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We’re made for romance, but we talk low prices

March 16, 2005

David Perry Executive Editor

We are missing a huge opportunity in the bedding industry. Are Hollywood and countless consumer product marketers wrong to use sex to sell their merchandise? And yet we seldom go down that path. Why not?

Please hear me out on this. I know this idea sounds outrageous in the prudish confines of our conventional marketing mindsets. But think how many more mattresses we could sell if consumers thought they could improve their love life with a new one. (A new mattress, that is.)

Notice that I didn’t say “sex life.” I know that’s too strong. “Romance” is a better word for what we should be selling.

If you think about it, the mattresses we make have a more direct connection with the fun things that couples do than the beers and perfumes and shoes and clothes that use overtly sexual messages to tout their products. Those are simply the starters in the whole boy-meets-girl saga. The bed is the closer in this deal, so to speak.
Yet we stay away from marketing messages that tap into this most basic of human drives. Sure, comfort and health are wonderful messages for all consumers. But why should we stop there?

I am not — repeat, NOT — saying that we should promote mattresses as mere tools for better sex. While that message might appeal to a narrow — broad? — band of guys, it’s the gals who make most of the bedding purchase decisions. We need to speak the ladies’ language.

Again, the key word here, I believe, is “romance.” Yes, we need to literally romance the ladies. We need to talk of romantic evenings with those we love.

Some possible marketing themes:
* Put more romance in your life
* Revel in the romance
* Regain (recapture) the romance
* Return to romance
* Remember the romance

The mattresses we make are tailor-made for romance. (Hey, I like that too: Our beds are made for romance.)

With tasteful marketing, we can conjure up visions of magical moments that couples have experienced in exotic honeymoon settings. We can remind couples that their bedrooms offer escapes from the ordinary. We can remind them of that wonderful bed they experienced on that fabulous vacation getaway a few years ago. In short, we can help couples Recapture the Magic.

Let’s shed our no-fun straightjackets and try some romantic strategies for marketing our products.

Hey, if they don’t work, we can always talk about low prices!

What do you think?

Posted by on March 16, 2005 | Comments (23)