Sitting on the couch one Sunday morning late in November, my life changed. It happened unexpectedly and took roughly 60 seconds.
I saw a commercial for Peloton Cycle, the indoor cycling experience designed to happen within your home. For the uninitiated, with Peloton you can participate in live and on-demand studio classes on a bike outfitted with a 21.5-inch Wi-Fi enabled tablet. Since I started working out over 15 years ago, I’ve always been a gym rat. The thought of exercising at home was completely unappealing. That is, until I saw the Peloton commercial and was compelled to click “buy now” from my MacBook.
My bike was delivered in December. Fast-forward to early February: I’ve pedaled over 500 miles and participated in nearly 70 classes.
While I am impressed with the bike, the quality of the classes and complete convenience of having a Peloton in my home, I am blown away by the sheer passion people have for the company, which boasts a “totally immersive and socially connected workout experience”.
Executives at Peloton recognize that word of mouth is more important now than ever before. To help grow the start-up (Peloton launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2013), the company successfully leverages members of its target audience to market the brand. #PelotonAroundTheWorld is a popular hashtag for those traveling and, more often than not, sporting their Peloton-branded workout gear.
In a quantified-self world, Peloton offers riders the ability to track and download their rides. Users know the exact number of miles pedaled, calories burned and cadence achieved during a ride. There is also the ability to post your ride stats directly from the bike to Facebook.
Speaking of Facebook, Peloton uses the group feature of the social networking site to communicate about product updates, get feedback from users and promote contests and other special events. The active (and rapidly growing) Facebook group recently hit 6,000 members.
Much like people gabbing at the gym, people connect about the classes they plan to attend, share stats, put in requests for special rides/playlists and give virtual pats on the back for milestone rides and personal records. Surprisingly (because you know, it’s the Internet), there is a strong sense of camaraderie and encouragement but no trolling.
“The rider community is tight-knit and passionate about helping each other. Peloton has created a brand and product that is truly revolutionary – they’re manufacturing technology that is impacting the lives of many people. Peloton is making fitness approachable, fun, and it fits within every schedule,” said Giselle Gonzalez, a member of the Official Peloton Rider group.
I’m continually amazed each day I see people posting online about Peloton, proudly wearing their Peloton clothes and even getting tattoos with the company logo. Talk about showing one’s commitment to a brand!
Peloton clearly values the relationship it has with its riders and is creating a community of sweaty loyalists who help spread brand awareness and revenue.
If you are a member of the Peloton community, look for me on the leaderboard: #jrock.
I want to know – what brands have won you over?