Burns Group was selected by Serta Simmons Bedding in 2018 to define the company’s portfolio strategy across the brands Serta, Simmons, Beauty Rest and Tuft & Needle. We completed that work with the recommendation to reimagine the 150-year-old Simmons brand as the entry-level mattress-in-a-box offering for the company. Since mid-2019, we’ve recreated every aspect of the brand – from identity design, packaging, unboxing, DTC website and e-retail experience, our mission was to completely disrupt the under $500 mattress category for GenZ, tapping pop culture along the way. The brand has a new interactive winking eye logo, packaging, e-retailer store fronts, digital advertising, a new website and social content – all created in a few short months.

Our campaign to launch the rebrand, “Just for Fun-ZZZ,” aimed to take mattress shopping from a total snoozefest to total FUN. Tapping the insight that young consumers care more about living than they do sleeping, the campaign redefines the mattress category for Gen Z and millennials -- celebrating Simmons as the brand that’s fun to follow, fun to shop for and fun to own. “Just For Fun-ZZZ” was scheduled to launch in May 2020, along with the new DTC website. With COVID top of mind and our target stuck at home, we delayed and pivoted the launch to Tik Tok with a hashtag challenge built around the specific losses of GenZ. Acknowledging that we launched during a time when festivals and concerts are cancelled, on June 22, we brought the festival to a mattress near you with the hashtag challenge #SnooZZZapalooza. As the first-ever brand launch on TikTok, we collaborated with the platform and diverse creators to put Simmons on the map.

This unconventional launch strategy set Simmons up to compete “bed-to-bed” with direct-to-consumer mattress disruptors, while a refreshed retail channel is bringing Simmons to a new market. Now the oldest brand in the portfolio appeals to a new generation of mattress purchasers. Our Simmons work showcases BG’s keen understanding that the purchase experience can be an engaging life event for today’s younger consumers that’s driven with ease, powered by value and infused with fun and social cred.

Results:

3 billion views in 6 days (+92% above benchmark)

2.3 million UGC videos by +1 million people (+92% and +120% above benchmark)

+104% increase in visitors to Simmon's webpage (versus prior week)