5 ways the celeb-approved Oura Ring is making people ‘obsessed’ with tracking health

Oura gained a name for itself among high-profile influencers and celebrities. Jennifer Aniston even mentioned the brand on The Jimmy Kimmel Show, telling audiences how she is “obsessed” with the ring and revealing a funny anecdote about losing it in a salad she was preparing at a dinner party. Sales of the ring reportedly surged after the show came out.

We sat down with Oura’s chief marketing officer, Doug Sweeny, to find out how the brand is growing through word of mouth, highly targeted digital marketing and big bold brand campaigns.

1. Harnessing word of mouth

What is unique about the Oura Ring is that it is in the health tech category but also a piece of jewelry. The overall look and finish of the product help sell the device. People asking, ‘What is that on your finger?’ open the conversation about Oura.

Sweeny says Oura's most effective awareness leavers are its existing customers. “The primary introduction to Oura is through a friend or a family member,” Sweeny explains. Either an Oura user shares the tech’s benefits, or people are intrigued by the ring itself, inviting further conversation about Oura. “The members are really marketing on our behalf because they love the product,” he says.

Sweeny tells The Drum that most of Oura’s celebrity and influencer users are organic and not sponsored. For example, A-listers like Jennifer Aniston and Jimmy Kimmel wear the rings without being paid or gifted. Oura does still have a paid and gifting influencer roster, but Sweeny claims it’s a “very short” list. “Most of what you see in terms of overall impressions and impact are from an organic play,” he adds.

2. Emotive brand marketing

For its brand communications, Oura plays on the idea that the product gives the user’s body ‘a voice’. “The product takes complex signals from your body and boils it down to actionable insights with what is going on in your body,” Sweeny says. He adds that Oura can be seen as a “translation device” for the body.

Last month, Oura launched the minute-long ‘Commit to Your Body’ spot, which pulls on this notion by using the body’s inner monologue as the narrator. Oura is also a big investor in out-of-home for brand awareness taking an immersive digital spot in London’s Outernet building to mark its launch in John Lewis stores.

3. Targeted health concerns ads

Lower down the funnel, Oura uses targeted digital marketing across social, search and blogs to convert into sales. Here the approach pulls on the health issues, or as Sweeny calls it, “pillars,” that Oura seeks to improve. For example, targeting women between a certain age bracket with ads showing how Oura can be used to track menstrual cycles. Or serving ads to older age brackets about how Oura can be used to improve cardiovascular health. “It’s a combination of macro marketing, and then all of these pillars, underneath that are focused on very targeted messaging within our wellness platform,” he says.

Content is another core part of Oura’s marketing strategy. Here, Sweeny’s team can pull on the company’s science department to share data and research about the product's benefits.

4. Endorsement deals

Oura does have a commercial partnerships side to its business that sits separately from its marketing department. Here Oura strikes deals with sports teams, businesses and even government departments to supply the rings.

The brand made headlines in the British press during the Euros for its endorsement deal with the England football team gifting rings to 30 players. The press organically picked up on the players wearing the rings.

“It’s the best endorsement, and it’s authentic because the players are actually using it,” Sweeny says. “There could not be a better, authentic experience when a professional team is using it in that way and proactively embracing the product. That is the best marketing you can get, it’s really powerful.”

5. Strategic partnerships

Then there are “strategic partnerships” with over 800 health and wellness brands including Strava, Equinox, Headspace, Glucose, CGM, Natural Cycles and Lululemon. Oura does a lot of cross-marketing between brands; for example, a recent influencer campaign with the fertility app Natural Cycles promoted using Oura instead of the oral thermometer to check ovulation.

What is the future potential of the wearable market?

The wearable market is very much in its infancy, Sweeny acknowledges. “The category is being built out and the awareness is growing,” he says. A vote on confidence in the future of the wearable category, Sweeny says though, is how major retailers are creating space for the category in store and online. Amazon, Best Buy, Target and John Lewis, all now have dedicated wearable areas. While Oura might be competing with Samsung’s smart ring alternative, an Oura Ring customer might also wear an Apple Watch, Sweeny says so there is a lot of opportunity to sell to the wider category.

“It is still early days, the brand only entered third-party retail a year and a half a go,” Sweeny says. “We feel like we’re only just getting started in terms of traction and global awareness on the product and what it offers.”

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