Here’s a real-life marketing question: If you were developing a new bedding line, would you rely on the instincts and insights of seasoned bedding professionals, or would you base your decisions on ideas from a group of bedding outsiders? 

Restonic listened to both groups. That’s part of the genius of a program Restonic used to develop new products and brand positioning for the upcoming Las Vegas Market. It combines the savvy of insiders’ assessments with the fresh thinking of outsiders to come up with some intriguing new ideas. 

The program, called BrandSpeed, was created by Viverito & Associates, a New York-based marketing firm that has worked with such blue-chip clients as Microsoft, Sara Lee, Colgate, Pepsi-Cola, Gillette, Time Warner and Kraft. 

It involves two intensive half-day “invention workshops” at Viverito’s headquarters, located around the corner from the Empire State Building. Restonic allowed me to watch the process unfold, and even invited me to participate in the first workshop, which was staffed mostly by Restonic licensees. 

(If you think I shouldn’t be helping a company in that way, don’t worry. I was the only participant in the group who failed to win a single “best idea” award for any of the dozens of exercises we tackled that day.) 

I was impressed with the ideas generated in both workshops. Each exercise forced us to quickly size up a marketing challenge: What are the negatives of innerspring mattresses? How would you turn those negatives into positives? How would you design a trade show booth to emphasize the temperature-control qualities of your mattresses? 

Participants had less than a minute to think about those questions. Then each gave his or her answers, all of which were written down on easels. Ideas can be modified or refined by anyone as the process continues. Finally, a Viverito & Associates principal picked the winning idea for that exercise. The winner gets a prize that could be anything from a book to a CD to a gift certificate. The prizes encourage everyone to keep giving it their best shot as the hours pass. 

The combined output of the two groups “is nearly always spectacular,” Viverito said in a full-page ad for BrandSpeed that ran in The New York Times last fall. 

For Restonic, the Blue Bed and the Magnetic Sleep program were two ideas that emerged from the BrandSpeed process. Restonic will be introducing them in Las Vegas later this month. They are worth a look.