SoulCycle

Public relations, influencer marketing, partnerships and events

For 14 years, SoulCycle’s candlelit studios, one-of-a-kind playlists and powerful mind-body experiences have created a cult following, along with celebrity endorsements. 2018 was a significant year for SoulCycle, as its new owner, Equinox, planned for expansion across the United States, including the first SoulCycle in Colorado. The team wanted to ensure that the public understood that SoulCycle was different from other indoor cycling studios in the Denver market. SoulCycle’s opening followed those of CycleBar, Flywheel and other cycling studios. Our tiered media strategy started with a pitch to local media suggesting SoulCycle was considering entry into the Denver market. The idea was to create a “forbidden fruit” approach for the brand. The timeline included a steady schedule of advance publicity moments, holiday weight management pitches, influencer activations and pre-opening pop-up events.

Execution

Four months before SoulCycle’s opening, we released a small amount of detail about SoulCycle’s entrance into the Denver market to tier one media and well-followed fitness influencers. Two months before the grand opening date, we released a press release announcing the location details, leasing details, renderings and history of SoulCycle to fitness, features, events, business and lifestyle media. Three weeks prior to opening, we released a media alert with grand opening date, photos, private rides, tours and interviews to local and regional media. The coverage was extensive with multiple placements in some of Denver’s largest media outlets including: The Denver Post, 5280 Magazine, Denver Life Magazine, FOX and CW in addition to many others. We utilized the talented and well-spoken instructors for interview opportunities and on-camera segments.

Influencer Rides

We scheduled over 400 social media and community influencers to participate in the two-day rides. During our outreach, we encouraged each rider to share their SoulCycle experience with followers by providing tags, hashtags and check-in information.

Partnerships and Events

Our team coordinated strategic partnerships with nearby hotels, boutiques and high-end furniture stores. Leading up to the opening, we arranged pop-up SoulCycle events and community rides with these businesses.

In The Press

Results

Print, online and broadcast media placements generated within a three-month span: 56
influencer visits, check-ins and tags received: 400+
Media impressions generated: 15M

Each bike in the studio was booked during each of the six classes per day for the first two weeks of opening. This totaled 384 riders per day and 2,688 class purchases per week – surpassing the studio’s goal of producing 100 SoulCycle class purchases during the first week of opening