Last month, Sleepeezee started its centenary year celebrations with a press event at London’s Wild by Tart, hosted by the brand’s ambassador and former Olympic champion, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, which gave interiors and fitness journalists and influencers the chance to enjoy a yoga class with Lina Nielsen, brunch, and a Q&A on sleep with Jessica, and Mattress Online’s sleep expert, James Wilson. Furniture News asked Sleepeezee’s head of marketing, Amy Curtis, for her perspective …
What did Sleepeezee want to achieve from this event, and did you succeed?
Zzzen by Sleepeezee was designed to educate people on the importance of sleep and sleep routine. We wanted attendees to feel immersed in Sleepeezee as much as possible, without trying to pitch a sales angle to them.
We feel the event was a success, with a huge amount of social content from a lot of the content creators who attended being produced over the week, with high levels of engagement from their respective audiences.
Can you give us an idea of the media representation present?
As Zzzen by Sleepeezee was a project that came to light with the purpose of building relationships with consumer press and media, as well increasing brand awareness of our fantastic products (notably the brand-new Centurial range) to a wider consumer audience, our guestlist was made up of influencers and journalists from the interiors and fitness industries.
The intention behind tapping into these spaces was to highlight the link between sleep and exercise, but also to educate consumers on the importance of a good mattress and how a bed can transform a space. Influencers included interiors creator George Glynn, and fitness influencer Tally Rye. Also amongst the invitees were freelance fitness and wellbeing journalists as well as writers for Ideal Home, House Beautiful, Country Living and T3 Magazine.
How does this kind of outreach align with Sleepeezee’s wider marketing strategy?
Sleepeezee’s overall marketing strategy is to become the best-known bed brand in the UK – but also a credible brand, who can advise and communicate about the benefits and importance of sleep and the impact it has on our daily lives.
This is something we’re proud to be able to do alongside Jessica Ennis-Hill – during this event, we focused on a smaller, more intimate group of press and content creators, who have far-reaching audiences who are very engaged, to be able to communicate our message across to them.
In what other ways does Sleepeezee intend to bolster its consumer-facing presence in the coming year?
As we go into our 100th year during 2024, we will be running several consumer-facing campaigns to not only celebrate our birthday, but also to highlight the message of sleep health and how it can impact us.
Why do you think it is important for bed brands to have a dialogue with the consumer?
A bed purchase is typically an infrequent purchase, so creating a lasting relationship with your consumer, and engaging in regular dialogue with them, helps ensure your brand is front of mind when they’re back in the purchase journey again – not to mention the positive word of mouth it can generate.
It’s important for us to create meaningful and lasting relationships with our consumers that are not all about selling – we want to educate and inform consumers regularly, helping them in their everyday lives, and being a knowledgeable outlet to them for all things sleep and bedroom related.
Where does the new Centurial range sit within your portfolio?
Centurial [named winner of the Bed Product of the Year category in the 2023 NBF Bed Industry Awards] is a collection of three mattresses named and designed in celebration of Sleepeezee’s upcoming 100-year birthday. Featuring only 100% natural fillings, a chemical-free Damask, up to 7000 pocket springs and traditional techniques such as hand side stitching on each model, the Centurial collection will become Sleepeezee’s premium natural offering.
Each model will feature the special 100-year logo markings embroidered into the mattress to commemorate the occasion. We’ve already had great feedback from the guests at the event, not to mention a couple of retailers who have been able to get an early viewing of the range.
What sort of feedback did you hear from attendees?
We had amazing positive feedback from our attendees, even on the day itself. I think the guests were surprised to hear such detail about the importance sleep plays in our everyday lives, from performance to our mood, and hearing from Jessica just how important sleep was for her when performing at the highest level.
It was really interesting to educate the attendees about the important role a good-quality mattress plays in the quality of sleep you get, and the fact they were able to try one of our mattresses at the event only demonstrated to a lot of them how awful their bed at home is!
Did the discussion between Jessica and James touch on any areas we might not have considered before?
I think the guests were surprised to hear James talk about how you need to listen to your body in terms of what sleep it needs, and not worrying about trying to stick to exact times for what you think is appropriate for sleep or going to bed – for instance, trying not to get too hung up on the ‘eight hours’ of sleep, if you think your body needs more or less, or going to bed when you’re tired, not when you think you should be just to try and hit a certain level of hours slept.
But also prioritising sleep if you need it, even if it means you can’t get a workout in the morning. Sleep health is just as important as daily exercise, and we need to pay close attention to what our body is telling us with regards to what sleep it needs.
What other special events does Sleepeezee have planned to celebrate its centenary?
In the wake of last month’s Bed Show, we have several events planned for both staff and customers next year to celebrate our 100 years, so watch this space!
Pictured, from left: athlete and yoga instructor Lina Nielsen; ‘Sleep Geek’ James Wilson; Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill and Sleepeezee MD Steve Warren
