|
 October
30, 2009 -
Simmons continues the
company’s nationwide traveling
launch of its new value-oriented
ComforPedic Loft™ collection
of memory foam mattresses
featuring the company’s next
generation technology with a
North American retailer tour.
The highly visible ComforPedic
Loft “Showroom on Wheels”
already traveled over 10,000
miles throughout the United
States and Canada, numerous
cities and retail locations.
This Simmons® NxG® Memory Foam
ComforPedic Loft road tour is
allowing the company to present
the new models to retailers all
over the country who did not
attend the Las Vegas Furniture
Market. It will also allow those
retailers who committed to
carrying the line at the Vegas
market
 to personally give their
retailers a first-hand look at
the new bedding brand from
Simmons.
A
Powerful Presence in High Point
As Well
The 53-foot, 18-wheeler rolling
showroom showed up the street
from the Green Building in High
Point, NC in mid-October and
then continued on its tour to
Altanta, Texas, Oklahoma and
eventually St. Louis, MO.. The
truck was open to those
retailers who were interested in
stopping by during the course of
the show.
A Stop at the Charlotte, NC
Plant
BEDROOM Magazine got a chance to
visit the traveling showroom
both at High Point, NC during
the furniture market, and then a
few days later in Charlotte, NC
at the Simmons factory located
Northwest of the downtown area.
When this editor arrived, the
huge traveling showroom was
packed with factory employees,
who were receiving a tour of the
showroom and the product.
According to Anne Kozel, Simmons
Specialty Products Manager, this
was a real opportunity for the
men and women who make these
products to get to see them in
finished format and on display.
“It actually creates a buzz..a
little excitement. They get to
see the products in a finished
setting. You could tell they
were very upbeat about this
display, “said Kozel.
Scott Smalling who is President
of the Simmons Specialty
Division within Simmons told
bedroom Magazine that the
traveling tour was extremely
successful and well received by
both retailers and Simmons
factory personnel. “We are well
over 10,000 miles and more to
go, and so far it has been
extremely well received and
successful, said Smalling. If
this is working so well, this
editor wonders if there could be
more of this outreach marketing
to come?
The road trip actually began on
the closing day of the Las Vegas
show with the truck heading to
Los Angeles followed by
Sacramento, CA. After the
California leg of the trip, the
road show made its way across
the country and into Canada with
stops in Salt Lake City, Denver,
and Omaha, Neb., as well as
touring other major cities
including Milwaukee, Chicago,
Toronto, Ontario, New York,
Boston, and Philadelphia before
arriving in High Point.
The truck is an easy-to-spot
advertising and marketing
vehicle (figuratively and
literally) with a full trailer
wrap that features bold, color
images of the ComforPedic Loft
brand and products. Some of the
truck’s other images include the
NxG Memory Foam handprint and
the brand feature/ benefit
claims of “Dissipates Heat,”
“Quicker Recovery,” and
“Consistent Comfort.”
Tracking the Trip Using
Modern Social Media
Ah…nothing like virtual reality,
real TV and yes now Twitter® and
Facebook® to keep us abreast of
a moving marketing campaign….to
track a live event. According to
Scott Smalling, president of
Simmons’ specialty sleep
division, he and Butch Webster,
the well-known industry veteran
who serves as vice president of
Simmons’ specialty sleep
division, will join the rolling
mattress display on the
cross-country trek, traveling in
their own ComforPedic branded
SUV. Smalling says that he and
Webster will conduct sales
meetings and training, and that
they will oversee the product
set up at each tour location.
Smalling says it will be
invaluable to receive real-time
feedback from both consumers and
retail sales associates (RSAs).
Interested dealers and consumers
will be able to follow the
tour’s progress on Simmons’
Facebook page and through
Twitter, as Smalling chronicles
his own experience on the road
with daily posts at
www.twitter.com/ComforPedicLoft.
Scott Smalling tells BEDROOM
Magazine that the “ ‘Showroom on
Wheels’ has been so far a real
adventure for those going on the
road. In this modern age of
personal marketing, we take
reaching out to our dealers and
consumers very seriously. Taking
a new product directly to our
dealers and creating an event at
their location is a unique
concept. We know that retailers
are watching their resources
very closely, and we want to do
what we can do to make things
more convenient for our Simmons
customers. Since we will be on
the retailers’ turf, I have a
feeling that the tour will
provide us with insights we
would never learn in a
traditional bedding showroom.”
To learn more about the new
Simmons ComforPedic Loft
collection, retailers are
invited to visit
www.comforpedicloft.com. |
