If you have read this blog for very long you know I am a big believer in a strong business strategy being the foundation for any business that wants to succeed. I also believe that if you are not stretching your creative muscle then you are missing out on a fun and effective way to reach your audience.

Today I want to shine a light on Leggett & Platt’s new campaign Edge Heads (watch more videos below). Not because I am a homer having worked there, but because they deserve some attention for what they are doing.

L&P has a new product called Quantum Edge that they want to drive into the market. They did their homework using their Sleep Geek community and talked to over 100 retail sales associates/retail managers. That group told them that over 93% of sales interactions involved some conversation about the edge of the mattress. Much of that had to do with the consumer wanting to minimize roll off, utilizing more of the sleep surface.

The benefit of their Quantum Edge product is that it delivers an edge that is 26% more durable than foam encased borders and bends 24% easier on adjustable beds. This is big news for the industry because the vast majority of beds out there have foam borders. These two benefits, plus the fact that Spink and Edgar is all natural, is the reason that we chose to use it instead of foam in our new line.

Here are 4 reasons I like this approach so much:

1. It’s easy to create a selling sheet, take a few pictures, and share some testing results about a new product. That is what most people would do but Mark Kinsley, Vice President of Marketing for Leggett & Platt isn’t most people. They looked for a CREATIVE way to extol the virtues of their Quantum Edge product.
2. They used infotainment to drive their point home. Similar to how we promoted the hybrid concept back in the day with our rap video Get Hybrid, they used comedy to not only attack the competition in a fun way, but to build value in their own solution. It is hard to get away with bashing the competition, but when you use humor to get that point across, you can say just about anything.
3. It’s fun to watch. The content is very good so people will spend some time watching the different episodes. If Leggett posted five videos of their new Quantum Edge with someone on camera talking about a mattress edge, would you waste 2-minutes of your life watching that? Probably not. With this campaign you will invest your time because you are curious and if you like the first one, you will check out the rest. It is a great way for them to earn your time and attention when we all have very little of it to give.
4. It’s also a very simple message that makes an impact and we all know how important it is to make your message easy to digest.

I asked Mark how things were going and he told me the videos have had thousands of views already with hundreds of downloads for their product sheets. “We are hyper-focused on creating components that deliver longer comfort life, which, ultimately, is good for consumers and good for the reputation of retailers and manufacturers” said Kinsley.

This industry can be so vanilla and polluted with industry marketing speak that is not only boring, but in some cases so overstated that it does more to detract from products out there than it does to help them. Keep it simple. Keep it real. Keep it fun. People will reward you for the effort I promise. Well done Leggett & Platt team!

If you have something your company has done that is creative and effective, let me know and I will talk about your efforts as well!