Hear directly from Pulio! (Click CC for English subtitles)

In Korea, it's hard not to notice Pulio these days —whether online or offline, we see their ads quite literally everywhere. People often remark, ‘Pulio’s marketing is everywhere—aggressive, but effective.’ The brand has seamlessly woven itself into our everyday surroundings.

But Pulio didn’t start out as a familiar brand. In a market long ruled by large, expensive massage chairs, Pulio pioneered the category of ‘compact massagers,’ bringing easy relaxation into daily life.

Pulio’s rapid growth rests on three pillars: technology, experience design, and CRM. The brand goes beyond making products or running ads—it creates experiences that customers can feel, remember, and connect with. This focus on experience-driven marketing is what truly sets Pulio apart.

So how exactly did Pulio reshape the compact massager market with their strategy? Let’s take a closer look.

No. 1 Compact Massagers: Pulio’s New Category

Q. How did Pulio create the category of compact massagers?

Massage devices have traditionally faced high barriers to purchase, with the market long dominated by bulky massage chairs. Pulio changed the game by introducing compact devices that anyone could use with ease. By creating offline experience zones, pop-ups stores, and retail partnerships, Pulio gave customers more chances to try the products firsthand, which turned out to be a decisive turning point for the brand

Q. What Makes Pulio Different?

Pulio’s greatest strength lies in its technology. Backed by an in-house R&D center, the company rapidly incorporates customer feedback and invests relentlessly in innovation. Take the calf massager, for example—it delivers unmatched air-cell pressure, earning the reputation of ‘Korea’s strongest air pump.’ And this isn’t just marketing spin—the difference is clearly reflected in both sales and customer reviews.

Pulio also stands out in the way it communicates. Instead of simply claiming a product is good, the brand explains why it’s good—always from the customer’s point of view. Timely launches, customer-driven updates, and expanded trial opportunities have all played a crucial role in building trust.

Q. Building Pulio to where it is today couldn’t have been easy. How did you get the brand noticed in the early days?

Pulio's Bus Ad

We began by imprinting our signature purple color and brand name, ‘Pulio’—derived from the Korean word (풀리오) for ‘relaxing, relieving’—to convey the idea of easing all kinds of fatigue and stiffness. From the start, we wove this color and name consistently into our advertising and marketing, and we continue to do so today

We’ve always believed in the principle that the more visible a product is, the more likely it is to be used. That’s why we placed Pulio devices in everyday spaces like taxis, hotels, and salons—reaching audiences that online marketing alone could never capture. The response exceeded our expectations, giving us the confidence to expand even more boldly.

Q. Experience marketing isn’t easy to execute. How were you able to take such bold steps?

We weren’t bold from the beginning, but we soon realized the limits of online-only marketing and knew we had to move beyond it. Confident in the satisfaction people feel once they try our products, we created opportunities for hands-on experiences in everyday settings—like taxi rides or salon visits—turning ordinary moments into memorable encounters with Pulio.

These collaborations offered consumers fresh, memorable experiences with the brand, naturally reinforcing Pulio’s technology and identity. The outcomes weren’t always predictable, but our ‘let’s try it’ culture gave us the courage to move forward. It’s this mindset that keeps Pulio’s marketing dynamic and ever-evolving.

CRM That Connects Customer Experience Through Reviews

Q. What role does CRM play at Pulio?

Pulio goes beyond simply selling products—it leverages CRM to consistently deliver the brand’s values to customers. At every stage of the customer journey, timely and relevant messages seamlessly integrate the brand story. This approach builds understanding and trust, while reinforcing Pulio’s distinct identity in the market.

Q. We’ve heard Pulio makes active use of customer reviews in CRM. How do you leverage them?

We don’t simply aim to collect more reviews—we actively repurpose real customer feedback as secondary content. Details we found on reviews are woven into CRM messages and on-site campaigns. For example, using Datarize, we designed a step-by-step campaign that leveraged real anecdotes from reviews to drive first purchases among non-buyers.

Pulio's Kakao Talk messages leveraging customer reviews

Cohort analysis showed a clear trend: the longer the gap since sign-up, the lower the first-purchase conversion rate. To counter this, we designed a step-by-step campaign—sending a coupon via the messenger app, KakaoTalk on the day of sign-up, a coupon-expiration reminder five days later, and a review-based message ten days later to reduce purchase hesitation. This approach delivered strong results, lifting next-day purchase rates among new members from 2.66% to 2.98% within about three weeks.

Q. Could you share an example of how you’ve used customer data for targeting?

Datarize Cohort Chart example

During periods of traffic surges, we noticed a pattern of frequent visits from certain customers. To deep dive, we looked at Cohort analysis in Datarize which revealed that among these visits, sales were heavily concentrated among those visiting within their first 100 days. We focused campaigns on this segment while sending timely reminder messages to customers at risk of churning.

We also found a growing number of customers who signed up but took no following action. In response, we designed sign-up–based campaigns that significantly improved first-purchase conversion rates.

Q. What strategies does Pulio use to encourage repeat purchases?

Pulio focuses on two main strategies to drive repurchases:

Pulio's trade-in program

We started with trade-in campaigns. Since device products have long replacement cycles, it’s essential to give customers clear reasons to re-engage with the brand. Last year, for instance, we launched a trade-in program aimed at both existing Pulio users and competitor customers. Existing users were offered upgraded models at a reasonable price to reinforce trust, while competitor customers were introduced to Pulio’s superior technology and benefits to encourage switching

Our second strategy focuses on creating messages and experiences that keep the brand naturally top of mind. Pulio isn’t positioned as a one-off device, but as a brand that brings massage-parlor comfort to home. What began with calf massagers has since expanded to shoulders and back, meeting a wide range of customer needs. Rather than limiting ourselves to messages like ‘A gift for your parents,’ we use broader themes such as ‘Give the gift of comfort,’ making Pulio relevant for everyone. Because the buyer and the end-user are often different, we’ve also shaped the brand to be top of mind in diverse gifting situations.

Refining online store marketing with Datarize

Q. Which Datarize features have been most useful in your day-to-day marketing?

We rely most heavily on three features:

1. Automated KakaoTalk messages (Alimtalk/Friendtalk)
2. On-site product recommendation messages
   
3. Delivery volume forecasting based on success rates

On-site messages, in particular, have consistently proven effective in stabilizing ROAS. We also track weekly changes in visit and purchase segments, using those insights to convert high-interest customers into targeted audiences. In addition, site reports with retention metrics directly guide our repurchase strategies, making them among the most frequently referenced tools in our work.

Q. Could you share an example of how Datarize has helped improve ROAS?

Like many brands, we usually run promotions over the long term and often see sales drop after the initial launch. That’s where Datarize made a real difference—enabling us to send precisely targeted messages to customers at risk of churning.

Without Datarize, we couldn’t have targeted customers based on their most recent behavior. Instead, we would have had to increase overall message frequency, which would have led to customer fatigue and lower engagement impacting, ultimately, revenue and retention.

Q. What advice would you give to brands considering Datarize?

If you’re considering a CRM solution, I highly recommend Datarize.

Its greatest strength is how easily it delivers meaningful insights, supported by fast feedback, quick follow-ups, and well-structured reports. Even as new features roll out, the UI/UX remains user-centered, ensuring it’s simple and intuitive to use. Audience building and metric setup are also highly systematic, so even brands new to CRM can get started without difficulty

Q. Lastly, where do you see Pulio heading in the future?

There are many massage brands out there, but few have combined technology and customer experience the way Pulio has. Going forward, we want to keep turning discomfort into comfort—not just through product development, but also by paying close attention to every customer touchpoint.