• by Les Luchter , April 5, 2023

Expect P.Volve’s marketing to evolve now that Karina Kogan has joined the six-year-old fitness upstart as its first-ever chief marketing officer, albeit one who’s "fractional" -- not on-staff.

“It feels very much like being a full-time CMO,” Kogan tells Marketing Daily. “The mandate’s the same, the scope of the job is the same.”

That mandate, she says, is “refining brand and product positioning, improving KPIs across sales and marketing, refining our go-to-market processes and, overall, scaling the business.”

Kogan comes to P.Volve from health wearables company Oura, where she was also the first CMO. Before that, she was senior vice president and global head of product marketing at Peloton.

P.Volve differs from Peloton in several ways, Kogan explains, including an emphasis on low-impact exercise rather than cardio (“it breaks a sweat, but not your body”), a target audience geared more toward women, and the use of brick-and-mortar locations (both owned-and operated, and franchises) in addition to virtual workouts.

On the other hand, she cites several marketing similarities between not only P.Volve and Peloton but also Oura:

-- All combine hardware, software, direct-to-consumer sales, and a subscription. Thus, Kogan says,“ part of the marketing mission is to maintain relationships by driving engagement…You’re not only trying to get a customer to your website [but] to retain that relationship.’

-- All have been “very new, disruptive, transformational and innovative,” requiring “marketing that emphasizes education.”  In P.Volve’s case, that means explaining to consumers what is a “low-impact, resistance-based method” using “functional movement” (“moving your body in the way that your body moves in your life -- across three planes of motion: side-to-side, rotational and front-to -back,” Kogan says). 

P.Volve’s marketing up to now has largely been performance-based through such outlets as Google and Meta platforms, as well influencer marketing, Kogan says. While those aspects  will continue, she wants to move into “storytelling” mode, first with more investments in video and “down the line” with OTT and TV. “Those formats are great at telling the story and educating consumers,” as well as “driving efficient customer acquisition,” she explains.

Kogan also expects to leverage P.Volve’s growing retail footprint (the firm now has outlets in San Diego, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago) as an out-of-home ad vehicle for education and acquisition.

Also coming are some “splashier” stunt marketing and the retention of an ad agency, she says.

Also expect more outreach to consumers concerning clinical studies conducted by third parties that are designed to show scientific backing for functional movement.

P.Volve, whose name is short for “personal evolution,” is in a “pivotal moment” in its own evolution, Kogan explains.  The brand began six years ago, and, having brought a product and method “into the world” that “consumers seem to be responding toit’s time to grow.”