Business
During the holiday season, the high-end exercise company Peloton released an ad with a simple enough concept: Man buys his wife a Peloton. She works out all year and loves it. Thanks husband the next Christmas for the wonderful gift. And yet. The internet exploded with controversy over the spot.When we watched it, we sensed an overreliance on audience personas. Audience personas are a valuable marketing tool that help brands focus their content and speak to the right people. Unfortunately, some brands forget that these personas are only a framework, not real people.Listen to the podcast to learn:• Why we think the Peloton ad was spoiled by oversimplifying, over relying on a persona, and maybe some mediocre acting• What audience persona research may have told Peloton about their buyers, and how they applied it to their marketing• How to avoid Peloton’s missteps by considering audience personas as just one marketing tool out of many• Whether the Umault team can name all five Backstreet Boys. (It’s Nick, AJ, Howie, Brian, and Phil, right? Maybe?)Watch the episode on YouTube and see more on our website.Videos we discuss in this episodeNote: We always prioritize linking directly to a brand’s page when we discuss their work, but Peloton has taken this ad down as of March 2020.The Peloton holiday 2019 spotMisty Copeland for Under ArmourKylie Jenner solves racism with Pepsi adBurger King’s Moldy Burger