• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, January 9, 2025

Zumba is merengue-ing into the new year with a campaign harnessing the good-natured fun that comes from its dance workouts, starring Redfoo, the LMFAO frontman best known for the 2011 hit, “Sexy and I Know It.” Ads crack jokes about all the anxiety people bring to their first class -- “Am I the oldest one here?” and “Don’t fart. Don’t fart.” -- as well as how quickly that all melts away when the music starts.

Carolina Moraes, CMO of the Miami-based brand, tells Marketing Daily about the insights behind the new campaign, themed “Say It. Believe it.”

Interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Marketing Daily: A January campaign is more or less a requirement for fitness brands and usually falls into that category you’ve called “Resolution Pollution.” How did you go about it this year? What did you want to do differently?

Carolina Moraes: This stemmed from my attending a class in Chandler, Arizona, a few months ago. Normally, I visit bigger cities -- I’m in Miami and go to New York or L.A. This was a much smaller town and a very different audience. We were all chatting after the class, and I know this sounds cheesy, but the conversation just developed into this little focus group about insecurities.

People talked about wanting others to be less judgmental not just about others, but about themselves. That hasn’t changed for decades. People still feel intimidated walking into a new experience. They feel like people are looking them up and down. And there are these big mirrors -- everyone is staring at themselves and others. You can't help but either compare or criticize yourself.

It sparked something in me -- mostly because they were so funny. We’ve always known that our audience connects to us at the funny level. Members laugh at themselves and often call the class their happy hour.

Our brand has permission to be funny. We just haven’t leveraged that. So that’s how we put the idea to the team – let’s do something funny, wholesome and light.

Marketing Daily: And how did Redfoo come on the scene?

Moraes: We also wanted to tap into the whole nostalgia craze. People are looking back at better times. We started thinking about celebrities that would be good fit for Zumba, and someone brought up Redfoo. We loved the idea. “Sexy and I Know It” was a huge hit in Zumba classes back in the day. The song is funny, and also who we are. We want women to feel sexy and empowered.

So we sent him a DM, even though we thought it was a long shot. We were thrilled when he answered!

We developed the concept internally and then worked with An Agency Called Us to put the campaign together.

Marketing Daily: Not that common for any brand to bring up fear of farting.

Moraes: That came right from the conversation in Arizona. One woman said it, and everyone else burst out laughing. That’s the kind of comment that’s very real and unexpected. We just put the ad on TikTok, and I can’t tell you how many comments are from people responding to the fart line.

Marketing Daily: Besides using humor, what else is different this year? Are you reaching out to other audiences?

Moraes: Last year’s campaign focused on people downloading and using our app. As the world continues to settle back into normal, though, there’s been a bigger return to the studio and group fitness classes. One thing that surprised me is that we thought the app was a hybrid offering and appealed to the same audience as in-person classes.

That turns out not to be true. Our audience on the app is people in their early to mid-30s, while our in-person audiences are more in early to mid-40s. I had not expected such a discrepancy.

Marketing Daily: Has that changed your media strategy?

Moraes: No, there’s a big overlap in media consumption. The new campaign is primarily running on TV and digital. And we’re working with influencers, all aimed at driving people back to live classes. That’s our business model. That’s how instructors benefit. Membership is the core of our business, and we think this campaign will generate demand. We want the classes to be busier and more energized.

Marketing Daily: How much are you spending, and what are the main metrics?

Moraes: Our marketing budget is between $7 million and $9 million this year. The No. 1 KPI is class searches, both on Google and on our website. And we’re tracking our share of voice on social media.