An Alo Gym Deep-Dive

How an athleisure brand won over the influencer community

Ali Kaltman
November 10, 2024

Brand: Alo

Campaign: The Infamous Gym

Read time: 5 minutes

💬 Overview 💬

How do you manufacture cool?

Get the “it” girls in on it…

Alo was one of the first brands to really build a brand on the backs of influencers.

One crucial component of how they did that was through their owned property… The Alo Gym

What actually is the Alo Gym? How did it come to be?

Luckily, while I was with Salesforce, I had the pleasure of getting a tour of Alo’s Beverly Hills HQ (including the infamous gym).

While I was not able to workout there (nor are the employees from 9-5. It’s reserved for those with the utmost influence), I was able to take a yoga class and see what all the hype was about, and it really is fascinating.

So let’s get into it…

💙 The Branded Moment 💙

The Alo Gym is more than just a workout space; it's an exclusive fitness studio & wellness HQ.

Located in Beverly Hills, CA, it’s a meticulously designed, curated space for the elite —think beautiful light fixtures, luxe finishes, and high-tech equipment that tops even the best boutique studios.

The Alo HQ

The Alo Gym is invite-only, reserved primarily for influencers, celebrities, and select partners.

This exclusivity has made it the ultimate status symbol in the fitness and wellness world.

Getting an invite to the Alo Gym feels like going to an exclusive club, which makes influencers/celebrities eager to post about it on social media.

Alo has mastered the art of “invite-only cool.”

But how did Alo create the “IT” gym?

Alo’s entire strategy is built on aligning their brand with influencers and celebrities who represent the pinnacle of fitness and wellness culture.

By providing these influencers with a photogenic space to work out in, Alo gives them a reason to post about the brand.

From the beginning, Alo recognized that today’s consumers are heavily influenced by social media—and, in particular, by those they admire online. Having a select group of influential people posting about your brand from a luxe, private space builds allure and prestige that traditional marketing can’t achieve.

Rules Around the Alo Gym

Alo’s strategy relies on some very specific rules for the Alo Gym:

Invite-Only Access: Only selected influencers, celebrities, and brand partners are granted access to the gym. Even employees have limited access and are generally restricted from using it during working hours.
No Crowds: To maintain an intimate, exclusive vibe, Alo limits the number of people who can be there at once.
Brand-Aligned Content: Guests are encouraged (though not required) to share their experience on social media, and the gym is perfectly set up for influencers to produce branded content.

In this case, more exclusivity has created more desire.

💡 Results 💡

Over time, the Alo gym has earned billions of impressions around the internet.

The Beverly Hills private gym has been so successful for the company, that they’e created an additional location in NYC.

From a sales standpoint, their sales increased from $200 million in 2020 to over $1 billion in 2022, a growth of over 32%.

While the retail giant has increased its retail footprint in that time, we can assume that the private gym contributed to that success.

And as an influencer, it’s a symbol that you’ve made it in the influencer world.

🎬 Take Action 🎬

There are 2 things that intrigue me about Alo’s strategy here beyond exclusivity:

Mystery
Scalability

Mystery

The Alo Gym has a mysterious allure to it. Coming full circle, when I visited with Salesforce, I was excited just to SEE the gym, even though I wasn’t allowed to work out there. (How ridiculous does that sound!)

Can your brand create something that people would go out of their way to see?

Scalability

Unlike a brand trip, a gym is something you can visit over and over again, which 1) builds loyalty and 2) allows more people to experience it without sacrificing the number of people at one time.

Can you build an exclusive experience that lives for an extended amount of time?

What’s New This Week

One new product I tried this week 👉 Stakt Mat — Finally got to try THE functional yoga mat. It’s great. Way more comfortable than a traditional mat too.

One new campaign I’m loving 👉 Sweetgreen has FRIES?! Can’t wait to try & see how they activate these in stores

One new piece of content to watch/listen to 👉 Listened to The Creator Economy Live K18 Episode — Michelle has some great stories.

Brandkeeping

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please forward it on to 3 marketers you know!

And if you have a brand or campaign you want to spotlight, please reply directly to this newsletter.

Let’s chat!

See ya!

Ali

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