Invested $400 million in building its manufacturing plant in Ohio one and a half years later. Mark Zuckerberg used the at-home fitness equipment company’s product to explain VR.
“Think of it as Peloton where you subscribe to a service, but the device you use is VR. You put on your VR headset and you are in an amazing environment, doing a boxing or dance class …”
What happened to the Peloton Marketing team after they were canceled? They now receive free promotions from the owner and operator of one of the largest social media platforms in the world.
You can achieve this by combining the marketing principles taught over the years with today’s technology.
Peloton Cancelled, Then They Cancel Themselves
Peloton first hit the zeitgeist with its now infamous video advertisement in December 2019. The ad featured a husband giving a Peloton bicycle to his wife. Consumers didn’t like the creative of the ad and immediately complained on social media.
Some Twitter users were furious about the advertisement, but many Peloton clients agreed. Our holiday spot was designed to celebrate the fitness and wellness journey. Peloton said that while they were disappointed by how some people misinterpreted this commercial, they are grateful to those who understood what was being communicated.
Peloton has gained newfound fame due to its controversial ads. Could this be a 2021 case study for no press being lousy press? Peloton announced a new offer for November 2020.
The Peloton Tread and Tread+ are treadmills.
After five months, they called back every single one.
The company had to remove its treadmills from the market because of preventable injuries and the death of a 6-year-old child.
When the company made public the dangers associated with its treadmills, the stock price plummeted from $118 to $83 between April and May 2021.
The stock continued to rise and was only $10 shy of the $118 high in April 2021.
Peloton Marketing Strategy
Peloton is much more than a home workout machine.
A brand is a name.
#Peloton has been used 728,684 times on Instagram.
@OnePeloton now has 1.5 million Instagram fans
There are 156,000 followers on Twitter
Peloton’s branding has reached the home plate.
They don’t use their equipment quietly. Their customers are proud to tell their family and friends about their gear. This comes from the hard work of their team.
The brand is serious about its product by hiring fitness instructors who are signed up with the largest talent agencies in the industry. (UTA and CAA). These spin instructors are not new instructors who have just started their careers but professional instructors with talent agents.
Peloton moderates every show by requiring each script to be submitted 36 hours before the start of the show. This is all on top of the partnership that allows them to play Beyonce songs in their performances.
What marketing strategies does Peloton use to combat and dominate the market?
Customer Value Journey: Tap into Their Raving Fans
Peloton is using a paid army of salespeople to sell their products.
The final stage of the Customer Journey is Promote. This stage comes after someone has discovered your brand and long before they have reached your top-tier offers.
In the Promote phase, your customers are your best salespeople. Your customers are happy to tell their family, friends, and followers how much they enjoyed your brand. Peloton was lucky in this stage of Promote.
They continued to support the brand despite controversy and death. They continued to post their fitness photos and videos on Instagram, putting the brand in a positive light.
Ninety-three percent of marketers believe that consumers are more likely to trust content created by their customers than brands. Peloton users were more likely to continue riding if other Peloton riders felt the same way.
Create a similar effect: Tell customers how to create content they can share with friends, family, and followers. This can be done by telling your customers what to make (“Take a picture at the start of your ride, and then afterward to show your hard work!”) and showing them customer-created material across your social media (such as sharing customer Instagram Stories to your brand’s profile).
FOMO is a result of user-generated content
We’re referring to FOMO when we discuss Peloton’s capability to create more than just a product and tap into the brand’s strength that consumers love. The fear of missing out, or FOMO, is a part of our psychology that says it’s better to fit in than stand out. Because our minds evolved to fit in with the group, we were safe for a million years.
Today, this is what keeps us relevant.
FOMO has been used in marketing for hundreds of years. FOMO is a term we use often, especially in email subject lines. People want to be a part of what others think is cool.
Peloton has tapped into the psychology of people and is now the leader in at-home fitness. In contrast to Tonal, another at-home exercise option, Peloton’s stats show that it has built a brand, not a product.
Tonal Instagram Followers: 178,000 Followers
Peloton’s Instagram account: 1.5 Million followers (excluding @PelotonMemes, with 282,000 followers).
Use of a tonal hashtag on Instagram: 194,250 posts
Use of the hashtag #Peloton on Instagram: 7,28,704 posts
Use your customers’ content to create the same effect: Showing how many people chose your product and how satisfied they are. This can be done by posting customer content on your marketing channels and discussing their success. You can also ask for testimonials or feedback, which can then be used to improve your landing pages and sales.
Community Growth: It Makes the Peloton Experience Real
Peloton has grown by giving you access to an online community.
You become part of something much more significant when you purchase a Peloton. Ryan Deiss says that you want your products to be able to create a movement.
Their spin bikes became the new cool kid in town. Their fanbase was so incredible they created an Instagram account dedicated exclusively to Peloton memes.
This account has 282,000 followers. That’s more than Tonal had in total. The more relatable Peloton workouts are, the more FOMO is created, and the happier customers to create user-generated material about the product.