SoulCycle wants Peloton customers to trade in their bikes for 47 in-person classes

Watch out, Peloton. SoulCycle’s latest campaign, Souls Reunited, is offering owners of the Peloton Bike and Peloton Bike+ the opportunity to trade in riding at home for in-studio SoulCycle classes.

The offer is available for the first 100 eligible people who sign up through SoulCycle’s website, and it runs from July 27 to August 3. It includes a complimentary pick-up service for the old bike and a package of 47 in-studio classes, worth more than $1,400. Classes can be redeemed at any of SoulCycle’s 83 studios across the country. 

The message behind Souls Reunited is that, despite the convenience of virtual workouts, they can’t replace the energy of working out with others. 

“This program is truly about the power of togetherness,” SoulCycle CEO Evelyn Webster said via email.  

A goal of Souls Reunited is to build and strengthen the SoulCycle community, and to celebrate humans’ connection to one another, Webster said. She added that members have missed the in-person energy of SoulCycle’s studio during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“We firmly believe that we ride harder and stronger when we do it as a pack, with more power, more output and more energy,” Webster said. “Working together toward a common goal. Matching each other’s rhythm. Building on each other’s energy. No more waiting for the right time. It’s time to get back out there and connect with each other again.”

SoulCycle is using a pointed media relations strategy with outreach to key press for earned media coverage, as well as social media pushes to its followers. 

The brand also created the F#ck It, Let’s Ride 45-second TV spot, created by VCCP New York. This is running across CTV, YouTube, digital out-of-home and will be supported on social media through the summer.

Asked if Peloton was given a heads up about the campaign, Webster said SoulCycle’s focus is “less about Peloton specifically and more about making riders feel welcomed in our studios and giving them the electric experience of an in-person SoulCycle ride.”

Along with VCCP, Science Magic supported this campaign. Budget information was not disclosed.

Souls Reunited is part of the brand campaign F#ck It, Let’s Ride, which is mobilizing riders everywhere to get back out into the world.

Webster, who was named CEO in late 2020, said that SoulCycle’s riders remained loyal and engaged at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the fitness company had to adapt to restrictions and hold classes outside. The company cut employee pay by 25% in spring 2020 amid pandemic shutdowns and furloughed some staffers.

“Our riders never went anywhere,” she said. “Whether they were riding with us outdoors, at home, engaging with us through social media, or buying SoulCycle merch and apparel.”

Meanwhile, Peloton reported a worse-than-expected loss in its fiscal Q3, which ended on March 31, with revenue dropping 24% to $964.3 million and a net loss of $757.1 million, compared to a loss of $8.6 million the previous year.