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Bowling ball bouncing back at Simmons

By David Perry -- Furniture Today, January 22, 2006

Atlanta — Simmons is going bowling for bedding business.

The industry's No. 2 producer is bringing back an old dealer favorite: its bowling ball campaign. The commercials and in-store bowling ball demonstrations illustrate the superior motion separation that Simmons says its beds provide.

Simmons will unveil details of the new bowling ball campaign, expected to include national advertising, at the upcoming Las Vegas market. The company has a permanent showroom in the World Market Center, space 525.

The original bowling ball campaign, the single most successful advertising campaign in Simmons' long history in bedding, debuted in 1995. Simmons dealers praised it for simply illustrating the hard-to-visualize concept of motion separation.

"Several months ago, we embarked on a comprehensive research exercise that included a review of the competitive landscape as well as interviews with consumers, retail sales associates and dealers," said Tim Oakhill, senior vice president of marketing. "Dealers and RSAs kept telling us how effectively the spot drove consumer traffic, and that it did an excellent job of supporting the key brand benefit of motion separation."

The campaign was so successful, Simmons said, that it still has significant consumer awareness. In a recent survey, 57% of sampled individuals recalled the campaign.

Some Simmons dealers continue to use in-store bowling ball demonstrations to sell Beautyrest beds, and consumers continue to respond to those demonstrations, the company said.

The original campaign produced strong results, according to Simmons officials, who said sales of Simmons Beautyrest mattresses priced at $899 and up saw a substantial increase in the three months after the bowling ball campaign was launched.

Officials said dealers repeatedly have asked Simmons to "bring back the bowling ball."

Simmons had a bowling ball display in its Las Vegas showroom last July, which sparked plenty of interest from retailers. Continuing dealer interest in bringing the ads back in a bigger way led to the company's decision to launch the new campaign.

The return of the bowling ball campaign also marks a homecoming for Jeff Cole and Brad Ramsey, creative directors at Simmons' advertising agency. The two worked on the original bowling ball campaign when they were at TuckerWayne, the bedding major's former ad agency.

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