How WHOOP Scaled with Confidence: The Power of a Product Operating Model
3 Min Read
When WHOOP set out to expand its offering by launching new hardware, opening new membership tiers, and expanding into new markets, they didn’t just need a redesign but a partner who could turn their long-term strategy into day-to-day execution.
Publicis Sapient’s testing and experimentation expertise combined with their Contentful knowledge forged a strategic partnership that targeted and improved KPIs related to our big-picture business goals.
— Tori Oates, Product Manager at WHOOP
Operationalizing Strategy: How the Model Works
At the heart of Publicis Sapient’s engagement with WHOOP was a structured, repeatable product operating model. Designed to drive alignment, accountability, and results, the model connected WHOOP’s business goals to daily product workstreams.
This wasn’t a “set it and forget it” roadmap, it was an adaptive cycle designed to evolve in lockstep with business needs.
Key rituals included:
- Quarterly Business Reviews to define and align on OKRs
- Cross-functional planning sessions to shape and prioritize initiatives
- Monthly product reviews to course-correct based on outcomes
- Continuous roadmapping to maintain visibility and momentum
The Publicis Sapient team supported WHOOP in a full redesign that included UX design, user research, and development during one of the most critical product launches in company history. I knew I could trust them to help us see this project through to the finish line.
— Tori Oates, Product Manager at WHOOP
This structure transformed alignment from a buzzword into a working practice that empowered both partners to act with speed, clarity, and shared accountability.
A True Partnership, Not Just a Project
From the beginning, Publicis Sapient embedded in WHOOP’s internal teams to build and co-own outcomes.
The team actively participated in:
- Defining objectives and KPIs
- Creating business objectives
- Aligning features to objectives
- Backlog grooming
- Cross-discipline requirement shaping
- Roadmap creation
- Quality assurance and testing
This level of involvement elevated Publicis Sapient beyond a vendor role and into the role of a proxy product owner, a strategic advisor, and a trusted delivery partner.
Test-and-Learn: How Experimentation Drove Growth
One of the most valuable elements of the operating model was its integration of real-world data into decision-making. Through a CRO the team validated ideas before scaling them, translating user behavior into business impact.
Results included:
- +14% lift in conversion
- +29% increase in membership purchases
- +10% increase in time on site
- +6% increase in revenue
These were results from a deliberate, continuous experimentation a methodology used across UX, UI, content, and landing page architecture with each test aligned to WHOOP’s KPIs.
Building for the Future, Not Just the Quarter
While immediate growth was priority, WHOOP was also investing in its long-term digital foundation. Publicis Sapient helped lay that groundwork.
The Publicis Sapient team has helped whoop.com build a solid foundation installing best-in-class web experiences. They are truly experts in the headless commerce space and because of that whoop.com will have the infrastructure to grow and scale based on solutions derived by the team.
— Tori Oates, Product Manager at WHOOP
That foundation included:
- A modular, headless architecture powered by Contentful
- Multi-region infrastructure to support global scaling
- Self-serve content tools that allow WHOOP’s internal teams to move faster without engineering bottlenecks
What the Product Operating Model Enabled
By adopting Publicis Sapient’s product operating model, WHOOP gained more than a project plan. They gained a framework for scaling:
- Faster time to market for launches and features
- Clearer prioritization based on OKRs
- Transparent, cross-functional collaboration
- A digital foundation purpose-built to evolve
WHOOP didn’t just hire a consultancy. They adopted a way of working that connected strategy with velocity, and goals with results.
Ready to Work Differently?
If you’re looking for more than execution and want a digital partner that acts as an extension of your product team, we’d love to talk.
Let’s start a conversation!
Crafting the Future of Commerce
Corra, a Publicis Sapient company, is the global commerce leader and SI helping brands and organizations grow by evaluating, building, and optimizing their digital commerce ecosystems. Our vast experience with composable and headless implementations speeds time-to-value and provides technical freedom to our clients. Our TotalCare managed services program provides gold-standard support, enhancements and ongoing commerce strategy. We are strategic thinkers, accomplished engineers, and award-winning experience designers. We believe outstanding customer experiences can’t exist without flawless technology, and that flawless technology is pointless without beautiful, human-centered design. Our clients are an integral part of our team. Together, we remove the obstacles that are limiting growth and discover new opportunities. We don’t rest until our clients achieve their full potential. Our clients’ KPIs are our KPIs. We have 20 years of experience in commerce technology, but we also know that customer expectations are constantly evolving. For this reason, we’ve built future-proof solutions and refined an agile execution process that helps our clients achieve more with less. As a Publicis Sapient company, Corra joins a global network spanning 20,000 people with 53 offices around the world enabling us to accelerate our clients’ businesses through designing and building the experiences and services their customers demand.
