Serta educates consumers about FR lines
David Perry -- Furniture Today, January 29, 2004
Itasca, Ill. — Serta’s public relations campaign to educate consumers about its new fire-resistant bedding lines has already generated more than 32 million media impressions.
This brochure explains the benefits of Serta’s FR system to consumers.
Serta officials said the campaign, still in its early stages, has generated coverage from a variety of broadcast, online and print outlets, including national FOX news, CBS MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance!, DallasNews.com and NBC6.com.
Serta plans to aggressively push the consumer campaign this year. Information on Serta’s FireBlocker FR system, which provides open flame protection to Serta bedding, is now featured on Serta’s Web site – www.serta.com.
The producer outlines its new fire-resistant bedding offerings and explains why it is making them available now in mailings sent to consumer editors around the country.
It says in those materials that “all of its 2004 mattresses will give consumers an important new measure of safety in case of a bedroom fire. Serta will make its entire line of 2004 mattresses open-flame resistant, exceeding current and proposed open-flame resistance standards.”
Ed Lilly, Serta’s president and chief executive officer, offers this summary for consumers of why Serta introduced FR bedding more than a year before regulations mandating open-flame resistance are scheduled to go into effect in California:
“We believe we have a responsibility to make safer mattresses as soon as possible. In terms of safety, the issue of open-flame resistant mattresses is equally as important to mattresses as airbags were to automobiles 10 years ago. … We can begin helping to save lives now with safer mattresses. If you consider that someone in the United States dies in a bedroom fire every day, many of whom are children, we should not wait until regulations are mandatory to offer safer mattresses to consumers.”
Lilly noted that the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission reported in its most recent study that nearly 20,000 bedroom fires occur in the United States each year. He also said there are more than 10,000 candle fires each year, “a significant percentage of which begin in the bedroom.”
Serta says that every 2004 Serta mattress will incorporate the company’s new open-flame resistance system, called FireBlocker. It is a proprietary system of natural and synthetic fibers in the outer layers of the mattress and box spring.
The producer says it conducted performance tests for FireBlocker at Underwriters Laboratories and notes that the results are UL-confirmed. The tests, developed by the National Institute for Standards and Technology and the California Bureau of Home Furnishings, simulate the impact of a comforter and pillow fire on a mattress.
Serta says that “100% of Serta mattresses with the FireBlocker feature passed the tests, and in many cases outperformed what the pending regulations will require.”
The producer also is sending consumer editors a copy of its consumer fire safety brochure, designed for distribution on retail sales floors. “Peace of mind” is the message on the front of the brochure, along with this point: “At Serta, we want to provide you with the most comfortable and the safest mattress available.” Its Fireblocker logo on the front of the brochure includes the tag line, “helping keep families safe.”
Inside, Serta elaborates on its views on fire safety: “Bedroom fire safety is something Serta takes very seriously. None of us wants to think about a home fire, but they do happen. Just as you have taken precautions by installing fire alarms, fire extinguishers and other home safety products, you now have the choice to buy a Serta mattress with an advanced open flame resistance system...”
Serta also discusses the factors that contribute to a greater diversity of bedroom fires: “Candle use in bedrooms has increased significantly with the popularity of aromatherapy and decorative lighting. Electrical usage in the bedroom involving televisions, stereos, computers and lighting options has increased hundreds of times over in the last 10 years, taxing electrical outlets and systems. The use of electric blankets, space heaters, decorative fireplaces and chimneys also contributes to the number of home fires each year. And, unfortunately, children still play with matches and lighters. Without open flame resistance, a mattress can be a significant fuel source in a bedroom fire.”
The brochure also notes that Serta has received a commendation for its FireBlocker system from The Children’s Coalition for Fire-Safe Mattresses, an organization committed to raising awareness of residential mattress fire safety.
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Serta educates consumers about FR lines
Jan 25, 2004
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