Dive Brief:

• At-home exercise bike company Peloton launched a brand refresh, including a free membership tier along with two additional new tiers, an overhauled brand identity and a new in-app content feature, Peloton Gym, according to a press release. 
• A new color scheme is meant to reflect the feeling of a good workout while creative collateral includes images depicting the pre- and post-workout emotions of users. Mother Design and Uncommon Creative Studio worked on the new identity, while Stink Studios worked with Peloton’s internal agency for global creative.
• The revamp is the company’s latest in a series of attempts to right the ship after a tumultuous few years. It is launching in the brand’s five markets globally along with a new creative campaign in Canada and the U.S. Local market campaigns are scheduled for later in the year.

Dive Insight:

Peloton has been down a similar path of trying to revitalize the brand more than once over the last two years as its performance struggles in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the return of fitness enthusiasts to gyms. This week’s effort arrives after the company reported a 22% drop in revenue year-over-year, according to its fiscal Q3 2023 financial results. It also recently issued a major recall on its bikes and is forecasting a loss of subscribers. 

The free tier offers classes beyond bike-based workouts and sees the brand attempting to broaden its appeal outside of ardent bike enthusiasts while the two more robust new tiers are designed for brand loyalists. Peloton App One allows users to unlock unlimited classes and up to three equipment-based cardio classes per month and Peloton App+ grants unlimited access to classes. App One is priced at $12.99 per month, or $129 a year, while App+ is $24 a month or $240 a year.

Peloton Gym appears positioned to put the brand in more direct competition with traditional exercise apps by providing enhanced floor-based workout routines. It also marks the first time workouts are written out, demonstrated in videos and designed to be done at a user’s own pace, per details in a press release. 

“We're shifting perceptions from in-home to everywhere, fitness enthusiasts to people at all levels, exclusivity to inclusivity across all Peloton Members present and future," said Leslie Berland, Peloton's CMO in a press release.

The broader appeal follows several other attempts to regain some of the brand’s previous buzz. In 2022, the company inserted its star instructors into cinematic scenarios to help revitalize in the brand. Just a few months later, Chris Meloni stripped down to his birthday suit to promote the app as the brand halted production of its stationary bike.

The exercise company has been going through an identity crisis since the pandemic, when gym closures saw sales of its exercise products take off. However, as gyms reopened, the company has struggled to keep that momentum and last year went through four rounds of layoffs.