I used my wife's Peloton for a month. Here is what I learned.
I couldn't lift weights because I had bicep tendonitis. So I tried out my wife’s Peloton.
"I'll just try this thing out until my arm gets better."
That was a month ago.
I've now claimed my wife's Peloton as my own.
It. Is. Awesome.
I’m a convert.
Let me tell you about Peloton.
The Basics
The Rides
So what do you do once you have the bike?
There are 2 primary ways to use the Peloton: scenic rides or instructor-led classes.
Scenic rides are pretty cool. Peloton got first-person footage of somebody riding a bike in exotic locations. This plays on the screen as you pedal. You feel like you’re riding through the Alps or Argentina. You’ll see people and cars. And the views are amazing. You’ll feel like you’re really there. I think these are self-paced rides, but I don’t know. I haven’t seriously tried one of these rides. My 5-year old daughter likes to sit on the seat and just watch stuff. Her favorite part is when a puppy cuts across the road in Panama City.
The second type of ride is an instructor-led class. An instructor sits on a bike and the camera focuses on him or her for the entire class. The instructor tells you how fast to pedal and how much resistance you should have on the bike. I believe Peloton now films all of its classes live at its in-house studio, which gets a live audience of riders. You can also live-stream and participate in these classes from your own home. Peloton then recylces (ha!) these live classes into permanently-available content. This means Peloton is always adding to its library of instructor-led classes.
"Instructors"
Peloton has a stable of a dozen instructors. But the word "instructor" isn't the best term. These people are mini-celebrities. They have huge followings on social media. Robin Arzon has 251,000 Instagram followers, and _____ has _______. They have endorsement deals. They probably have stock options in Peloton that are going to be pretty valuable when Peloton's IPO hits.
When you want to take an instructor-led course, you can filter by instructors. People have favorite instructors.
Peloton is known for its commercials with people cycling in their homes. Peloton bikes are pricey and Peloton caters to certain types of customers. IN their commercials, Peloton bikes are always shown as key room fixtures. They aren't tucked into a corner of the bedroom like mine. No, they are front and center. Do you live in a city apartment with a great view? Don't but your couch by the window...put your PEloton there. The placement of Peloton bikes in commercials even became a Twitter meme.
There are 2 primary types of Peloton sessions.
Peloton Creates a Category
In The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Al Ries and Jack Trout talk about fundamental marketing strategies. Concepts that are basic and powerful but frequently ignored. One law is the "Law of the Category." They say that a company should never want to be the second player in their category. If they cannot be first, come up with a new category where you can be first.
Peloton is a great example of this. A lot of people bought stationary bikes and treadmills. But after a few weeks or months of use, they never used them again. They’d just sit in the basement. But that was the category: home-based fitness equipment. Peloton wasn’t the first into that category. They couldn’t be. That category had existed for a long time already. So Peloton created a new category. Pelotons have touch screens and wifi and social media and instructors teaching you and pushing you Peloton keeps track of your metrics and shows you every workout you’ve ever done so you can see how you’ve improved. That type of equipment never existed before. Peloton made the category.
Peloton’s CEO flat out said this. He gave an interview where he was talking about the celebrity status of Peloton’s instructors. He was asked how Peloton would deal with popular instructors leaving. Of course, he committed to Peloton’s instructors and sais how important they are and how much Peloton values them. Then, he asked: where would they go anyway? His exact words: “Peloton is a category of one.”
And he is right.
Peloton created the category. Now they get to own it.
This reflects another one of the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: choosing a good name. Peloton did great here.
Trademark lawyers always tell their clients to pick strong names. Pick a name that isn’t generic or descriptive. The last thing you want is for your name to become synonymous with the *type* of product. This is what happened to words like “thermos” and “aspirin.” These used to be famous brand names, but they became generic. Now, “thermos” doesn’t refer to an insulated storage container made by the Thermos company. Nope. It just the word we use now for that type of product. This is called genericide. And its usually the kiss of death from a trademark perspective. You can’t enforce your trademark rights if your trademark has become generic. So lawyers always recommend picking a strong trademark that can’t become generic. “Kodak” is a famous example.
But Reis and Trout say the opposite. They say that brands should want to have that type of recognition. If people are going to use the word “nike” to mean “shoes,” then there may be a risk of genericide, but who cares at that point. People are going to be buying Nike’s. They’ve created the category and are first in the minds of consumers.
That is what Peloton has done. If you visit a friend’s house and see a stationary bike in their room, the first sentence you say is going to have the word “Peloton” in it. Maybe it is a Peloton. Maybe its a competing bike. No matter what, either the bike is a Peloton or you’ll describe it in reference to a Peloton (ie, “its not a Peloton, but its like a Peloton”). The word “Peloton” will come to mean a souped-up stationary bike. Could “Peloton” become generic? Possibly. Does it matter to Peloton? Probably not. They created the category and own the recognition.
For the 4th of July, Peloton had a really great class. A 45-minute low impact ride. Nothing special. But it was their second “all for one” class ever. But it really hits on what makes Peloton great.
The class starts with an instructor leading the warmup. A few minutes in, a second instructor joins.
Now, this may not seem like anything special, but it is. Peloton instructors are mini-celebrities. Everybody has their own favorite Peloton instructors. They have huge Instagram followings. People love them. You’ll even find people that seriously consider *switching products* if their favorite instructor were to leave Peloton. A bike is a thousand dollar investment, but some people are so loyal to their favorite instructor that they’d pay a lot of money to stay with that instructor.
Here is another example of how popular instructors are. Guy Raz of NPR hosts a podcast called “How I Built This.” He interviews top entrepreneurs about how they built their companies. He occasionally does live shows. Once, he interviewed John Foley, the founder and CEO of Peloton. During the conversation, John casually mentions a few Peloton instructors by name. Each time, the audience cheers.
“Emma,” John says, followed by some hoots from the crowd, “and Robin,” he continues. The crowd yells.
People in the audience feel like they know these instructors. They’ve done 30-minute interval sessions with them or 60-minute rides. They feel like they’ve built relationships with these instructors.
And that’s why Peloton’s “all for all” ride was so great. It started off with one instructor. Then a second one joined. For a few minutes, there were two instructors on the bikes, talking with each other and jointly leading the class. Eventually, the first instructor would leave, and the second instructor would be alone. Then, a different instructor would join. Again there would be a pair of instructors. Eventually, one would leave. And the cycle would continue.
For 45 minutes. In total, there were about 10 instructors. The class itself wasn’t that hard or strenuous. But it wasn’t supposed to be. On one level, it was a creative way to celebrate the holiday with a simple and straightforward low-impact ride. But it also showed how powerful Peloton can be.
At one point in the class, Christine D’Ercole, one of the instructors, showed why.
On the side of the Peloton screen, there is a leaderboard. It shows your rank among everybody who has ever taken the class you’re taking. It is natural to compare yourself to whoever is above you and whoever is below you.
One of the primary roles of the Peloton instructor is to motivate. They tell you how fast to ride and how much resistance to use, but they’re also there as a visual and audible presence to motivate you and help you to push yourself. “5 more seconds!” Stuff like that.
Christine was talking about the leaderboard. She said to lay the leaderboard on its side. So its horizontal. That way, she said, you’re not above or below anybody. You’re among all Peloton riders. You’re not competing against somebody. You’re on your bike competing against yourself. Everybody is doing the same thing.
And then she said it.
“You’re all riding together. One Peloton.”
This was brilliant.
Let me show you why.
Peloton is a unicorn. A unicorn is a company that is valued at over a billion dollars. As the name suggests, as unicorn is rare. ____ _____ and ____ are also unicorns, to name a few. Peloton is valued at over $8 billion dollars. It created a category for a luxury fitness product. It created a category of mini celebrities whom people love. Its expanding beyond cycling to segments like yoga, weight lifting, and running. As a luxury brand in the fitness space, its magnificently positioned. If you know what Peloton is, you know what its brand is about.
Seth Godin once said that if Nike were to open a hotel, you know what the hotel would be like, but if Marriott started selling shoes, you’d have no idea what the shoes would be like. Nike has a powerful and recognizable brand.
Same with Peloton. Web Smith asked whether Peloton hotels could be next. Many hotels are already boasting to potential guests that they have Pelotons. Peloton hotels are scalable. For my money, I think Peloton could do cruises. A week on the ocean, with hundreds of Peloton bikes on the deck of a cruise ship. Of course, your favorite instructors would be on the cruise with you. They’d lead your class as you and a hundred other Peloton riders pedal away in the middle of the blue sea. And afterwards, you’d get to meet them and party with them. That’d be a huge draw.
But I digress.
The point is that Peloton is a juggernaut right now. Its growing rapdily with no signs of slowing down, and it has the resources to push that growth.
Here is another cool thing about Peloton. I’ve been reading Alexandra Watkins’ book “Hello my name is awesome.” Its a book about how to name a business. She lists certain factors that make good business names. She also talks a lot about things that people think are important for business names, but aren’t really that important. One of the unimportant items is the domain name. When most people go about starting a business, they look to see if the domain is available. When it isn’t available (and it usually isn’t), people assume they can’t use the name and try to think of something else. Alexandra says this is a bad approach. If it is a good name, you can always add another word or two and create a new domain that should be available.
At this point, you’re probably wondering what Peloton’s domain is. I wouldn’t have gone off on that tangent if the domain were peloton.com. Nope. An oil an gas company owns that domain.
Peloton’s domain is onepeloton.com. That is their handle on social media too.
Now, Alexandra’s point is that the name “peloton” was a great choice and the company shouldn’t have been dissuaded because the domain wasn’t available. Nor should they have tried to buy the domain for tons of money. All they had to do was add a little word to the domain. But that isn’t a big deal. If you want to look into buying a Peloton bike, you may type in www.peloton.com. You’ll get the oil and gas company, realize its the wrong site, and they go to Google and type “peloton bike” and you’ll get to the right place. You won’t care or even notice that the domain is onepeloton. That’s Alexandra’s point: don’t worry about getting the precise domain. Just get something close.
But wait. There’s more. This is about Peloton’s awesome branding.
When you take an instructor-led class, there is a leaderboard on the right of the screen. It shows your rank among everybody who has ever taken that specific Peloton class. Naturally, you’ll compare yourself to people above and below you.
But Peloton is big on community. They picked this up from Crossfit. With Crossfit, everybody works out together and cheers everybody else on. You’re not trying to do something faster than Matt or Lisa. You’re just trying to do something faster than you did last week. And everybody will cheer when you do. That’s one of the reasons why Crossfit is so popular. People like the communal aspect and the personal competition.
So Peloton adopted that. Peloton stores all the information about your rides so you can see how much you’ve improved.
But still, there is that leaderboard that takes up a lot of space on the right side of your screen. There are a ton of people ahead of you, but also a lot of people that you’re doing better than. Or at least that’s how you’ll interpret it.
I did a ride recently with an instructor named Christine D’Ercole. At one point, she said to imagine turning the leaderboard on its side. Its a great visual. You’re not above or below anybody else. You’re *among* all the other ridres. You’re riding as one community.
And get this. The word “peloton” means a group of riders. In cycling races like the Tour de Franc, the “peloton” is the main pack of riders. They’re all racing against each other, but they know that they can cut down on wind resistance and pace themselves better if they stick together. So Peloton has adopted that mindset.
And that’s why Christine said to imagine the leaderboard on its side. You’re not above or below the other riders: you’re among them. Riding together. Then she said it. “You’re together. Riding as one peloton.”
Did you catch that?
One peloton.
Onepeloton.com
@onepeloton
That’s some great branding.
Peloton's Intellectual Property
Peloton holds a few trademark registrations for "Peloton." Invariably, you'll find some people that get upset and say that Peloton is trying to own the word "peloton." Well, yes and no. Peloton's trademark registrations only apply to specific goods or services. For example, their registrations include stationary bikes, streaming classes, and exercise and fitness software. In contrast, they don't cover things like granola bars, for example (yet?).
Peloton holds a lean trademark portfoliox
"I'll just try this thing out until my arm gets better."
That was a month ago.
I've now claimed my wife's Peloton as my own.
It. Is. Awesome.
I’m a convert.
Let me tell you about Peloton.
The Basics
- A Peloton is essentially a stationary bike with an iPad. In fact, when Peloton's CEO John Foley first started designing prototypes, he envisioned a stationary bike with an iPad connection. Eventually, he determined that it was better for them to make and control the entire piece of equipment. They didn't want to build their bikes to use iPads and then be at Apple's mercy. So they built bikes with integrated touch screens.
- The bike is pricey, typically selling for over a thousand dollars. Peloton is riding the wave of the boutique fitness craze. Early on, Peloton was selling its bikes for less, but they learned that at a price point closer to a thousand dollars, a lot of people said it "felt cheap." But the thousand plus dollar price tag is just for the bike itself. Peloton also sells monthly subscriptions to its online classes. That's actually how it makes it money...by selling subscriptions instead of stationary bikes. Peloton is a media company that sells $2,000 iPads with pedals attached. \
- The bike is really easy to use. I just bought some shoes and clips from Amazon. (Peloton pedals use the Look Delta arrangement. I have no idea what that is and still don't know.) Once I got the shoes and clips on, I stepped into the pedals, pushed down from my heels, heard the “click,” and I was ready to ride.
The Rides
So what do you do once you have the bike?
There are 2 primary ways to use the Peloton: scenic rides or instructor-led classes.
Scenic rides are pretty cool. Peloton got first-person footage of somebody riding a bike in exotic locations. This plays on the screen as you pedal. You feel like you’re riding through the Alps or Argentina. You’ll see people and cars. And the views are amazing. You’ll feel like you’re really there. I think these are self-paced rides, but I don’t know. I haven’t seriously tried one of these rides. My 5-year old daughter likes to sit on the seat and just watch stuff. Her favorite part is when a puppy cuts across the road in Panama City.
The second type of ride is an instructor-led class. An instructor sits on a bike and the camera focuses on him or her for the entire class. The instructor tells you how fast to pedal and how much resistance you should have on the bike. I believe Peloton now films all of its classes live at its in-house studio, which gets a live audience of riders. You can also live-stream and participate in these classes from your own home. Peloton then recylces (ha!) these live classes into permanently-available content. This means Peloton is always adding to its library of instructor-led classes.
"Instructors"
Peloton has a stable of a dozen instructors. But the word "instructor" isn't the best term. These people are mini-celebrities. They have huge followings on social media. Robin Arzon has 251,000 Instagram followers, and _____ has _______. They have endorsement deals. They probably have stock options in Peloton that are going to be pretty valuable when Peloton's IPO hits.
When you want to take an instructor-led course, you can filter by instructors. People have favorite instructors.
Peloton is known for its commercials with people cycling in their homes. Peloton bikes are pricey and Peloton caters to certain types of customers. IN their commercials, Peloton bikes are always shown as key room fixtures. They aren't tucked into a corner of the bedroom like mine. No, they are front and center. Do you live in a city apartment with a great view? Don't but your couch by the window...put your PEloton there. The placement of Peloton bikes in commercials even became a Twitter meme.
There are 2 primary types of Peloton sessions.
Peloton Creates a Category
In The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Al Ries and Jack Trout talk about fundamental marketing strategies. Concepts that are basic and powerful but frequently ignored. One law is the "Law of the Category." They say that a company should never want to be the second player in their category. If they cannot be first, come up with a new category where you can be first.
Peloton is a great example of this. A lot of people bought stationary bikes and treadmills. But after a few weeks or months of use, they never used them again. They’d just sit in the basement. But that was the category: home-based fitness equipment. Peloton wasn’t the first into that category. They couldn’t be. That category had existed for a long time already. So Peloton created a new category. Pelotons have touch screens and wifi and social media and instructors teaching you and pushing you Peloton keeps track of your metrics and shows you every workout you’ve ever done so you can see how you’ve improved. That type of equipment never existed before. Peloton made the category.
Peloton’s CEO flat out said this. He gave an interview where he was talking about the celebrity status of Peloton’s instructors. He was asked how Peloton would deal with popular instructors leaving. Of course, he committed to Peloton’s instructors and sais how important they are and how much Peloton values them. Then, he asked: where would they go anyway? His exact words: “Peloton is a category of one.”
And he is right.
Peloton created the category. Now they get to own it.
This reflects another one of the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: choosing a good name. Peloton did great here.
Trademark lawyers always tell their clients to pick strong names. Pick a name that isn’t generic or descriptive. The last thing you want is for your name to become synonymous with the *type* of product. This is what happened to words like “thermos” and “aspirin.” These used to be famous brand names, but they became generic. Now, “thermos” doesn’t refer to an insulated storage container made by the Thermos company. Nope. It just the word we use now for that type of product. This is called genericide. And its usually the kiss of death from a trademark perspective. You can’t enforce your trademark rights if your trademark has become generic. So lawyers always recommend picking a strong trademark that can’t become generic. “Kodak” is a famous example.
But Reis and Trout say the opposite. They say that brands should want to have that type of recognition. If people are going to use the word “nike” to mean “shoes,” then there may be a risk of genericide, but who cares at that point. People are going to be buying Nike’s. They’ve created the category and are first in the minds of consumers.
That is what Peloton has done. If you visit a friend’s house and see a stationary bike in their room, the first sentence you say is going to have the word “Peloton” in it. Maybe it is a Peloton. Maybe its a competing bike. No matter what, either the bike is a Peloton or you’ll describe it in reference to a Peloton (ie, “its not a Peloton, but its like a Peloton”). The word “Peloton” will come to mean a souped-up stationary bike. Could “Peloton” become generic? Possibly. Does it matter to Peloton? Probably not. They created the category and own the recognition.
For the 4th of July, Peloton had a really great class. A 45-minute low impact ride. Nothing special. But it was their second “all for one” class ever. But it really hits on what makes Peloton great.
The class starts with an instructor leading the warmup. A few minutes in, a second instructor joins.
Now, this may not seem like anything special, but it is. Peloton instructors are mini-celebrities. Everybody has their own favorite Peloton instructors. They have huge Instagram followings. People love them. You’ll even find people that seriously consider *switching products* if their favorite instructor were to leave Peloton. A bike is a thousand dollar investment, but some people are so loyal to their favorite instructor that they’d pay a lot of money to stay with that instructor.
Here is another example of how popular instructors are. Guy Raz of NPR hosts a podcast called “How I Built This.” He interviews top entrepreneurs about how they built their companies. He occasionally does live shows. Once, he interviewed John Foley, the founder and CEO of Peloton. During the conversation, John casually mentions a few Peloton instructors by name. Each time, the audience cheers.
“Emma,” John says, followed by some hoots from the crowd, “and Robin,” he continues. The crowd yells.
People in the audience feel like they know these instructors. They’ve done 30-minute interval sessions with them or 60-minute rides. They feel like they’ve built relationships with these instructors.
And that’s why Peloton’s “all for all” ride was so great. It started off with one instructor. Then a second one joined. For a few minutes, there were two instructors on the bikes, talking with each other and jointly leading the class. Eventually, the first instructor would leave, and the second instructor would be alone. Then, a different instructor would join. Again there would be a pair of instructors. Eventually, one would leave. And the cycle would continue.
For 45 minutes. In total, there were about 10 instructors. The class itself wasn’t that hard or strenuous. But it wasn’t supposed to be. On one level, it was a creative way to celebrate the holiday with a simple and straightforward low-impact ride. But it also showed how powerful Peloton can be.
At one point in the class, Christine D’Ercole, one of the instructors, showed why.
On the side of the Peloton screen, there is a leaderboard. It shows your rank among everybody who has ever taken the class you’re taking. It is natural to compare yourself to whoever is above you and whoever is below you.
One of the primary roles of the Peloton instructor is to motivate. They tell you how fast to ride and how much resistance to use, but they’re also there as a visual and audible presence to motivate you and help you to push yourself. “5 more seconds!” Stuff like that.
Christine was talking about the leaderboard. She said to lay the leaderboard on its side. So its horizontal. That way, she said, you’re not above or below anybody. You’re among all Peloton riders. You’re not competing against somebody. You’re on your bike competing against yourself. Everybody is doing the same thing.
And then she said it.
“You’re all riding together. One Peloton.”
This was brilliant.
Let me show you why.
Peloton is a unicorn. A unicorn is a company that is valued at over a billion dollars. As the name suggests, as unicorn is rare. ____ _____ and ____ are also unicorns, to name a few. Peloton is valued at over $8 billion dollars. It created a category for a luxury fitness product. It created a category of mini celebrities whom people love. Its expanding beyond cycling to segments like yoga, weight lifting, and running. As a luxury brand in the fitness space, its magnificently positioned. If you know what Peloton is, you know what its brand is about.
Seth Godin once said that if Nike were to open a hotel, you know what the hotel would be like, but if Marriott started selling shoes, you’d have no idea what the shoes would be like. Nike has a powerful and recognizable brand.
Same with Peloton. Web Smith asked whether Peloton hotels could be next. Many hotels are already boasting to potential guests that they have Pelotons. Peloton hotels are scalable. For my money, I think Peloton could do cruises. A week on the ocean, with hundreds of Peloton bikes on the deck of a cruise ship. Of course, your favorite instructors would be on the cruise with you. They’d lead your class as you and a hundred other Peloton riders pedal away in the middle of the blue sea. And afterwards, you’d get to meet them and party with them. That’d be a huge draw.
But I digress.
The point is that Peloton is a juggernaut right now. Its growing rapdily with no signs of slowing down, and it has the resources to push that growth.
Here is another cool thing about Peloton. I’ve been reading Alexandra Watkins’ book “Hello my name is awesome.” Its a book about how to name a business. She lists certain factors that make good business names. She also talks a lot about things that people think are important for business names, but aren’t really that important. One of the unimportant items is the domain name. When most people go about starting a business, they look to see if the domain is available. When it isn’t available (and it usually isn’t), people assume they can’t use the name and try to think of something else. Alexandra says this is a bad approach. If it is a good name, you can always add another word or two and create a new domain that should be available.
At this point, you’re probably wondering what Peloton’s domain is. I wouldn’t have gone off on that tangent if the domain were peloton.com. Nope. An oil an gas company owns that domain.
Peloton’s domain is onepeloton.com. That is their handle on social media too.
Now, Alexandra’s point is that the name “peloton” was a great choice and the company shouldn’t have been dissuaded because the domain wasn’t available. Nor should they have tried to buy the domain for tons of money. All they had to do was add a little word to the domain. But that isn’t a big deal. If you want to look into buying a Peloton bike, you may type in www.peloton.com. You’ll get the oil and gas company, realize its the wrong site, and they go to Google and type “peloton bike” and you’ll get to the right place. You won’t care or even notice that the domain is onepeloton. That’s Alexandra’s point: don’t worry about getting the precise domain. Just get something close.
But wait. There’s more. This is about Peloton’s awesome branding.
When you take an instructor-led class, there is a leaderboard on the right of the screen. It shows your rank among everybody who has ever taken that specific Peloton class. Naturally, you’ll compare yourself to people above and below you.
But Peloton is big on community. They picked this up from Crossfit. With Crossfit, everybody works out together and cheers everybody else on. You’re not trying to do something faster than Matt or Lisa. You’re just trying to do something faster than you did last week. And everybody will cheer when you do. That’s one of the reasons why Crossfit is so popular. People like the communal aspect and the personal competition.
So Peloton adopted that. Peloton stores all the information about your rides so you can see how much you’ve improved.
But still, there is that leaderboard that takes up a lot of space on the right side of your screen. There are a ton of people ahead of you, but also a lot of people that you’re doing better than. Or at least that’s how you’ll interpret it.
I did a ride recently with an instructor named Christine D’Ercole. At one point, she said to imagine turning the leaderboard on its side. Its a great visual. You’re not above or below anybody else. You’re *among* all the other ridres. You’re riding as one community.
And get this. The word “peloton” means a group of riders. In cycling races like the Tour de Franc, the “peloton” is the main pack of riders. They’re all racing against each other, but they know that they can cut down on wind resistance and pace themselves better if they stick together. So Peloton has adopted that mindset.
And that’s why Christine said to imagine the leaderboard on its side. You’re not above or below the other riders: you’re among them. Riding together. Then she said it. “You’re together. Riding as one peloton.”
Did you catch that?
One peloton.
Onepeloton.com
@onepeloton
That’s some great branding.
Peloton's Intellectual Property
Peloton holds a few trademark registrations for "Peloton." Invariably, you'll find some people that get upset and say that Peloton is trying to own the word "peloton." Well, yes and no. Peloton's trademark registrations only apply to specific goods or services. For example, their registrations include stationary bikes, streaming classes, and exercise and fitness software. In contrast, they don't cover things like granola bars, for example (yet?).
Peloton holds a lean trademark portfoliox