June 29, 2021 • 41 mins
On this episode we're catching up with Peloton's SVP of Global Marketing and Communications, Dara Tresder, to talk all things Peloton - from brand access to programming to influence and beyond. Dara gives us insight into Peloton's data-driven "you said, we did" approach to supporting members as well as a look into the brand's communications framework. Plus, the power of community and Dara's thoughts on creative effectiveness and brand authenticity. See you on the leaderboard, Adlandia!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm off my game today. No, you're not. People are
going to have to start making better content. I think
we're gonna be talking about this for a long time.
When you program for everyone, you program for no one.
I think it's that we're purpose driven platform like we're
trying to get to substance. How was that? Are you
happy with that? This is marketing therapy right now? It
really is what's up on? Laura Currenty and I'm Alexa Kristin.
(00:24):
Welcome back at Landia. It's hot Landia summer and we
have a great guest, Dara trus Cedar from Peloton is here. First.
The industry has talked widely about the four Seas, and
there are two seeds. I'm not talking about Kristin Krenzi.
We'll talk about that later. We're always part of the
four Seas. But really about collaboration, co operation, and creation.
(00:46):
Those are the things right now that are incredibly interesting
in terms of how new i P is being created,
but different than before in the past. I think post pandemic,
there's a surge in and understanding that those three things
coming together can create a sustainable, right, new kind of
(01:08):
thread of i P, or multiple threads of IP and
commercial opportunity. You know, lex, I think it's interesting in
use case of two right, in the sense of you
and I working together over the years and developing a
number of collaborations. How I would think about them previously
were these moments in time where you had a one
plus one equals three effect. We would use collaborations as
a means to move into new spaces, you know, get
(01:29):
in front of new audiences, you know, take over part
of the marketing our culturals like Guy's conversation. Right, this
new and interesting use case or approach from a brand,
and as brands look at collaborations as maybe previously thinking
you know, as a stunt or as a moment is
it now a strategy? And as what was once a
(01:50):
vertical business, So a collaboration might be tacked on to
to be an interesting moment in time now moving horizontally,
the ability to think about who are those like minded
brands or businesses that exists in the world that allows
us to move into new spaces, not as a moment
in time as a meaning to capture conversation, but to
build new revenue streams, to pull apart pieces of your
business that can actually exist in entirely new industries like
(02:12):
that part of the collaboration, cooperation and ultimately creating is
a really interesting thing that I think we're starting to
see accelerate um from a number of brands, as you mentioned,
in the retail space and beyond. So I love what
you're saying, Laura, and I think that instead of I'd
love to see a future instead of having, you know,
(02:33):
multivariate campaigns in marketing, having marketing need multivariate products interesting
and collaborations. And then you start to drill down on
what are the things that really work for this group
of buyers or this community, and is that something that's
actually more viable widely or viable to a group of
(02:53):
people and buyers that are so critical to my core
product and proposition. That starts to become really exciting. And
do I think that that's a product um you know,
a function of a product team or a marketing team.
I think it's both. But I think that marketers have
a real place and a real voice um where we
should start thinking more about product and product development. Here.
(03:17):
The second really quick point about what you said that
I think is really interesting and leading into the interview
a bit, is I got really excited the other day,
I actually saw on LinkedIn someone from Duncan Donuts was
talking about the same kind of mindset. When you kind
of combine a product, collaboration, and brand and there's real
value around those things, you start to get a whole
(03:39):
another set of innovation ideas, creativity, and community that you
start to attract to your company and your brand. Speaking
of Duncan, they just announced a collaboration with Backdrop for
their first ever paint collection. So I know on our
last episode we were talking with Steve Wilson that he
wishes there was a podcast talking about paint, but I
(04:01):
don't think he would have expected it to come from Duncan.
So I think that this is like what we're talking about.
Is there a podcast out there that's like paint colors
over coffee? You know what I mean? Like, it is
just really interesting to start thinking about how brands can
open up the aperture of access um to new and
interesting ways of thinking about you know, products, experiences, services
(04:23):
that don't necessarily have to be specifically in the wheelhouse,
but are just adjacent enough that can can expand your
mind to think about ultimately the one plus one equals three.
I think that it's very hard to do this, so
you have to have the right leadership, the right mindset.
And I'm excited to get into a conversation with Dara
(04:45):
Um because Peloton has done this really well. Now i
have not seen a company do this really well for
a sustained period of time, and I'm really interested to
see how does Peloton maybe start to show the world
of marketing and product a bit more about how you
sustain these types of things collaboration, cooperation, and creativity over
(05:07):
a long period of time. We'll be right back, all right, Atlantia.
We have a very special guest. We're so excited to
have s VP of Global Marketing and Comms from Peloton.
(05:27):
Welcome to the show, Dara tro Cedar. Thank you so
much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
So Dara and getting ready for the show, Alex and
I were talking about we really need to get into
like the Peloton vibe. Let's do it, Dardar, do right,
do right? Welcome to the show. Now you got me
(05:48):
all hype. I'm like, let's go, that's set, let's do
I feel like that's very Peloton though, that's very Peloton right.
The slow class get in the zone. So obviously we've
all known each other for quite some time. We go
back to the days when you were the CMO of
ge Ventures in the spirit of catching up there in
this new role at Peloton, tell us what your initial
experience has been, Like, I love doing this when you're
doing it with old friends, it's so much more fun.
(06:11):
And yeah, I mean it's been really great. I think
that you know, Peloton is in such an amazing position
because here we are motivating millions of people around the world,
trying to help them be active, centered and connected. And
it's really a marketer's dream. How do you make that happen? Right?
What are the different tools in your toolkit that you
use to motivate people? Um, And it's been I've really
(06:34):
enjoyed it. We have such a wonderful team, so all
credit all always goes to the team, and I think
it's been incredible to see what we've been able to
accomplish in just a short period of time and we're
only getting started. It feels like the whole world knows Peloton,
loves Peloton. You guys still have a lot of room
to grow. When we talk to our friends and family,
(06:54):
they're like Oh yeah, Peloton, right, no question. I know
who they are, I know what they do. If someone
doesn't know Peloton, I'm really interested in knowing. How do
you describe Peloton? You know, that's a really great question.
And I think at the end of the day, what
we're doing that Peloton is we're helping you become the
best version of yourself, right, helping you with your physical
(07:16):
and mental health. And it's a connected fitness experience. So
right from the comfort of your home, you can get
a great workout, a phenomenal workout, and that was not
something that you could do before Peloton came on the scene.
I give so much credit to our founders and our CEO,
John Foley, because when they came up with this idea,
(07:36):
right with our founders, the world was like, wait, what
are you talking about? From im from my home, I'm
going to get a great workout. And now the whole
world knows it to be true. And now everybody's like, oh,
that's a great idea. I want to do that too,
And and so I think it's that that unmatched motivation,
right that you can get through a connected fitness experience.
That's what Peloton brings you. And so you have that
(07:59):
power whole combination of content and digital right, and hardware
and software all coming together music. Right, There's so much
coming together to deliver this immersive experience that's unlike anything
that's out there, unlike anything that anyone has experienced before.
And I think that that's what makes Peloton so special,
(08:22):
is that we created this category and and we're continuing
to innovate and push what it means to be a
connective fitness product. Marketers are pointing to Peloton as like
a gold standard example of everything you're talking about content,
entertainment and experience You've come from. As you said, great
companies that have really defined what greatness in their category
(08:46):
look like. What does greatness look like for marketing at
Peloton and how are you working with your team to
constantly plot on defining new greatness and creating greatness in
a marketing income space. Yeah, I think greatness for us
is really about again, I think that that combination bringing
the art and the science together to establish and grow relation,
(09:10):
our relationship with our members. That's what we're all about, right.
Everything we do a Peloton is centered on improving the
lives of our members. We are always saying what's in
it for our members? How is this going to help
our members? How does this make our members lives better?
Does this help our members out? We're always asking ourselves
the question what's in it for our members? And so
(09:30):
as marketers, everything that we do comes back to, Okay,
how do we bring the art and science together to
establish that relationship and continue to grow it, to develop
it to nurturing. Like every great relationship, it's it's gotta
be two ways, right, So we always always make sure
are we listening to our members? Are we paying attention
(09:51):
to what they're saying? And are we acting on it right?
Are we having a conversation with them? How do we
surprise and delight them? We never want to be an interruption.
We never want to marketing to be an interruption. We
always wanted to be a conversation. That's a source of delight,
a source of surprise, a source of joy. And so
for us, that's kind of what great looks like. And
you can't you can't do it with just the ar
(10:12):
or just the science, right, It's the combination bringing up
these things together. That's where the magic happens. It's interesting
to think about, and I'll use focus group of one.
I'm by myself, I'm plugged into this screen and I'm competing,
and there's a leaderboard and there's all this this data
and information going on. But then what quickly took hold
the more rides I got into at least this is
a media company. So dar am I thinking about this? Right?
(10:34):
Is Peloton moving towards more media company versus fitness company?
Are there other things in the programming space we're going
to see that go far beyond the hardware? Well, we
have a variety of disciplines already, right, we have yoga,
we have pilates, we have bar we have outdoor running.
So we already have a bunch of disciplines that you
(10:55):
can enjoy right without having a connected fitness equipment in
your house, So you don't you don't necessarily need to
equip it to start to benefit from an access Peloton
content from your phone. You can download the Peloton app.
You have a thirty day free trial um and you
can immediately start to take advantage of the content that
(11:16):
we have. And I think that you know, Laura, you
bring up a really great point. We all in some
ways of media company. Right, We've got our our chief
content Officer gen Cotta just a such a phenomenal job
with her team. We have got, you know, just incredible
content and world class instructors and it is truly enjoyable.
Like I am the kind of person that like from me,
(11:36):
I need to be motivated to work out, and you know,
even even just take today for example, I woke up
early and I was like, I've been wanting to take
an Alicia Keys ride and I just felt like the
Alicia Keys music and I was like, you know what,
I'm just gonna go take that ride. And I went.
This morning, I went downstairs, got on my bike, quick
thirty minute ride, and I was, I was, and it
was so funny. My daughter, my five year old daughter,
(11:58):
was in the next room, and when I came out,
she was like, Mommy, I loved hearing you sing, singing
at the top of my luves. I'm like enjoying myself.
It's like celebration and and and yes, I did get
a good work. I did not pr in that class,
didn't get a personal record, you know, because like I said,
I was singing at the top of my luve's really
enjoying the moment. But I think that's kind of what
(12:19):
it's about it's about we're not forcing anything on you.
I love when you said that it's not overprogrammed. Right.
We have such a sophisticate which such a great product
team that has done such a nice job where there's
all there is choice, but there's not too much, right so,
but there's there is a great variety so that you
get to pick and you can pick what makes sense
(12:40):
when you at that point. There are some days when
I'm like, you know what I really need a Cody
Rigsby specifically Britney Spears, right like, that is all I
need today. That is exactly what I need today. And
there might be some days where it's like, you know,
I really need and Alex to saw Club Bangers. That
is what I need today? Right shut the door. You
know I don't want my children in here. Darth Cenar
(13:03):
is about to leave the build up. Darth Johnson just
showed up. You know what I'm saying. I think we
just got your alter ego name a little while you
call that, what's the alter I need that alter ego?
I feel like there's a there's an alter ego and
Darth Johnson. There's an alter ego and Darroth Johnson. You know,
(13:27):
I was like, I can't have my kids see that,
you know, people's stuff. So I think, okay, So we
did have a question which we know you can't answer,
but who is your favorite instructor? Oh? I can't come
on now, that's like you I could list all of them.
I go for all of them. They're all amazing, every
single one of them. How Pivotal has the mobile app
(13:48):
without the device been to the efforts of getting people
actually on and involved in Peloton in general, I would
assume huge. I think it's been. Yes, absolutely is. I
think one of the things it's it were increasing access
in the sense that, like anybody, you can just download
the app thirty day free trial and start to immediately
(14:10):
immerse yourself in the Peloton community of the Peloton experience.
And you know that's so that's huge. Peloton Digital, you know,
is an important part of our business. And I think
it's you know, there will always be people who that's
the first point, that's the first way they come out exactly,
it's the lowest barrier to you know, the barrier to entry.
(14:31):
That's where it's lowest. There will always be people who
that's where they come in from. Right, and that's okay.
And so for us, we're constantly making sure that we
have a variety of content, not just great content for
our connected fitness devices, but also for the app making
sure that we have, you know, content that you don't
need any equipment for, or you need minimal equipment, so
(14:51):
that you can start to really begin your health and
wellness journey physically and mentally, even before you you know,
because I know you're gonna end up getting that bike,
because you're gonna start and you're gonna be like, I
eat my but you know that bike, you know, at
le we have you know, it's likely you know, you
guys start with the O d'euv's right, you know, you
(15:11):
start with the appetizers, and then you know, you're like,
you know what I mean, that bike and some wine.
It's interesting to think about how influential your instructors have
become in culture and from collaborations to you know, seeing
them building their own brands outside, you know, on social
and other endeavors that they have. How um are you
(15:32):
working with the instructors to imagine what I'll say a
horizontal build in reach of the organization as opposed to
a vertical one in in fitness alone. So you know,
I'll never forget when I first met John Foley Um
in person and we were talking. This is our founder
and CEO, and he said something to me, and it
really it touched me so much because I think it's
(15:53):
just so um it just really signifies who he is
and he's just spirit of generosity. And he said, you know, darn,
one thing I want you to know is I want
all of our instructors to be the biggest superstars they
could be, so just so you know, we want them
to have the biggest personal brands because as their brands group,
the Peloton brand grows. And I completely agree with that
philosophy and I love that. But that's so much in
(16:14):
the DNA. Our instructors, you know, their owners of the company.
They are part of the brand right um. They are
in many ways, sometimes on the front lines of the
brand as they are delivering you know, their messages unscripted
and really inviting us to enjoy and grow through the workout.
And so we you know, we are very supportive of
our instructors. We love our instructors, and so I work
(16:37):
closely with Jen Cotter and bred Olsen, our chief membership
officer and and team, and we we are constantly, you know,
um working with our instructors to support them in their
different endeavors. And I think it's been it's just been
really incredible to see how the Peloton brand has continued
to grow from strength to strength, and also our instructor
brands continue to grow from strength to strength. It's not
(16:59):
mutually exclusive. It's symbiotics. If you look at publishers and
you look at publisher talent right from you could look
at writers, you could look at journalists, you could look
at all sorts of things. Your instructors are this amazing
kind of talent, this bench of talent, and what phenomenal
I p you all have here to do extensions and create.
(17:22):
You know, what I would say is potentially like these
what you already have, these micro fandoms, You already have
them before you got on the Mike, Laura and Ryan
we're talking about their favorite instructors, and there was like
intimate detail of why they liked someone or what they
(17:43):
thought when they first took a class and they were
like uh and then they were like, oh my god,
that person like kicked my ass and I felt so good.
I'm only going back to them for like the next
time I feel like this mood or this mood or
this mood. Right, that's an amazing thing as a marketer,
too kind to be sitting on um and have the
ability to be so potentially creative with In some ways,
(18:07):
to me, it puts you in a really interesting seat
of not only being a marketer, but of being able
to take the kind of talent as product and looking
at them as how do you start to develop them
and those personalities using them as like almost extensions. Is
that something that you guys talk about or think about. So,
(18:30):
you know, for us, our instructors are you know, they
are incredible partners and they're a critical part of the
brand and a critical part of the experience. And so
for us, it's all about working together. Right. The way
we think about our instructors are what are their goals?
What do they want to accomplish, and how do we
accomplish it together? So that's how we really embrace it,
(18:52):
you know, our instructors. You know Jen Cotter, like I
talked about our chief content officers, she spends a lot
of time. That's her job, right, She manages all the instructors.
She and all of our programming globally and it's just
phenomenal at it. So she spends a lot of her
day doing that and that's what she works on. Where
we come in from a marketing standpoint is how do
we how do we partner right and help take that
(19:13):
to the next level, so you know what, like for example,
there was a new series we we recently launch which
you can participate in Right to Great Best with Alex Tucson, Right,
and that's so awesome. Right, it's Alex to SA you know,
is able to kind of be this coach and there's
competition and it's so fun. I'm on Tim Activates, which
is obviously the Tim that's gonna win. Uh, Like, is
(19:36):
there a sideline supporter section on the road to because
validate you know, you gotta validate yourself, activate your hustle.
So one I mean to activate of the hustle, you know.
So the Laura, I'm gonna look for you on the leaderboard.
So there's lots of exciting things like that, and I
think you're gonna continue to see that because when we
first came at the market, you know, it was like
(19:58):
we had to explain there's a bike you get on
the bike, there's an instructor, it's gonna go to you. They'readable,
high five your friend. You know. Like we had to
explain what the product was and we will continue to
do that. But because of the problem, we continue to innovate,
We continue to take things to to the next leup,
we continue to introduce amazing new features, etcetera. But in
addition to that, we can do deeper storytelling. Well, we
(20:21):
can really start to talk more about our instructors and
our content and our music and our programming. Right, and
so that's what you're gonna see a lot and our community.
I think that deeper storytelling is what we're good going
to have to continue to do that, deeper storytelling around
all of these facets that that really helped people to
feel connected to us. Right, So we established that relationship
(20:43):
and we grow it. It's so evident throughout this conversation
how member centric it is. And I know a marketing
we talk a lot about consumer first, consumer first, but
sometimes it's easy to um slide the other way and
get back to business service focus. What does that discipline
look like? What are the signals or you know, mechanism
by which you're making decisions on what stories to feature,
where to go in on, where to kind of refine,
(21:05):
um et cetera. Yeah, I think we are a data
driven company at Peloton, and I love that because everything
starts with consumer insights, right. And so we're listening, right,
We are listening to what our members are telling us.
And our members are telling us things through a variety
of channels. They're talking to us on social media, they're
(21:26):
talking to us in their member groups. They're talking to
us through the actions that they take on the product, right,
the workouts that they do, the music that they select,
what they request right there, all these different ways that
they're talking to us, and we're listening, and we're listening
and then we take action. So at Peloton, we talked
there's a there's a dynamic we talked about. You said
we did, You said we did. We do it with
(21:47):
our employees, and we do it with our members. This
is what you told us. These are the actions we
have taken as a result of that. For example, Beyonce,
she was our most requested artists. Right. Beyonce is a
Peloton member. She's been a Peloton member for several years.
She has enjoyed the power of music and how music
has powered her workouts, and she wanted to be able
to bring that to her fellow members, and we were
(22:09):
able to work together with her to do that, right.
But you know, and and the reason that was so
meaningful was because Beyonce wanted to do it and Peloto
wanted to but most importantly, our members wanted us to
do it. Do you see what I'm saying? Yes, we do.
In fact, Laura and I were having one of our
Atlantia like offline sessions talking about Peloton and I said
to Laura, the Beyonce thing is awesome that you had
(22:33):
just launched it. I was like, it's amazing. Here's what
a lot of people will not recognize. They were listening.
They knew that their members wanted Beyonce, and so I
am so excited that you have such a tangible example
of and that you have a practice. What you're talking
about is actually a cultural practice of you say it,
(22:55):
we do it. Yeah. I love that. That's going to
be the episode title. That's awesome. That is the episode tight.
That's going on a T shirt. It's a it's a
it's a great pedagogy, right, you know, because you sometimes
we're sitting on data swamps. You know, we collect data, data, data, data,
and we don't do anything about it. What's the point
of gathering all the data if you're not going to
(23:15):
take any action. For us, we're really focused. We're listening.
What are you telling us? What are we doing as
a result of it? And I think that's where you
see that relationship between the brand and the customer, right,
which for us, we you know, we think is our members. Right.
We see peloton on our members. You see it deepen,
you see it strengthen, you know, And we're not perfect.
(23:37):
We don't get it right all the time. There are
times we make mistakes. But we when we make mistakes
say hey we made a mistake. You know, we do
whatever it takes to to kind of get back on
the right side. I mean, I think about it like
I annoy my husband. You know, I don't know, probably probably,
you know, I don't know. Maybe let's not going let's
not look at the data on that one loves me.
That's a different ship. There's a great relay some tip there.
(24:00):
So it's like I don't get in a hundred percent
right all the time, you know, Like there are times
I do like annoying things or whatever. But it's like
it's okay, you've got there's the trust, there's love, there's joy, right,
and we are both, you know, being there for each other.
And as I think that's where the things brand. Sometimes
we forget that at the end of the day, it's
about relationship and like what are we How are we
building trust with our members? How do we continue to
(24:24):
build trust and continue to invest in those relationships? Right?
And it's a constant because just like with our relationships
with individuals, the relationship between a brand and imer a
customer is a living, breathing thing where you have to
continue to invest. And if you don't continue to invest
and build that relationship, it's gonna Deteriory, imagine a friend
that you haven't heard from in a long time and
(24:44):
they just call you, hey, Laura, you know hi, by
the way, like I'm here, Like we'd just love to
show up at your house in New Jersey. You're probably
gonna be like, I haven't heard from you in like
fifteen years, Um, I don't even know who you are
you you know. So it's what you have the ring for,
exact Actually, that's you have the ring for. We like decline,
So you know, it's it's about it's building a real
(25:06):
authentic relationship. That's what we really try to do. A Polton.
What I love that you're saying. I want to point
this out for marketers. I want to point this out
for anybody in the communications industry. Social media has become
the default channel to communicate something to say, I hear you.
If brands do it at all. What you're saying is
that you're changing the product. Huh that like the most
(25:30):
successful brands have done that. I am changing the thing
that you bought from me, not just putting it on
a you know, easy billboard for you to read. Not
just you're doing that too, I'm sure, but it's fundamentally
changing the product and the product experience. Is exactly what
(25:50):
modern product brands should be doing today. Well, it's also
interesting just building on that. Right, Like, I'm trying in
my head to think about the amount of hardware that
I have dale interactions with. No, I don't ride the
bike every day. I know I'm going to work on that.
But when I think about the amount of hardware, right,
like I think of Apple, right, I'm looking at my laptop,
my phone, there are very few brands I have that
many regular interactions within a week. So there's almost this
(26:13):
need to continually innovate and surprise and delight and continue
to program and stay in communication with me because now
it's it's a relationship with what was once thought a
bike in the corner of the room, but there's an
entire community on the other side of that. I mean,
how many brands in the world get to say that, yeah,
there's a community and you know, it's like it's a
source of joy and peace. And I can't tell you
(26:36):
how many times people like are like Peloton's change my
life and they mean it, including by the way human
I live with, Like my husband, I remember when I
Fride first coming and he's like, I'm a former Marima.
Now he's like, I'm looking at me on the leader board.
I'm almost at the very top and I'm gonna do
It's it's just it really it brings and whether it's
competition you need, or it's just joy, or it's just
(26:58):
you know, a time for you, or it's just relaxation,
or it's spending time with your loved ones exercising together,
whatever it is, it's like there is something for everyone,
right Peloton is truly for everyone, and I think that's
something that's that's really powerful because no matter who you
are or what you're looking for, you come to the
bike and you find it there. And I think that
(27:20):
that's the thing, right, It's like that the continued innovation
creates the space for us to meet you where you
are and give you exactly what you need in that moment.
Does it ever get challenging communicating that like thinking about
trying to be a lot of things to so many people.
We have obviously like a marketing communications framework that we
(27:41):
use say what are the key messages that we're trying
to to communicate to our members and and then you know,
communicating in that way, but I think what's even better
is that we're speaking to you in a way that
makes sense for you. So right, as a member, there
are things you tell us about what matters to you.
(28:04):
For example, you can join attack or create attack right,
and tags are the micro communities with our within our
broader communities. So for example, I am a part of
Peloton Moms and Peloton Working Moms, and there are many
times that I received communication that just blesses me because
it's just what I need and it's a catering to
(28:25):
what I'm looking for as a mom right as as
a as a mother that like me time that I need,
that that space for me, reminding me for to take
self care, reminding me to invest in myself. And I
think that that's the thing that's so powerful. And what
is amazing about Peloton is that it's not you're not
just hearing it from Peloton, but you're hearing you're from
(28:47):
fellow members, which is even more powerful, right, And I
think that is it's it's it's a true community that's
mutually reinforcing. So it's not just like a lot of
messages just going out in the ether, but so you're
hearing the messages for you in the language that matters
to you, about the things that are important to you,
(29:07):
and that allows you, I think, to really have that incredible,
unparalleled experience. What are the things that you're most excited
about as you look at your marketing comms roadmap in
the year ahead. Well, I'm really excited about, you know,
I mean, there's so many things I'm excited about. I
think one of the things that's more in the immediate
future that I'm excited about is we have nine top
(29:30):
tier elite athletes who are members of the Palatan community, uh,
some of whom are former Olympians uh, and some who
may be competing in activities over the summer. And we're excited, right.
We've got a whole train with champions stuff that's going
to be going down this summer and that's gonna be
(29:51):
a lot of fun. I think, you know, it's like
we're all excited, right, We're all ready to kind of
make the most of the summer. And I'm so excited
to do that way fellow members of the Peloton community,
and how we bring that to life and get inspired
and challenged, um, and just enjoy ourselves. Can I just
offer one product like this, just in the spirit of
you said, we do product feedback. Tap on the screen,
(30:15):
I want that shirt, Drop it in a shopping cart
from me. Peloton will buy it on the end of
the ride. It's just a product feature, just a suggestion
I'd like to tap to buy. Instruct your outfits from
the screen. I don't know if that's coming, Laura, Thank you,
thank you for sharing with us your experience. UM, I
will say Peloton Apparel, I mean, Jill fully talk about
(30:39):
a dynamic woman, our VP of Peloton Apparel, has built
I think a phenomenal business and and Peloton. I love
my Peloton apparel, you know, like it's like the weekend
comes in, I'm in my Peloton a parren, I'm rocking it.
And it's like I see, you know, I go to
the store, I see another mom, she looks at me.
We give each other that look girls, you know, and
(31:02):
and it just it is so wonderful and and it
just I also I just feel like it just always
makes everything look good when you wear the pelts On apparel,
and like makes everything look just exactly why you wanted
to look um instagram worthy perfect. And so I I
absolutely love our pelts On apparel. And I think you're
gonna you're continue to see just a lot of intervation
(31:24):
in that space, right, just a lot of really great So, Laura,
you are going to want to check out because there's
gonna be a lot of amazing things happening to just
stay tuned my credit card. Ready, we plugged in to
what's going on in the pellets On universe. And be ready,
you didn't even have to ask. They already knew. That's
(31:44):
how good they are. They are new as you look
out into the market. Um, one of the things that
are inspiring you right now, if you might chair you know,
I really like when brands accept who they are and
authentic to who they are. And I think that it's
interesting saying because you see that happen. I think in
a in a variety of ways and and and I'm
(32:06):
inspired by that, right And it's like sometimes it's like,
you know, provocative and a little like wait what, and
sometimes it's it's it's it's just it's spot on. But
I think whenever you're taking I want to see creative effectiveness.
So what I mean by that is I want to
see you push creativity to cut through the clutter and
(32:31):
be heard. And I'm inspired by the way brands are
doing that right, you know, whether it's using just completely
powerful novel storytelling, or it's like really really getting that
insight that creates that unlock for the campaign, like it's
just like spot on, everybody who sees it gets it immediately,
(32:52):
or it's using technology right as a way to you know, uh,
elevate your brand and different shape your brand. And I'm
excited to see how we focus on creative effectiveness because
I think for so long. You know, it was kind
of like we were the mad Men era where it
was and it was really mostly mad women because it
(33:12):
was women getting it done. Well, let's keep it real,
you know. But but but you had that era of advertising, right,
and then we kind of did a big swing over
to mark Tech and it was like every single mark
Tech stack you could, you could build. And I think
the beauty is in the middle, right. I think the
beauties when we have creativity and we have technology and
(33:37):
data and we bring them together. And creative effectiveness is
about that, right. Creative effectiveness is about looking at your
tool kit and figuring out what is that right, and
like what do what tool do I need to really
get the job done? And that really focusing on creative
(33:57):
effectiveness and like how am I creative and most effective
way at this particular point in time. So it's not
just even looking at your tools alone, but you have
to do it within the broader context of culture. That's
what excites me because I think things are moving so
quickly and they're only going to continue to change and
(34:18):
evolve and grow, and it's so you're never gonna be bored,
especially if you're always focusing on creative effectiveness. If that's
what you focus on, I think that's where you're going
to really see a lot of uh business results impact.
So that's what really excites me about the future of marketing.
So dark we're gonna go into our game. We call
(34:40):
it bye bye bye. What would you say goodbye to?
By A? What would you buy? B y? And what
would you do yourself? B Y? All right, Well, as
you know, I am moving right now across the country.
So what I'm saying bye bye too is all the
clutter in my life and all the furniture of my
love the children ruined. So I'm saying that amazing. Okay,
(35:07):
what are you going to purchase? And what I'm buying
is uh stuff that's gonna be like tailored to my
new house. Like I'm really excited. I actually, you know,
interior design, and that's like a you know, a little
like passion of mine. I'm an amateur interior designer. Like
when I say amateur means I'm not no one would
pay me to do it because I don't very well
(35:28):
when I enjoyed doing it and my husband indulges me.
So I'm so I'm really enjoying that, you know, looking
at rugs and lamps and like looking at the order
to delivery time and trying to figure out when it's
all gonna arrive. So I'm doing a lot of buying
of that right now. And by Darthrositar. So what I'm
currently working on. My daughter is wonderful and she is
(35:51):
um five years old and she loves to sing and
um she has been working on her own original songs.
So what I will be doing by Dartracy there is
trying to help her home produce, you know, with I
think a combination of a microphone and iPhone and other
home devices records some of her songs so she can
(36:14):
produce her first homemade EP for her grandma with all
these wonderful songs he's written. I love that. That is adorable. Adorable. So, Dara,
if people want to get a hold of you, how
do they follow you? At Daratrasy there on Instagram? Like
I you know, I connect with people through my Instagram.
(36:36):
It's another personal hobby of mine and they can find
you on My husband is like almost never on Instagram.
He only comes on my birthdays on Mother's Day to
do a post. Doesn't have the app on his phone
and so he doesn't. He has no idea that I
actually have a few followers. She's always like, Dara, nobody
even cares. And I'm like, no, I actually have a
few followers and he's like, what like two people. I'm like, no,
(36:58):
I actually have a few, and he's like, nobody cares.
Nobody cares. It's amazing. I enjoy It's my life diary.
It's my online diary with all of my Insta friends
who are amazing the support me to help me enjoy.
I love it. It's awesome. Congrats again on the new
role and all of your success. Will see you on
the leaderboard and we look forward to having you back soon.
(37:19):
Dark Thank you so much for coming. Yes, thank you,
thank you so much for having me. Okay, Laura, So,
after talking to Dara, do you think that Peloton is
a media company or hardware company? Well, I think it's
an an not an ore right. When I first bought
(37:40):
my peloton, by the way, i am on day two
of a thirty day run. So I'm just putting it
out there in the universe for some accountability. But but
I you know, I bought the peloton to exercise. What
I didn't anticipate was all of the discovery was going
to happen once I got in the brand right, discovery
(38:05):
of new music, discovery of new conversations, discovery of new communities,
and and ultimately as a marketers, you know, there's there's
part of me that's that's writing as a person, and
there's a part of me that that puts my marketing
hat on. The product continues to iterate, and in listening
to data, you see the new features show up time
(38:27):
and time again, and so you're you're watching what is
was presumably this feedback loop that is only making the
experience a more relevant um to me as an individual writer,
but more interesting as it relates to what's happening in
the cultural conversation, how they're using their platform, not their product,
their platform to be part of and continually bring you
(38:51):
back in to a community that exists right in your home.
And so I think it's it's a fascinating experiment and
and I never imagine buying a stationary bike would open
me up to what has become part of a daily
routine that is well beyond exercise. Yeah, I totally agree
(39:12):
with that, and I think that it will be really
interesting to see what Peloton does with the kind of
amazing creative and human I p with their instructors eventually
or are they going to really push into other areas
around hardware and software? UM. I think it's going to
(39:35):
be interesting to see how they really sustain their innovation
and stay ahead of the curve. It is not easy
to do, as you and I know, right, you start
to get onto I think as a communications, marketing and
product teams, you start to get into these amazing rhythms
and it does become the coveted flywheel that everyone wants.
(39:56):
But that coveted flywheel has to be really maintained and
planned and premeditated. And I think that there's all sorts
of external factors that can affect it. The thing is,
I think the product is actually an accessory to the
media company. I think it would that way. I think
it was always that way. I mean John Foley came
(40:16):
from I a C. It's a media holding company, UM,
And I think that that was probably the plan all along.
Now what do they do with that? I think that's
really interesting. If you're a founder today, you know, entering
space with product or or hardware. I think it's a
(40:38):
really interesting proposition to think about the software element and
what has to sit on top of your product or
hardware to continually keep people engaged. I think of it
as like you know how many apps are on your
phone or what are the apps on your home screen?
Is similar in that there has to be a repeated
use case and so what does that require? And as marketers,
(41:01):
how do you break through that? Hot Landia summer all
new episodes featuring Monica Padmin, co host of Armchair Expert,
the founders of Morning Brew, What's Up Alex in Austin
and Rashad to Baka walla industry luminary joining us this summer.
Stay tuned. Thanks for sticking with us. We'll see you
in two weeks. Laura hit it with the list of
(41:22):
all of our friends and family and my heart who
have been so good to us and helped us get
back on air. Big thank you to Bob Connal, Carter, Andy,
Eric gayle Val, Michael Jen We appreciate you. Thank you
so much for this opportunity. We'll see you in two weeks.
I'm off my game today. No, you're not. People are
going to have to start making better content. I think
we're gonna be talking about this for a long time.
When you program for everyone, you program for no one.
I think it's that we're purpose driven platform like we're
trying to get to substance. How was that? Are you
happy with that? This is marketing therapy right now? It
really is what's up on? Laura Currenty and I'm Alexa Kristin.
(00:24):
Welcome back at Landia. It's hot Landia summer and we
have a great guest, Dara trus Cedar from Peloton is here. First.
The industry has talked widely about the four Seas, and
there are two seeds. I'm not talking about Kristin Krenzi.
We'll talk about that later. We're always part of the
four Seas. But really about collaboration, co operation, and creation.
(00:46):
Those are the things right now that are incredibly interesting
in terms of how new i P is being created,
but different than before in the past. I think post pandemic,
there's a surge in and understanding that those three things
coming together can create a sustainable, right, new kind of
(01:08):
thread of i P, or multiple threads of IP and
commercial opportunity. You know, lex, I think it's interesting in
use case of two right, in the sense of you
and I working together over the years and developing a
number of collaborations. How I would think about them previously
were these moments in time where you had a one
plus one equals three effect. We would use collaborations as
a means to move into new spaces, you know, get
(01:29):
in front of new audiences, you know, take over part
of the marketing our culturals like Guy's conversation. Right, this
new and interesting use case or approach from a brand,
and as brands look at collaborations as maybe previously thinking
you know, as a stunt or as a moment is
it now a strategy? And as what was once a
(01:50):
vertical business, So a collaboration might be tacked on to
to be an interesting moment in time now moving horizontally,
the ability to think about who are those like minded
brands or businesses that exists in the world that allows
us to move into new spaces, not as a moment
in time as a meaning to capture conversation, but to
build new revenue streams, to pull apart pieces of your
business that can actually exist in entirely new industries like
(02:12):
that part of the collaboration, cooperation and ultimately creating is
a really interesting thing that I think we're starting to
see accelerate um from a number of brands, as you mentioned,
in the retail space and beyond. So I love what
you're saying, Laura, and I think that instead of I'd
love to see a future instead of having, you know,
(02:33):
multivariate campaigns in marketing, having marketing need multivariate products interesting
and collaborations. And then you start to drill down on
what are the things that really work for this group
of buyers or this community, and is that something that's
actually more viable widely or viable to a group of
(02:53):
people and buyers that are so critical to my core
product and proposition. That starts to become really exciting. And
do I think that that's a product um you know,
a function of a product team or a marketing team.
I think it's both. But I think that marketers have
a real place and a real voice um where we
should start thinking more about product and product development. Here.
(03:17):
The second really quick point about what you said that
I think is really interesting and leading into the interview
a bit, is I got really excited the other day,
I actually saw on LinkedIn someone from Duncan Donuts was
talking about the same kind of mindset. When you kind
of combine a product, collaboration, and brand and there's real
value around those things, you start to get a whole
(03:39):
another set of innovation ideas, creativity, and community that you
start to attract to your company and your brand. Speaking
of Duncan, they just announced a collaboration with Backdrop for
their first ever paint collection. So I know on our
last episode we were talking with Steve Wilson that he
wishes there was a podcast talking about paint, but I
(04:01):
don't think he would have expected it to come from Duncan.
So I think that this is like what we're talking about.
Is there a podcast out there that's like paint colors
over coffee? You know what I mean? Like, it is
just really interesting to start thinking about how brands can
open up the aperture of access um to new and
interesting ways of thinking about you know, products, experiences, services
(04:23):
that don't necessarily have to be specifically in the wheelhouse,
but are just adjacent enough that can can expand your
mind to think about ultimately the one plus one equals three.
I think that it's very hard to do this, so
you have to have the right leadership, the right mindset.
And I'm excited to get into a conversation with Dara
(04:45):
Um because Peloton has done this really well. Now i
have not seen a company do this really well for
a sustained period of time, and I'm really interested to
see how does Peloton maybe start to show the world
of marketing and product a bit more about how you
sustain these types of things collaboration, cooperation, and creativity over
(05:07):
a long period of time. We'll be right back, all right, Atlantia.
We have a very special guest. We're so excited to
have s VP of Global Marketing and Comms from Peloton.
(05:27):
Welcome to the show, Dara tro Cedar. Thank you so
much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
So Dara and getting ready for the show, Alex and
I were talking about we really need to get into
like the Peloton vibe. Let's do it, Dardar, do right,
do right? Welcome to the show. Now you got me
(05:48):
all hype. I'm like, let's go, that's set, let's do
I feel like that's very Peloton though, that's very Peloton right.
The slow class get in the zone. So obviously we've
all known each other for quite some time. We go
back to the days when you were the CMO of
ge Ventures in the spirit of catching up there in
this new role at Peloton, tell us what your initial
experience has been, Like, I love doing this when you're
doing it with old friends, it's so much more fun.
(06:11):
And yeah, I mean it's been really great. I think
that you know, Peloton is in such an amazing position
because here we are motivating millions of people around the world,
trying to help them be active, centered and connected. And
it's really a marketer's dream. How do you make that happen? Right?
What are the different tools in your toolkit that you
use to motivate people? Um, And it's been I've really
(06:34):
enjoyed it. We have such a wonderful team, so all
credit all always goes to the team, and I think
it's been incredible to see what we've been able to
accomplish in just a short period of time and we're
only getting started. It feels like the whole world knows Peloton,
loves Peloton. You guys still have a lot of room
to grow. When we talk to our friends and family,
(06:54):
they're like Oh yeah, Peloton, right, no question. I know
who they are, I know what they do. If someone
doesn't know Peloton, I'm really interested in knowing. How do
you describe Peloton? You know, that's a really great question.
And I think at the end of the day, what
we're doing that Peloton is we're helping you become the
best version of yourself, right, helping you with your physical
(07:16):
and mental health. And it's a connected fitness experience. So
right from the comfort of your home, you can get
a great workout, a phenomenal workout, and that was not
something that you could do before Peloton came on the scene.
I give so much credit to our founders and our CEO,
John Foley, because when they came up with this idea,
(07:36):
right with our founders, the world was like, wait, what
are you talking about? From im from my home, I'm
going to get a great workout. And now the whole
world knows it to be true. And now everybody's like, oh,
that's a great idea. I want to do that too,
And and so I think it's that that unmatched motivation,
right that you can get through a connected fitness experience.
That's what Peloton brings you. And so you have that
(07:59):
power whole combination of content and digital right, and hardware
and software all coming together music. Right, There's so much
coming together to deliver this immersive experience that's unlike anything
that's out there, unlike anything that anyone has experienced before.
And I think that that's what makes Peloton so special,
(08:22):
is that we created this category and and we're continuing
to innovate and push what it means to be a
connective fitness product. Marketers are pointing to Peloton as like
a gold standard example of everything you're talking about content,
entertainment and experience You've come from. As you said, great
companies that have really defined what greatness in their category
(08:46):
look like. What does greatness look like for marketing at
Peloton and how are you working with your team to
constantly plot on defining new greatness and creating greatness in
a marketing income space. Yeah, I think greatness for us
is really about again, I think that that combination bringing
the art and the science together to establish and grow relation,
(09:10):
our relationship with our members. That's what we're all about, right.
Everything we do a Peloton is centered on improving the
lives of our members. We are always saying what's in
it for our members? How is this going to help
our members? How does this make our members lives better?
Does this help our members out? We're always asking ourselves
the question what's in it for our members? And so
(09:30):
as marketers, everything that we do comes back to, Okay,
how do we bring the art and science together to
establish that relationship and continue to grow it, to develop
it to nurturing. Like every great relationship, it's it's gotta
be two ways, right, So we always always make sure
are we listening to our members? Are we paying attention
(09:51):
to what they're saying? And are we acting on it right?
Are we having a conversation with them? How do we
surprise and delight them? We never want to be an interruption.
We never want to marketing to be an interruption. We
always wanted to be a conversation. That's a source of delight,
a source of surprise, a source of joy. And so
for us, that's kind of what great looks like. And
you can't you can't do it with just the ar
(10:12):
or just the science, right, It's the combination bringing up
these things together. That's where the magic happens. It's interesting
to think about, and I'll use focus group of one.
I'm by myself, I'm plugged into this screen and I'm competing,
and there's a leaderboard and there's all this this data
and information going on. But then what quickly took hold
the more rides I got into at least this is
a media company. So dar am I thinking about this? Right?
(10:34):
Is Peloton moving towards more media company versus fitness company?
Are there other things in the programming space we're going
to see that go far beyond the hardware? Well, we
have a variety of disciplines already, right, we have yoga,
we have pilates, we have bar we have outdoor running.
So we already have a bunch of disciplines that you
(10:55):
can enjoy right without having a connected fitness equipment in
your house, So you don't you don't necessarily need to
equip it to start to benefit from an access Peloton
content from your phone. You can download the Peloton app.
You have a thirty day free trial um and you
can immediately start to take advantage of the content that
(11:16):
we have. And I think that you know, Laura, you
bring up a really great point. We all in some
ways of media company. Right, We've got our our chief
content Officer gen Cotta just a such a phenomenal job
with her team. We have got, you know, just incredible
content and world class instructors and it is truly enjoyable.
Like I am the kind of person that like from me,
(11:36):
I need to be motivated to work out, and you know,
even even just take today for example, I woke up
early and I was like, I've been wanting to take
an Alicia Keys ride and I just felt like the
Alicia Keys music and I was like, you know what,
I'm just gonna go take that ride. And I went.
This morning, I went downstairs, got on my bike, quick
thirty minute ride, and I was, I was, and it
was so funny. My daughter, my five year old daughter,
(11:58):
was in the next room, and when I came out,
she was like, Mommy, I loved hearing you sing, singing
at the top of my luves. I'm like enjoying myself.
It's like celebration and and and yes, I did get
a good work. I did not pr in that class,
didn't get a personal record, you know, because like I said,
I was singing at the top of my luve's really
enjoying the moment. But I think that's kind of what
(12:19):
it's about it's about we're not forcing anything on you.
I love when you said that it's not overprogrammed. Right.
We have such a sophisticate which such a great product
team that has done such a nice job where there's
all there is choice, but there's not too much, right so,
but there's there is a great variety so that you
get to pick and you can pick what makes sense
(12:40):
when you at that point. There are some days when
I'm like, you know what I really need a Cody
Rigsby specifically Britney Spears, right like, that is all I
need today. That is exactly what I need today. And
there might be some days where it's like, you know,
I really need and Alex to saw Club Bangers. That
is what I need today? Right shut the door. You
know I don't want my children in here. Darth Cenar
(13:03):
is about to leave the build up. Darth Johnson just
showed up. You know what I'm saying. I think we
just got your alter ego name a little while you
call that, what's the alter I need that alter ego?
I feel like there's a there's an alter ego and
Darth Johnson. There's an alter ego and Darroth Johnson. You know,
(13:27):
I was like, I can't have my kids see that,
you know, people's stuff. So I think, okay, So we
did have a question which we know you can't answer,
but who is your favorite instructor? Oh? I can't come
on now, that's like you I could list all of them.
I go for all of them. They're all amazing, every
single one of them. How Pivotal has the mobile app
(13:48):
without the device been to the efforts of getting people
actually on and involved in Peloton in general, I would
assume huge. I think it's been. Yes, absolutely is. I
think one of the things it's it were increasing access
in the sense that, like anybody, you can just download
the app thirty day free trial and start to immediately
(14:10):
immerse yourself in the Peloton community of the Peloton experience.
And you know that's so that's huge. Peloton Digital, you know,
is an important part of our business. And I think
it's you know, there will always be people who that's
the first point, that's the first way they come out exactly,
it's the lowest barrier to you know, the barrier to entry.
(14:31):
That's where it's lowest. There will always be people who
that's where they come in from. Right, and that's okay.
And so for us, we're constantly making sure that we
have a variety of content, not just great content for
our connected fitness devices, but also for the app making
sure that we have, you know, content that you don't
need any equipment for, or you need minimal equipment, so
(14:51):
that you can start to really begin your health and
wellness journey physically and mentally, even before you you know,
because I know you're gonna end up getting that bike,
because you're gonna start and you're gonna be like, I
eat my but you know that bike, you know, at
le we have you know, it's likely you know, you
guys start with the O d'euv's right, you know, you
(15:11):
start with the appetizers, and then you know, you're like,
you know what I mean, that bike and some wine.
It's interesting to think about how influential your instructors have
become in culture and from collaborations to you know, seeing
them building their own brands outside, you know, on social
and other endeavors that they have. How um are you
(15:32):
working with the instructors to imagine what I'll say a
horizontal build in reach of the organization as opposed to
a vertical one in in fitness alone. So you know,
I'll never forget when I first met John Foley Um
in person and we were talking. This is our founder
and CEO, and he said something to me, and it
really it touched me so much because I think it's
(15:53):
just so um it just really signifies who he is
and he's just spirit of generosity. And he said, you know, darn,
one thing I want you to know is I want
all of our instructors to be the biggest superstars they
could be, so just so you know, we want them
to have the biggest personal brands because as their brands group,
the Peloton brand grows. And I completely agree with that
philosophy and I love that. But that's so much in
(16:14):
the DNA. Our instructors, you know, their owners of the company.
They are part of the brand right um. They are
in many ways, sometimes on the front lines of the
brand as they are delivering you know, their messages unscripted
and really inviting us to enjoy and grow through the workout.
And so we you know, we are very supportive of
our instructors. We love our instructors, and so I work
(16:37):
closely with Jen Cotter and bred Olsen, our chief membership
officer and and team, and we we are constantly, you know,
um working with our instructors to support them in their
different endeavors. And I think it's been it's just been
really incredible to see how the Peloton brand has continued
to grow from strength to strength, and also our instructor
brands continue to grow from strength to strength. It's not
(16:59):
mutually exclusive. It's symbiotics. If you look at publishers and
you look at publisher talent right from you could look
at writers, you could look at journalists, you could look
at all sorts of things. Your instructors are this amazing
kind of talent, this bench of talent, and what phenomenal
I p you all have here to do extensions and create.
(17:22):
You know, what I would say is potentially like these
what you already have, these micro fandoms, You already have
them before you got on the Mike, Laura and Ryan
we're talking about their favorite instructors, and there was like
intimate detail of why they liked someone or what they
(17:43):
thought when they first took a class and they were
like uh and then they were like, oh my god,
that person like kicked my ass and I felt so good.
I'm only going back to them for like the next
time I feel like this mood or this mood or
this mood. Right, that's an amazing thing as a marketer,
too kind to be sitting on um and have the
ability to be so potentially creative with In some ways,
(18:07):
to me, it puts you in a really interesting seat
of not only being a marketer, but of being able
to take the kind of talent as product and looking
at them as how do you start to develop them
and those personalities using them as like almost extensions. Is
that something that you guys talk about or think about. So,
(18:30):
you know, for us, our instructors are you know, they
are incredible partners and they're a critical part of the
brand and a critical part of the experience. And so
for us, it's all about working together. Right. The way
we think about our instructors are what are their goals?
What do they want to accomplish, and how do we
accomplish it together? So that's how we really embrace it,
(18:52):
you know, our instructors. You know Jen Cotter, like I
talked about our chief content officers, she spends a lot
of time. That's her job, right, She manages all the instructors.
She and all of our programming globally and it's just
phenomenal at it. So she spends a lot of her
day doing that and that's what she works on. Where
we come in from a marketing standpoint is how do
we how do we partner right and help take that
(19:13):
to the next level, so you know what, like for example,
there was a new series we we recently launch which
you can participate in Right to Great Best with Alex Tucson, Right,
and that's so awesome. Right, it's Alex to SA you know,
is able to kind of be this coach and there's
competition and it's so fun. I'm on Tim Activates, which
is obviously the Tim that's gonna win. Uh, Like, is
(19:36):
there a sideline supporter section on the road to because
validate you know, you gotta validate yourself, activate your hustle.
So one I mean to activate of the hustle, you know.
So the Laura, I'm gonna look for you on the leaderboard.
So there's lots of exciting things like that, and I
think you're gonna continue to see that because when we
first came at the market, you know, it was like
(19:58):
we had to explain there's a bike you get on
the bike, there's an instructor, it's gonna go to you. They'readable,
high five your friend. You know. Like we had to
explain what the product was and we will continue to
do that. But because of the problem, we continue to innovate,
We continue to take things to to the next leup,
we continue to introduce amazing new features, etcetera. But in
addition to that, we can do deeper storytelling. Well, we
(20:21):
can really start to talk more about our instructors and
our content and our music and our programming. Right, and
so that's what you're gonna see a lot and our community.
I think that deeper storytelling is what we're good going
to have to continue to do that, deeper storytelling around
all of these facets that that really helped people to
feel connected to us. Right, So we established that relationship
(20:43):
and we grow it. It's so evident throughout this conversation
how member centric it is. And I know a marketing
we talk a lot about consumer first, consumer first, but
sometimes it's easy to um slide the other way and
get back to business service focus. What does that discipline
look like? What are the signals or you know, mechanism
by which you're making decisions on what stories to feature,
where to go in on, where to kind of refine,
(21:05):
um et cetera. Yeah, I think we are a data
driven company at Peloton, and I love that because everything
starts with consumer insights, right. And so we're listening, right,
We are listening to what our members are telling us.
And our members are telling us things through a variety
of channels. They're talking to us on social media, they're
(21:26):
talking to us in their member groups. They're talking to
us through the actions that they take on the product, right,
the workouts that they do, the music that they select,
what they request right there, all these different ways that
they're talking to us, and we're listening, and we're listening
and then we take action. So at Peloton, we talked
there's a there's a dynamic we talked about. You said
we did, You said we did. We do it with
(21:47):
our employees, and we do it with our members. This
is what you told us. These are the actions we
have taken as a result of that. For example, Beyonce,
she was our most requested artists. Right. Beyonce is a
Peloton member. She's been a Peloton member for several years.
She has enjoyed the power of music and how music
has powered her workouts, and she wanted to be able
to bring that to her fellow members, and we were
(22:09):
able to work together with her to do that, right.
But you know, and and the reason that was so
meaningful was because Beyonce wanted to do it and Peloto
wanted to but most importantly, our members wanted us to
do it. Do you see what I'm saying? Yes, we do.
In fact, Laura and I were having one of our
Atlantia like offline sessions talking about Peloton and I said
to Laura, the Beyonce thing is awesome that you had
(22:33):
just launched it. I was like, it's amazing. Here's what
a lot of people will not recognize. They were listening.
They knew that their members wanted Beyonce, and so I
am so excited that you have such a tangible example
of and that you have a practice. What you're talking
about is actually a cultural practice of you say it,
(22:55):
we do it. Yeah. I love that. That's going to
be the episode title. That's awesome. That is the episode tight.
That's going on a T shirt. It's a it's a
it's a great pedagogy, right, you know, because you sometimes
we're sitting on data swamps. You know, we collect data, data, data, data,
and we don't do anything about it. What's the point
of gathering all the data if you're not going to
(23:15):
take any action. For us, we're really focused. We're listening.
What are you telling us? What are we doing as
a result of it? And I think that's where you
see that relationship between the brand and the customer, right,
which for us, we you know, we think is our members. Right.
We see peloton on our members. You see it deepen,
you see it strengthen, you know, And we're not perfect.
(23:37):
We don't get it right all the time. There are
times we make mistakes. But we when we make mistakes
say hey we made a mistake. You know, we do
whatever it takes to to kind of get back on
the right side. I mean, I think about it like
I annoy my husband. You know, I don't know, probably probably,
you know, I don't know. Maybe let's not going let's
not look at the data on that one loves me.
That's a different ship. There's a great relay some tip there.
(24:00):
So it's like I don't get in a hundred percent
right all the time, you know, Like there are times
I do like annoying things or whatever. But it's like
it's okay, you've got there's the trust, there's love, there's joy, right,
and we are both, you know, being there for each other.
And as I think that's where the things brand. Sometimes
we forget that at the end of the day, it's
about relationship and like what are we How are we
building trust with our members? How do we continue to
(24:24):
build trust and continue to invest in those relationships? Right?
And it's a constant because just like with our relationships
with individuals, the relationship between a brand and imer a
customer is a living, breathing thing where you have to
continue to invest. And if you don't continue to invest
and build that relationship, it's gonna Deteriory, imagine a friend
that you haven't heard from in a long time and
(24:44):
they just call you, hey, Laura, you know hi, by
the way, like I'm here, Like we'd just love to
show up at your house in New Jersey. You're probably
gonna be like, I haven't heard from you in like
fifteen years, Um, I don't even know who you are
you you know. So it's what you have the ring for,
exact Actually, that's you have the ring for. We like decline,
So you know, it's it's about it's building a real
(25:06):
authentic relationship. That's what we really try to do. A Polton.
What I love that you're saying. I want to point
this out for marketers. I want to point this out
for anybody in the communications industry. Social media has become
the default channel to communicate something to say, I hear you.
If brands do it at all. What you're saying is
that you're changing the product. Huh that like the most
(25:30):
successful brands have done that. I am changing the thing
that you bought from me, not just putting it on
a you know, easy billboard for you to read. Not
just you're doing that too, I'm sure, but it's fundamentally
changing the product and the product experience. Is exactly what
(25:50):
modern product brands should be doing today. Well, it's also
interesting just building on that. Right, Like, I'm trying in
my head to think about the amount of hardware that
I have dale interactions with. No, I don't ride the
bike every day. I know I'm going to work on that.
But when I think about the amount of hardware, right,
like I think of Apple, right, I'm looking at my laptop,
my phone, there are very few brands I have that
many regular interactions within a week. So there's almost this
(26:13):
need to continually innovate and surprise and delight and continue
to program and stay in communication with me because now
it's it's a relationship with what was once thought a
bike in the corner of the room, but there's an
entire community on the other side of that. I mean,
how many brands in the world get to say that, yeah,
there's a community and you know, it's like it's a
source of joy and peace. And I can't tell you
(26:36):
how many times people like are like Peloton's change my
life and they mean it, including by the way human
I live with, Like my husband, I remember when I
Fride first coming and he's like, I'm a former Marima.
Now he's like, I'm looking at me on the leader board.
I'm almost at the very top and I'm gonna do
It's it's just it really it brings and whether it's
competition you need, or it's just joy, or it's just
(26:58):
you know, a time for you, or it's just relaxation,
or it's spending time with your loved ones exercising together,
whatever it is, it's like there is something for everyone,
right Peloton is truly for everyone, and I think that's
something that's that's really powerful because no matter who you
are or what you're looking for, you come to the
bike and you find it there. And I think that
(27:20):
that's the thing, right, It's like that the continued innovation
creates the space for us to meet you where you
are and give you exactly what you need in that moment.
Does it ever get challenging communicating that like thinking about
trying to be a lot of things to so many people.
We have obviously like a marketing communications framework that we
(27:41):
use say what are the key messages that we're trying
to to communicate to our members and and then you know,
communicating in that way, but I think what's even better
is that we're speaking to you in a way that
makes sense for you. So right, as a member, there
are things you tell us about what matters to you.
(28:04):
For example, you can join attack or create attack right,
and tags are the micro communities with our within our
broader communities. So for example, I am a part of
Peloton Moms and Peloton Working Moms, and there are many
times that I received communication that just blesses me because
it's just what I need and it's a catering to
(28:25):
what I'm looking for as a mom right as as
a as a mother that like me time that I need,
that that space for me, reminding me for to take
self care, reminding me to invest in myself. And I
think that that's the thing that's so powerful. And what
is amazing about Peloton is that it's not you're not
just hearing it from Peloton, but you're hearing you're from
(28:47):
fellow members, which is even more powerful, right, And I
think that is it's it's it's a true community that's
mutually reinforcing. So it's not just like a lot of
messages just going out in the ether, but so you're
hearing the messages for you in the language that matters
to you, about the things that are important to you,
(29:07):
and that allows you, I think, to really have that incredible,
unparalleled experience. What are the things that you're most excited
about as you look at your marketing comms roadmap in
the year ahead. Well, I'm really excited about, you know,
I mean, there's so many things I'm excited about. I
think one of the things that's more in the immediate
future that I'm excited about is we have nine top
(29:30):
tier elite athletes who are members of the Palatan community, uh,
some of whom are former Olympians uh, and some who
may be competing in activities over the summer. And we're excited, right.
We've got a whole train with champions stuff that's going
to be going down this summer and that's gonna be
(29:51):
a lot of fun. I think, you know, it's like
we're all excited, right, We're all ready to kind of
make the most of the summer. And I'm so excited
to do that way fellow members of the Peloton community,
and how we bring that to life and get inspired
and challenged, um, and just enjoy ourselves. Can I just
offer one product like this, just in the spirit of
you said, we do product feedback. Tap on the screen,
(30:15):
I want that shirt, Drop it in a shopping cart
from me. Peloton will buy it on the end of
the ride. It's just a product feature, just a suggestion
I'd like to tap to buy. Instruct your outfits from
the screen. I don't know if that's coming, Laura, Thank you,
thank you for sharing with us your experience. UM, I
will say Peloton Apparel, I mean, Jill fully talk about
(30:39):
a dynamic woman, our VP of Peloton Apparel, has built
I think a phenomenal business and and Peloton. I love
my Peloton apparel, you know, like it's like the weekend
comes in, I'm in my Peloton a parren, I'm rocking it.
And it's like I see, you know, I go to
the store, I see another mom, she looks at me.
We give each other that look girls, you know, and
(31:02):
and it just it is so wonderful and and it
just I also I just feel like it just always
makes everything look good when you wear the pelts On apparel,
and like makes everything look just exactly why you wanted
to look um instagram worthy perfect. And so I I
absolutely love our pelts On apparel. And I think you're
gonna you're continue to see just a lot of intervation
(31:24):
in that space, right, just a lot of really great So, Laura,
you are going to want to check out because there's
gonna be a lot of amazing things happening to just
stay tuned my credit card. Ready, we plugged in to
what's going on in the pellets On universe. And be ready,
you didn't even have to ask. They already knew. That's
(31:44):
how good they are. They are new as you look
out into the market. Um, one of the things that
are inspiring you right now, if you might chair you know,
I really like when brands accept who they are and
authentic to who they are. And I think that it's
interesting saying because you see that happen. I think in
a in a variety of ways and and and I'm
(32:06):
inspired by that, right And it's like sometimes it's like,
you know, provocative and a little like wait what, and
sometimes it's it's it's it's just it's spot on. But
I think whenever you're taking I want to see creative effectiveness.
So what I mean by that is I want to
see you push creativity to cut through the clutter and
(32:31):
be heard. And I'm inspired by the way brands are
doing that right, you know, whether it's using just completely
powerful novel storytelling, or it's like really really getting that
insight that creates that unlock for the campaign, like it's
just like spot on, everybody who sees it gets it immediately,
(32:52):
or it's using technology right as a way to you know, uh,
elevate your brand and different shape your brand. And I'm
excited to see how we focus on creative effectiveness because
I think for so long. You know, it was kind
of like we were the mad Men era where it
was and it was really mostly mad women because it
(33:12):
was women getting it done. Well, let's keep it real,
you know. But but but you had that era of advertising, right,
and then we kind of did a big swing over
to mark Tech and it was like every single mark
Tech stack you could, you could build. And I think
the beauty is in the middle, right. I think the
beauties when we have creativity and we have technology and
(33:37):
data and we bring them together. And creative effectiveness is
about that, right. Creative effectiveness is about looking at your
tool kit and figuring out what is that right, and
like what do what tool do I need to really
get the job done? And that really focusing on creative
(33:57):
effectiveness and like how am I creative and most effective
way at this particular point in time. So it's not
just even looking at your tools alone, but you have
to do it within the broader context of culture. That's
what excites me because I think things are moving so
quickly and they're only going to continue to change and
(34:18):
evolve and grow, and it's so you're never gonna be bored,
especially if you're always focusing on creative effectiveness. If that's
what you focus on, I think that's where you're going
to really see a lot of uh business results impact.
So that's what really excites me about the future of marketing.
So dark we're gonna go into our game. We call
(34:40):
it bye bye bye. What would you say goodbye to?
By A? What would you buy? B y? And what
would you do yourself? B Y? All right, Well, as
you know, I am moving right now across the country.
So what I'm saying bye bye too is all the
clutter in my life and all the furniture of my
love the children ruined. So I'm saying that amazing. Okay,
(35:07):
what are you going to purchase? And what I'm buying
is uh stuff that's gonna be like tailored to my
new house. Like I'm really excited. I actually, you know,
interior design, and that's like a you know, a little
like passion of mine. I'm an amateur interior designer. Like
when I say amateur means I'm not no one would
pay me to do it because I don't very well
(35:28):
when I enjoyed doing it and my husband indulges me.
So I'm so I'm really enjoying that, you know, looking
at rugs and lamps and like looking at the order
to delivery time and trying to figure out when it's
all gonna arrive. So I'm doing a lot of buying
of that right now. And by Darthrositar. So what I'm
currently working on. My daughter is wonderful and she is
(35:51):
um five years old and she loves to sing and
um she has been working on her own original songs.
So what I will be doing by Dartracy there is
trying to help her home produce, you know, with I
think a combination of a microphone and iPhone and other
home devices records some of her songs so she can
(36:14):
produce her first homemade EP for her grandma with all
these wonderful songs he's written. I love that. That is adorable. Adorable. So, Dara,
if people want to get a hold of you, how
do they follow you? At Daratrasy there on Instagram? Like
I you know, I connect with people through my Instagram.
(36:36):
It's another personal hobby of mine and they can find
you on My husband is like almost never on Instagram.
He only comes on my birthdays on Mother's Day to
do a post. Doesn't have the app on his phone
and so he doesn't. He has no idea that I
actually have a few followers. She's always like, Dara, nobody
even cares. And I'm like, no, I actually have a
few followers and he's like, what like two people. I'm like, no,
(36:58):
I actually have a few, and he's like, nobody cares.
Nobody cares. It's amazing. I enjoy It's my life diary.
It's my online diary with all of my Insta friends
who are amazing the support me to help me enjoy.
I love it. It's awesome. Congrats again on the new
role and all of your success. Will see you on
the leaderboard and we look forward to having you back soon.
(37:19):
Dark Thank you so much for coming. Yes, thank you,
thank you so much for having me. Okay, Laura, So,
after talking to Dara, do you think that Peloton is
a media company or hardware company? Well, I think it's
an an not an ore right. When I first bought
(37:40):
my peloton, by the way, i am on day two
of a thirty day run. So I'm just putting it
out there in the universe for some accountability. But but
I you know, I bought the peloton to exercise. What
I didn't anticipate was all of the discovery was going
to happen once I got in the brand right, discovery
(38:05):
of new music, discovery of new conversations, discovery of new communities,
and and ultimately as a marketers, you know, there's there's
part of me that's that's writing as a person, and
there's a part of me that that puts my marketing
hat on. The product continues to iterate, and in listening
to data, you see the new features show up time
(38:27):
and time again, and so you're you're watching what is
was presumably this feedback loop that is only making the
experience a more relevant um to me as an individual writer,
but more interesting as it relates to what's happening in
the cultural conversation, how they're using their platform, not their product,
their platform to be part of and continually bring you
(38:51):
back in to a community that exists right in your home.
And so I think it's it's a fascinating experiment and
and I never imagine buying a stationary bike would open
me up to what has become part of a daily
routine that is well beyond exercise. Yeah, I totally agree
(39:12):
with that, and I think that it will be really
interesting to see what Peloton does with the kind of
amazing creative and human I p with their instructors eventually
or are they going to really push into other areas
around hardware and software? UM. I think it's going to
(39:35):
be interesting to see how they really sustain their innovation
and stay ahead of the curve. It is not easy
to do, as you and I know, right, you start
to get onto I think as a communications, marketing and
product teams, you start to get into these amazing rhythms
and it does become the coveted flywheel that everyone wants.
(39:56):
But that coveted flywheel has to be really maintained and
planned and premeditated. And I think that there's all sorts
of external factors that can affect it. The thing is,
I think the product is actually an accessory to the
media company. I think it would that way. I think
it was always that way. I mean John Foley came
(40:16):
from I a C. It's a media holding company, UM,
And I think that that was probably the plan all along.
Now what do they do with that? I think that's
really interesting. If you're a founder today, you know, entering
space with product or or hardware. I think it's a
(40:38):
really interesting proposition to think about the software element and
what has to sit on top of your product or
hardware to continually keep people engaged. I think of it
as like you know how many apps are on your
phone or what are the apps on your home screen?
Is similar in that there has to be a repeated
use case and so what does that require? And as marketers,
(41:01):
how do you break through that? Hot Landia summer all
new episodes featuring Monica Padmin, co host of Armchair Expert,
the founders of Morning Brew, What's Up Alex in Austin
and Rashad to Baka walla industry luminary joining us this summer.
Stay tuned. Thanks for sticking with us. We'll see you
in two weeks. Laura hit it with the list of
(41:22):
all of our friends and family and my heart who
have been so good to us and helped us get
back on air. Big thank you to Bob Connal, Carter, Andy,
Eric gayle Val, Michael Jen We appreciate you. Thank you
so much for this opportunity. We'll see you in two weeks.
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