, reassuring, and uplifting technology message is not communicated to the uninitiated. It is a best-kept secret. This is a shame.
Peloton’s meaning has to be meaningful to both users and like-minded others. As Peloton states on its website: “Millions of Members use our platform to connect, bond, inspire, and grow stronger together.” Peloton should focus on meaningful membership.
One approach could be to maximize the paradox of inclusive individuality.
People want to be seen and respected as individuals. At the same time, people want to belong to something bigger than themselves. People want both independence and interdependence at the same time. People savor their uniqueness while wanting to share that uniqueness with like-minded others. People want to respond as individuals and share as members of a community of common interests. “I am an individual with unique wants and needs. But I am not alone. I belong to communities of people who want the same things as I do.”
This is what Peloton does really well. This is what Peloton is: the epitome of Inclusive Individuality. And yet, you would not know this unless you were part of the Peloton family. There is no relevant, distinctive messaging around this critical connective social force. Peloton must manage its brand messaging differently, articulating that its brand experience promises to respect, encourage, and strengthen individuality while belonging to a supportive family. Peloton is the ideal place where people are praised for who they uniquely are and what they can uniquely do while belonging to a group that shares their distinctiveness. Peloton’s messaging lacks this compelling, powerful promise of inclusive individuality. Going to a gym pales in comparison.
Peloton’s communications are not connected to Peloton’s core mission. A brand must be in sync with its desired spirit. Mission statements express the brand’s intent and its purpose. Clearly, Peloton instructors are aligned. You understand Peloton if you take classes. But, for a prospective customer, the brand’s purposeful message is unstated.
At The Blake Project, we believe the road to Peloton’s full potential lies in the fundamentals of brand management.
Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by: Joan Kiddon, Partner, The Blake Project, Author of The Paradox Planet: Creating Brand Experiences For The Age Of I
At The Blake Project, we help clients worldwide, in all stages of development, define or redefine and articulate what makes them competitive at pivotal moments of change. This includes pricing strategies that propel their businesses and brands forward. Please email us to learn how we can help you compete differently.
Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Growth and Brand Education
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