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Tempur-Pedic wins Oscar for media buzz

By David Perry, Executive Editor -- Furniture Today, March 31, 2002

And the Oscar for Best Marketing Performance by a Specialty Sleep Producer goes to … Tempur-Pedic.

That specialty sleep producer currently is riding a red-hot media winning streak. They've been covered by such media juggernauts as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, NBC-TV's "Today" show, People magazine … and now this column. (OK, this column isn't in the same august category as those other media outlets, but you can't fault us for thinking big.)

In a great PR move, Tempur-Pedic managed to get its viscoelastic mattress included in the goodie basket presented to the presenters at the Academy Awards. (OK, to be technical, it put a gift certificate for its mattress in each goodie basket, not the mattress itself. But this was not just any gift certificate; it was "a hand-crafted and skillfully designed piece of artwork in its own right.")

But back to our story. The media had a field day with Tempur-Pedic's Oscar-winning move. "2002 Oscar presenters to enjoy luxury mattress," one story read. Most of the media mentions I noted earlier were Oscar related.

It was the kind of media attention that would make any marketing man green with envy. And the fact that it came for a producer of specialty sleep products was not lost on the other players in that growing category.

We just returned a few days ago from the 2002 Futon and Specialty Sleep Expo, held in Chicago. Tempur-Pedic's high marketing profile was one of the big topics of conversation at the show.

Another hot topic was the high profile of Select Comfort, the airbed manufacturer and retailer, which also jumped on the Oscar bandwagon by including its Travel Memory Foam U-Neck Pillow in the presenters' goodie basket.

Those companies are winning credibility for the specialty sleep category, which encompasses latex foam, viscoelastic foam, airbeds, waterbeds (yes, waterbeds are still on the market) and adjustable beds.

Both Tempur-Pedic and Select Comfort have relied on savvy marketing to build substantial consumer awareness for their products. Tempur-Pedic, according to the Specialty Sleep Assn., "has significantly raised consumer awareness" of the viscoelastic foam category.

Viscoelastic, or heat-sensitive foam, was much in evidence at both the International Sleep Products Assn. show last month, and at the Futon and Specialty Sleep Expo.

Similarly, Select Comfort has focused attention on airbeds. The SSA notes that, due to Select Comfort's visibility, "consumer interest in sleeping on air has gained in recent years."

These are exciting marketing stories. Specialty sleep is in the headlines. That's a big plus for the category.

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