Valentine’s Day actually dates back to 270 AD during Claudius II’s reign over the Roman Empire. Old Claudius didn’t want his men getting hitched during wartime because he thought single men made better soldiers. So he forbid people from getting married. Enter Bishop Valentine, who went against Claudius’s wishes and performed secret weddings. For this, he was jailed and later killed. Love stinks!

Fast forward to today where Valentine’s Day has turned in to a major gift buying bonanza, where consumers are expected to spend over $10 billion on gifts for that special someone. How much of that do you think goes towards a new mattress?

Crazy, you say? Hardly! Consider that you can buy a new mattress that will:

• Give you a hug every time you get into it.
• Deliver better sleep, which creates a desire to use the mattress every day, not just on Valentine’s Day!
• On a daily basis, help you to look good for your spouse by getting that quality beauty sleep you need.
• Keep you happy, and keep you in love because both are much easier when you are well-rested.
• Put a little bounce in your love life. You don’t want an old mattress that does not return the energy you are putting into it. Dr. Joy Davidson, a clinical psychologist says, “it makes perfect sense that the American public likes making love on innerspring beds, which are a more playful space for intimacy.”

Okay, some of these points are easier to communicate to consumers than others, but you get the point. Think about it: Your bed is the place where your most intimate moments occur, and not just in the physical sense. Consider the heart to heart conversations and those tender moments that happen in the bedroom. LOVE happens in your bedroom, and your mattress should play a big part in that equation. Why are we not talking about it more?

Our customers will buy over 189 million roses and over 35 million heart shaped boxes of chocolate to help them express themselves today. Why can’t we get some of that action? I realize that mattresses are not that sexy, but is that because WE CHOOSE TO NOT MAKE THEM SEXY?

Here is the reality: We are in a fight for the consumer dollar. This fight is not with each other, but with other consumer products companies. The winner is going to be the group that tells the best story. Do you know of someone connecting mattresses to Valentine’s Day? Share that with me in the comments section.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are mine and mine alone. They do not represent the thinking of the company I work for, or anyone else with whom I am affiliated. Except my wife of course, who is good at telling me what not to say.