The campaign comes after a busy week for Peloton. On Thursday, Peloton announced that Peter Stern, most recently president of Ford Integrated Services, would be taking over as CEO, effective Jan. 1. He will succeed Barry McCarthy, who stepped down in May amid layoffs. Chris Bruzzo and Karen Boone have been serving as interim co-CEOs (both will remain on the board after Stern assumes the position).
Peloton’s revenue, which declined 2% to $586 million in its fiscal first quarter, exceeded analysts’ expectations. The company lost $900,000 in the quarter, substantially less than the year-earlier period’s $159.3 million loss.
As it seeks to drive demand and continue its turnaround, Peloton is also adjusting its marketing budget and calendar. The company is spending less overall this year on marketing, but is trying to drive demand around tentpole events such as Black Friday, Weinberg said. It slowed spending over the summer but is ramping up this November so that customers will be more inclined to buy for the holidays, when Peloton will offer promotional incentives.
“Our budget overall for the year is down, but we are also changing our investment strategy in terms of when we spend money,” Weinberg said.
Peloton said it decreased its first-quarter sales and marketing expenses by 44% from a year earlier, bringing them down to $64 million. It spent 57% less on media, the lowest level in four years, the company wrote in a shareholder letter.
“We’ve gone from being promotion-heavy to a place where we’re now balancing demand creation and desire with those moments where we can capture demand with conversion events,” said Bruzzo on a call with analysts.