Don’t sleep on The Oura Ring
Thoughts on how the up-and-coming sleep tracker can position itself to win the fast-growing category of sleep.
Sleep is having a moment in popular culture.
The New York Times recently declared Casper as “The Nike of Sleep Products.”
This past month, ESPN published this long-form piece on how sleep (or lack thereof) is holding the NBA back.
And yesterday, Remrise, a new sleep company, announced a $8M raise this week from top investors. In the funding announcement Techcrunch noted, “In 2017, sleep aids generated $69.5 billion, globally. By 2023, that number is expected to blow past $101 billion.”
While there’s no denying that companies like Casper have built really strong brands, I believe Oura has the potential to be one of the most influential brands of our time — by changing the narrative on sleep.
For those who aren’t familiar, Oura is currently positioned as, “The most accurate sleep and activity tracker” with a strong reason-to-believe (it’s more accurate because it sits on your finger vs your wrist).
Where it gets really interesting: You can track your sleep over time to see if your behavior changes make any difference in your quality of sleep.
Their growth today has been impressive. They’ve raised over $20M in Venture Capital, and developed a strong community of micro-celebrities in the biohacking world like Tim Ferris, Kevin Rose, and Peter Attia.
Even Prince Harry has repped the ring for the tabloids.
Something I’ve been pondering:
How can Oura change the stigma on sleep to make it “cool” or “aspirational” in popular culture?
A few thoughts
In a world where anyone will do anything to get an edge, a good night of sleep is the most effective PED (performance enhancing drug).
Oura should leverage this insight to position sleep as the new adderall.
It could be interesting to start framing & marketing the benefits of sleep as an “edge” for specific personas, linking them to individual aspirations.
In pushing this new message, there’s an opportunity is to make the brand more approachable.
Right now the site skews very masculine with products and aesthetics that don’t appeal to female users. I’ve learned this first hand recommending the product to several female friends who loved the idea of sleep tracking, but the aesthetics of the brand didn’t appeal to them.
Lastly, the brand has an easy opportunity to lead with their “why” over their “what.”
A unique approach
While it’s clear “sleep” is having a moment in popular culture, I believe Oura’s advantage is their differentiated approach.
Most brands approach sleep from the “outside-in”: Sell products that promise to help you sleep better. (Their promise is just marketing.)
Oura meanwhile approaches sleep from the “inside-out”: They provide the data, insights & guidance to build a better sleeping routine.
With that data, Oura can offer personalized recommendations on products to improve your sleep.
For example, if your sleep has been poor due to elevated body temperature, Oura could potentially offer you something like an Eight Sleep Mattress (and of course take an affiliate fee on the sale).
To take it a step further, I can imagine a world where Oura builds their own D2C sleep empire, offering up personalized solutions to problems surfaced by the sleep tracker.
The sleep market is heating up. People are finally starting to pay attention to their sleep thanks to the work of scientists like Matthew Walker. Feels like there’s room for a brand to capitalize on the zeitgeist and runaway with the category (similar to Red Bull & energy drinks). If I were an investor, I’d bet big on Oura…will be interesting to see how things play out.
