Black Friday, sold on the experience
Black Friday used to be a hardware-discount event. Working with marketing, I put the software we'd shipped that year at the centre of the pitch, across the campaign, the paywall, push and the home screen. Seasonal GTM grew subscription revenue 2.4×.
At a glance
Black Friday, one of Germany's biggest sales events and a big share of annual revenue, was sold almost entirely on hardware discounts.
We'd shipped AI Coach, Sportstech Move and other premium features that year. The discount message said none of that.
Feature-led campaigns, real customer outcomes, premium bundles, and in-app journeys on the paywall, push and home, all telling one story.
Black Friday and New Year in-app campaigns grew subscription revenue 2.4×, delivering the highest-grossing revenue cycle in the product's history.
One of the biggest weeks of the year was sold on price tags.
Black Friday is one of the biggest sales events in Germany, Sportstech's core market, and it brings in a significant share of annual revenue. Historically, the communication was about hardware discounts and device sales.
That year, though, we'd launched AI Coach, Sportstech Move and other premium capabilities. We saw a chance to make them a core part of the Black Friday value proposition, instead of just selling devices.
A discount sells a machine. It doesn't sell a reason to use it.
Hardware-only message
Campaigns led with device discounts. The app, where people actually build the habit, wasn't part of the pitch.
A year of software, unseen
AI Coach and Sportstech Move had shipped that year, and none of it showed up in our biggest campaign.
Bought for the price
Someone who buys a machine only because it's cheaper doesn't yet have a reason to use it, or to pay for premium.
Sell the experience. Let the discount be the reason to start today.
With marketing, I worked out which features resonated most with users, and we built the message around those. We didn't list everything we'd shipped. A treadmill on sale is a commodity. A treadmill with a coach that sets you up on day one and goals that keep you going is a different purchase.
“We didn't want customers to buy a machine just because it was discounted. We wanted them to understand the complete fitness experience they were getting.”
Four moves, one story, on every surface.
Feature-led campaigns
Lead with what the machine does for you once it's home: AI Coach, Sportstech Move and premium experiences.
Real customer outcomes
Show proof from real users in place of stock-clearance urgency.
Premium feature bundles
Package the device with premium features, so the offer is the full experience rather than a cheaper box.
In-product journeys
Optimise the in-app paths that drive upgrades and subscriptions: paywall, push and home placements, all timed to the campaign.
Your treadmill, now with a coach.
- Headline
Hardware price cutThe fitness experience- Proof
Stock urgencyReal customer outcomes- Offer
A discounted deviceDevice + premium bundle- Journey
Ends at checkoutContinues in the app
The complete Sportstech experience
- AI CoachInstant setup and a daily training companion
- Sportstech MovePersonal 7-day, 14-day & monthly goals
- Advanced workoutsProgrammes built for your machine
Paywall Sells the bundle of experiences, not a feature list.
Black Friday: unlock premium and get a personalised plan for your treadmill.
Push Leads with what the user gets, timed to the campaign.
Ready for today's walk?
Home A placement inside the routine, where the value is visible.
…
Measure subscription revenue, not hardware sales.
- Definition
- Subscription revenue from seasonal GTM across Black Friday and New Year in-app campaigns.
- Comparison
- The resume reports 2.4× growth; it does not specify the exact baseline period.
- Reading
- 2.4× subscription revenue relative to the baseline; not total campaign or hardware revenue.
- Honest caveat
- The result belongs to seasonal GTM and the product experience together, not creative alone. No unsupported year-over-year baseline is implied.
Revenue scopeThe reported 2.4× is subscription revenue growth. The precise baseline period should be confirmed from the original analysis before being added here.
2.4× subscription revenue, and the best revenue cycle the product has had.
A discount can buy revenue. I wanted the campaign to build something.
Lead with what resonates
We chose the features users responded to most and didn't list everything we'd shipped. A feature-led message only works if it's the right feature.
One story on every surface
Creative and timing were coordinated across design, marketing and engineering. The ad, the push, the paywall and the home screen made the same promise.
Read the number honestly
The reported outcome is 2.4× subscription revenue. The campaign and the product worked together; this is not a claim about total hardware sales or a controlled causal test.
A discount answers why now. The product has to answer why at all. Black Friday worked when the campaign did both.