Are mattresses sexy?

Posted QLeave a commentPosted in furniture, marketing, mattresses, Uncategorized

I recently spent a week in England for the National Bedding Federation Conference (NBF) along with John Walsh, Director of Creative Services for Leggett and Platt, Inc.; and what a great week it was.  I had the opportunity to say hello to some old friends, see some incredible product, and give a talk to the 450 people in attendance at their gala dinner.

At the conference they did something that we don’t do here in the U.S., which is to incorporate everybody in the industry into one big show.  Component suppliers AND bedding producers were on hand to show the retailers their latest and greatest for 2010.  We did see some greatness in the way of product –  there is no doubt.  My friend, Simon Spinks, makes a bed as good as any I have ever seen.  He is doing some very creative things with the green concept by raising his own sheep, and growing and using hemp, a very renewable resource in the production of his beds. (more…)

Mattress Comfort is Overrated!

Posted Q3 CommentsPosted in furniture, marketing, mattresses, Uncategorized

Okay, so maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but give me a minute to explain.

My first job in the mattress industry was with Sealy as a Stearns and Foster Representative in Jacksonville, Florida.  My first few weeks on the job were spent at Sealy University learning about mattresses.  This class was led by Nat Bernstein and Troy Danahey who put on a fantastic training program.  So for one of our first exercises,  they led us into this large showroom filled with about 20 beds, all covered by sheets and numbered from 1-20.  We were told to test each bed and then rank them from most expensive to the least expensive.  I took great care in doing this so I could prove that my butt was price sensitive.  When the big reveal came, everybody failed miserably.  I rated the most expensive bed to be the softest and the least expensive bed to be the most firm because the plush beds were my favorites.  Every single person in that class took a similar approach.  Isn’t this how our consumers see it? (more…)

And…..ACTION!

Posted QLeave a commentPosted in furniture, marketing, mattresses, social media, Uncategorized, web series, webisodes

So, it’s time to check into our hotel to begin our week of shooting The Virgin Mattress.  Rachael, at Pure, had our room ready for us with a letter welcoming us to Columbia, Missouri, along with a nice bag of snacks for our room.  (Loved that Rachael, nice touch.)  We knew it was going to be a long week but we were excited to see this labor of love come to life. (more…)

The Virgin Mattress Lost Season

Posted Q1 CommentPosted in furniture, marketing, mattresses, social media

I work for a multi billion dollar company that is over 126 years old.  We have a VERY conservative culture and are head quartered out of Carthage, Missouri.   In the past we have only marketed our products to our customer, the bedding producer, and have never talked directly to the consumer.  So how do we change that?  We hire one of the best social media/video production companies out there (PURE), to assist our PR agency (Fahlgren), also great in the social media space, to help us tell our story. (more…)