Before we start, I’d like to preface these remarks with the understanding that the comments are not an expert’s opinion but rather observations from someone with many years of retail experience.

Retail sales associates are a unique breed: Day in and day out they are on the front lines facing each and every customer, challenged with the responsibility of turning as many opportunities as possible into high-ticket sales. Those considered the best look at their job as if it were their own business. They are emotionally invested and take it personally when they do not have the right ammunition to meet the needs and requirements of all their clients. What keeps them motivated? On their game? How are they able to fine-tune their skills?

In my experience, the best sales professionals learn and memorize their bedding line-ups, understanding all the latest technologies and their relationships to a customer’s health and sleep issues. They know which technologies to focus on (after qualifying the customer) in order to narrow the choices to a manageable few. They learn to love their line-up, depend upon it, and sell it with confidence. There’s no confusion as to where to take their customers after building a relationship of trust and qualifying them as to their specific, individualized requirements.

Then, all of a sudden, without any warning, something happens they weren’t expecting. The line-up is being changed. Why now, just when we’re getting comfortable with it? I’m sure some beds are not selling, but for the most part the others are winners. I’ve fine-tuned my presentation toward these sleep systems. After all this hard work and effort to become comfortable with the line, these front-line pros will be made to relearn, reprogram, and retool for a new bedding line-up they didn’t even ask for. What message does this send to them as to their opinions in the decision-making process? Surely the person selling the mattress could make some valuable suggestions that could benefit the organization’s business. The feedback an RSA receives comes directly from the end-user. This information is priceless and can almost guarantee a bedding buyer’s success. How can it be ignored?

Hasn’t the RSA earned the right to be an integral part of the decision-making process? Shouldn’t the relationship between the buyer/owner and salesperson be more a partnership than employer-employee relationship? Shouldn’t switch-out decisions be made based upon need, missed sales, and newer, missing technologies? How easy would it be for sales staffs to love, support, and sell the heck out of a bedding line-up they had direct input in helping build. They could take pride in knowing that what is on the floor is a result of a team effort in which their opinions were taken into consideration. Then they can be truly motivated and, in fact, feel that this really is their own business. Building a powerful, thriving, growing bedding business demands a partnership of all the players who have a stake in the game.

David Fisher is originally from Philadelphia, Pa. He owned and managed a chain of women’s shoe stores in Pittsburgh for many years. Later he was a sales associate at Levin Furniture in Pittsburgh, Rooms to Go in South Florida, and RC Willey in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fisher was National Sales Manager for Bell Sleep Products LLC, a bedding line developed for Bell Furniture Industries by International Bedding Corporation. He is currently a sales consultant with Macy’s.

Are you good with this? Didn’t think so, but the reality is we are not doing much to help that RSA deliver valuable information to the consumer when it comes to a couple wondering what sex is going to be like on that new bed. Do we really think it doesn’t cross people’s minds? Do we also believe our sales force out there – the frontline for the industry – is NOT being asked these types of questions? Will a consumer care if they get that new mattress home and it absolutely stinks when it comes to intimate experiences?

We reached out to our Sleep Geek community of nearly 4,000 members, most of which are RSAs, and asked them a few questions on the subject prior to launching our SexySleep research project. We knew that if we were going to touch on this subject it was critical we learn our way in with the RSA to really understand what we needed to know. Here is what they told us:

• 87% said they have been asked sex questions during a mattress sale.
• The majority have never been given any information or training on how to deal with those types of questions.
• 86% believe that a mattress construction can directly impact the quality of the intimacy experience.
• 73% say if intimacy can make the mattress more relevant to buyers, then we should be educating consumers on the subject.
• The overwhelming majority believes we SHOULD BE TALKING about sex in the mattress industry in a tasteful way to create more interest with consumers.

So what are we waiting for? Do we care what the RSA thinks? In our SexySleep research, we found that memory foam could make intimacy “uncomfortable, and even difficult.” We know that the majority of consumers did not think about sex prior to buying their mattress, but once educated a little, the majority of them will make it a determining factor when buying their next mattress. So if all of this is true, what is keeping us from making a more direct connection?

The bottom line here is that consumers care about sex and when they buy one of our products, get it home, and have a bad experience, it can make them very angry. The RSA clearly wants us to build more value in our products by making the connection and they need information from all of us to be knowledgeable on the subject. We all have to realize that the conversation is happening EVERY DAY, but we’re just not participating in it. Why the hell not?

Debate me. Disagree with me. I don’t really care, but get off the sidelines and engage. We can talk about this subject in a very tasteful, educational way that will help the consumer make good decisions.

I was just at the Furniture Today Bedding Conference, where I heard people complaining about the same old thing with the bedding industry – they were sick and tired of everyone always talking about product, price, and promotion. It doesn’t have to be this way. Just get creative and help consumers understand that we can make their sex life even better with our products.

For those of you reading this that think sex isn’t important or that we should not be engaging people on the subject, you need to spend some time and money and speak to 255 consumers on the subject and then come back and tell me we should continue ignoring it.

The headline of this blog is “Marketing Experts Wonder Why Industry Avoids Sex.” At the Furniture Today Bedding Conference, I talked to Scott Bedbury – he’s the guy who helped Nike and Starbucks find huge success through his marketing strategies. When I shared the SexySleep reseearch with him, he almost couldn’t believe we were not already talking about this, so I really don’t think I am crazy. And he’s not the only one. Many industry leaders are taking notice and encouraging the conversation. I have video I will share right here on Q’s Views, so make sure you’ve subscribed. You don’t want to miss it.

Do you think I am crazy? Would you care if your mattress were horrible to have sex on? If your sex life could improve by purchasing a particular type of mattress, would you do it? If your group of friends found out that a mattress could make sex better, would they care? Do you think that Joe Six Pack and Jane Box of Cheap Wine would give a darn?

Don’t sit on the sidelines anymore. Share your thoughts in the comments section.

In March of this year, I took a small group to Las Vegas, where we partnered with POCO Labs and conducted some consumer research. You may remember the “Sex or Sleep”article Barron’s published last year that addressed a problem pretty much undiscovered by industry insiders. The issue was “…a decidedly controversial type of mattress.” Consumers were complaining about memory foam beds and how they lacked the necessary properties to provide a good surface for intimacy. I have to admit being mildly aware of this prior to reading the article, but never gave it much thought. The author, Miriam Gottfried, did an excellent job explaining a problem that must be impacting a lot of people – the article generated nearly 5,000 comments and 10,000 shares on Facebook. That type of response got us thinking.

If a mattress really can have a significant impact on sex, shouldn’t we as an industry be paying attention? With that question in mind (and many others), we went to the CBS Television City marketing research facility in Las Vegas and talked to 255 consumers about this very subject. We purchased two mattress sets at the same price, one made of memory foam and the other an Ultimate Hybrid (made with Leggett & Platt’s Comfort Core fabric-encased coils plus – in this case – memory foam). We asked people to test each mattress as if they were shopping in a retail store and to evaluate which bed they preferred for sleep comfort/performance and which bed they preferred for sex comfort/performance. No, we did not ask participants to “get busy” right there in the facility. We did, however, want to know more from people who had actually had sex on complete memory foam mattress. So we pulled aside more than 50 people that fit the criteria and conducted in-depth interviews. Stir that all together and you get the SexySleep Consumer Research Project.

Without going into all the details, here is a preview: The Ultimate Hybrid was a strong favorite. There are some in our industry that have a funny way of ignoring consumers on certain topics for as long as possible before coming to the conclusion that we have to address it. For the longest time, we heard consumers complain that memory foam sleeps hot, while the people making memory foam beds claimed it just wasn’t true. Then, all of a sudden, memory foam beds were being made to sleep cooler. That seemed to address an issue that supposedly didn’t exist. Then we heard consumers complaining that they felt like they were stuck in a hole on memory foam beds – that it was just too hard to move around. How did the industry react to that one? Some dug in their heels and said there was NOT a problem with memory foam beds restricting movement. Then memory foam beds were made to react faster to the human form to minimize the concern – again, addressing a problem that hadn’t been acknowledged in the first place.

My net takeaway from the past few months of research tells me the industry has a really big opportunity: First, to shine a light on a problem that is clearly on the radar for consumers, and second, to educate consumers about the relationship between mattresses and intimacy.

If a mattress can impact the quality of a sexual experience, don’t we want to share that? Think back to the days of waterbeds and how we used to talk about them in relation to sex. It was almost assumed that a waterbed led to better intimacy. The sex conversation was almost never off limits. Now that waterbeds aren’t as popular, the sex issue gets taken off the table? Why?

There were many people we talked to that were not just concerned about the lack of education on intimacy and the mattress – they were flat ANGRY. Many brought their mattress home, never considering sex, and ended up having to take their intimate moments to another location (like the couch or a guest bedroom). This was a real problem for people.

Do what you will with this information, but know this: We also talked with more than 100 retail sales associates and 86% said they had fielded intimacy-related questions from consumers at least once. You can choose to ignore the research, but understand that this means we are asking the RSA to shoot from the hip in terms of answering consumer questions about sex and the mattress. I say we help out. Arm them with information, such as a handout or a website like Ultimate-Hybrid.com, so they don’t have to make it up as they go along.

Subscribe, or come back next Tuesday because I will share details from the research we conducted with the RSA.

What do they think? Are we falling short? How can the industry address intimacy issues and support the RSA?

Like it or not, sex is the reason we’re on planet Earth. It’s a natural thing. And it’s tied directly to the products we sell. We’re the one industry most qualified to talk about intimacy, yet we treat the topic like it’s taboo. Missed opportunity? You bet. But I believe it’s more than that. I believe it is a public service announcement that needs to be made.

I realize that by bringing this up…again…I run the risk of being tagged as the guy that always talks about sex, which I am okay with if it improves our industry and ultimately sells more beds. In past blogs, I have talked about sex and even gave a speech about it at the Furniture Today Bedding Conference in 2007 (see video below). I bring it up because sex is a very important, emotional thing. People love to have sex. Psychologists tell us sex is vital to a healthy marriage, and it makes people very happy. And by the way, sex happens ON the products we manufacture and sell.

You have companies using sex to sell hamburgers, shampoo, blue jeans, and websites, when there is virtually no direct connection to sex. Why? Because it works. However, those products don’t have the luxury of being closely connected to sex, like a mattress. In his book “Ogilvy on Advertising” famous ad man David Ogilvy wrote, “The first advertisement I ever produced showed a naked woman. It was a mistake, not because it was sexy, but because it was irrelevant to the product – a cooking stove. The test is relevance.” Mattresses are not only directly involved in the act, but they can significantly impact the quality of the experience. Why in the world would we not talk about that?!?

So what is keeping us from talking to consumers about sex? Here are a few of my theories:

• We are a conservative industry.
• We don’t want to upset the consumer.
• We can’t figure out a creative way to address the subject.
• We don’t think it will help anything.
• We are very happy with our growth and don’t need the additional help to drive business.
• We have seen others try it and fail.

On that last note, maybe some have tried and failed, but I would challenge the idea. Sealy came out with their “Afterglow” commercials during the Superbowl in the New York market, and from what they told me, this resulted in a significant amount of website traffic. We didn’t see a lot of the “Afterglow” commercials airing on television, but I think that had more to do with funding than the spot not being good enough. You can say this was a bad approach and goes too far, but this doesn’t have to be the way we talk about intimacy either.

Next week, I am going to make a case for connecting sex more directly to mattresses and give you specifics on how I think we can make it work. Here is a hint: companies that serve the consumer, and educate them on issues that are relevant to their quality of life, win big at the cash register. Come back and join me in the discussion!

Have you ever had sex on a mattress? If a product you used every day could make your sexual experience better, would you want to know details? Stay tuned.

Speaking at the Furniture Today Bedding Conference (2007)

When you think of marketing in the mattress industry, you might be tempted to take a snooze. At least that is what I thought when I first entered the bedding world. As an outsider, the industry seemed lifeless. Dull. Just plain boring. I mean how much can you say about mattresses?

That was before I became a part of the Sleep Geek community. As a Q’s Views reader you know that “bedding shouldn’t be boring.” And it’s not. The mattress industry is exciting. Just look at Sleep Geek. We created this online community for two reasons: 1) serve the mattress industry; with a focus on retail sales associates 2) inject some fun into the bedding business! You may have heard about Sleep Geek. It’s an online community purpose-built for the mattress industry. Members can get the latest on sleep related news, the mattress industry, and some good old-fashioned fun. Also, within Sleep-Geek.com lives Geek University, a free, professional development course tailor-made for retail sales associates and managers.

And here’s the cool thing – other industries don’t have this type of custom online community. Not only is Sleep Geek innovative within the mattress world, it’s unique for almost any industry.

To give you more insights about Sleep Geek, and the people behind the community we decided to do an interview. I’m Ashley Hawse. I’ll be the reporter and Lauren Zimmerman will be the interviewee. Now, let’s explore some of the unique and inspiring ways the mattress industry is shaking up B2B marketing through Sleep Geek.

Ashley: How long have you been a part of the mattress industry and what were some of your first impressions?

Lauren: I’m still somewhat of a newbie – I started working in the industry roughly six months ago. My initial thought was, “Wow I have a lot to learn.” I can definitely identify with new RSAs. There’s a big learning curve. Also, I noticed right away that people in the industry are extremely dedicated. They’re constantly looking for and developing new tactics – not only to increase sales – but also to further their knowledge.

Ashley: In what ways is Sleep Geek original? What value does it add? Why should the mattress industry care?

Lauren: Sleep Geek is the only community of its kind. We’ve even looked outside the mattress industry for similar custom niche social communities and haven’t come across any. Sleep Geek is cool because it brings RSAs and managers to one place where they can network and engage. There’s a lot of information out there, and Sleep Geek aims to be that ultimate go-to, all while adding our own cheeky flare. And with our Geek University program, we are dedicated to providing an educational resource.

Ashley: As a day-to-day manager of the Sleep Geek community, what has surprised you most?

Lauren: Everyone has so many unique and smart strategies they practice. For example, Jesiah M. keeps a shoebox that holds contact information for every customer he ever sold to, and also the ones he wasn’t able to sell to. He makes it a priority to follow-up down the road. Whether it’s on the sales floor or during downtime, sharing those tactics is extremely beneficial.

Ashley: What does the future of Sleep Geek look like? What are you most excited for?

Lauren: I can’t say too much yet, but July is going to be a big month for Sleep Geek. We really listen to the community and make changes based on feedback. The updates that’ll go live in July are probably the biggest changes since Geek University. Maybe even bigger. We are constantly developing ways to enhance the Sleep Geek experience. It’s the member’s community, and we are here to make sure it’s up to their standards. In addition to the July updates, one thing I can share is that Geek University is going to grow. That means if you already graduated get ready for more fun, entertaining education.

Ashley: What is the one takeaway you want to share with mattress industry members?

Lauren: Most people know how influential the RSA is in the sales process. We communicate with these wonderful people on a daily basis. I would encourage anybody in the mattress industry to talk to us. Do you want to learn more about RSAs? Get their thoughts on a subject? Know their dreams? We’re here to serve the industry. And as always, feel free to share your ideas, stories, strategies, or even a good mattress joke! We’ll probably post it on Sleep Geek.

Lauren Zimmerman

Ashley Hawse

Lauren Zimmerman and Ashley Hawse are Community Managers for Sleep Geek, a social network for the mattress industry. Sleep-Geek.com offers the latest news and entertainment on the bedding industry and hosts the free online professional development course Geek University.

Review your last few meetings, the inbox in your office and on your computer, and all of those big binders you have on your shelves. How much of that stuff do you rely on to manage your business? If you were to put some thought to it, aren’t there really a handful of reports in the “must have” category and the rest simply exist because “that’s what we’ve always done,” or some report-happy person in your office says they are necessary. So…we continue to kill trees, printing these things off and dragging them into meetings where we ignore them for various reasons.

How about your poor sales force and what you are requiring them to do? When I worked at Sealy I can remember the people at corporate sending e-mail after e-mail requesting information from us so they could generate more reports to create more programs that would require more information to generate more reports. Sometimes you wonder what they’re thinking up there in the ivory tower. Then I went to work for Serta where I WAS up in the ivory tower, so what do you think I did? You got it; I sent out multiple requests for information to create more reports.

Here are a few ideas for you to consider:

• Be VERY CLEAR on what you need to measure and how often you need it. If you are trying to track the wrong information, it isn’t going to help you.
• Is the information helping you to make important decisions? This sounds like a dumb question but you would be surprised how many reports exist simply because someone at some point was simply curious.
• Is more than one person gaining value from the report? What one person calls important isn’t always the case for multiple people. Why do we have this person slaving at their desk for hours formatting a report that only one person even looks at?!?
• Have a meeting and create a list of monthly reports. Then ask your team which ones you just CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT. See what happens and delete what you can.

We are without a doubt in the information age, but that isn’t necessarily a good thing. Put this topic on the table at your next meeting and I can almost guarantee you are going to learn some things you didn’t know. Let’s stop wasting time and get to what really matters like selling products and making money.

Do you have things you are emotionally attached to? I do to this day – like a dress shirt my buddy John Rachid gave me 15 years ago, or my Red Wing boots from my college days. I bring this up because I really wonder if people think this way about their mattresses. Are people as connected to that item as they could be? Does anybody name a mattress so they can say things like, “I can’t wait to get home and spend some quality time on Wilma.” Okay, be careful with the naming thing. It could get you into some trouble but you get what I am saying here.

We sell products that people have in their most private spaces, and spend 5-8 hours a day with. It is the place where people go to relax, let go, and rejuvenate. It is a product that hugs them at the end of the day and gives them comfort. It is also the place where they share the most intimate moments of their lives with their significant other. One would think that people would be very attached to this item, but I bet you money they would rank their sofa higher on the list of furniture they would not want to let go of.

Should we care if people are not emotionally connected to their mattress? I think so. I see it as a big miss if they aren’t, actually. The more people think, and more importantly, FEEL this way, the higher our product climbs on the must-have list. If we get on that list, then the money they are willing to spend on a mattress increases, so I say let’s get emotional. If we think about this hard enough, I am sure we can come up with some ways to tell our story differently so that our customers get downright silly over it. Everybody should have a name for their mattress, don’t you think?

Parting thought: When we had our first church service in our new building after rebuilding from the tornado, people were walking around talking about how much they loved the new worship center. Our pastor got on stage and said, “I hear you saying how much you love our new space, but remember we don’t love things…we only love what can love us back.” So maybe we don’t want them to love their mattress, but it would be nice to get them into a very deep sense of like with our products.

So what things do you carry with you from your past that you are emotionally connected to? Do you still have your blankie on shelf in a box? Tell me more in the comments section.

In the past I have talked about connecting your company to Better Sleep Month in some way, shape, or form. If you are already making the connection, good for you. I hope you are seeing results from your efforts. But if you are not seeing results, then why? Consider that by simply connecting your company to Better Sleep Month, you are saying that you stand for something more than just a mattress, accessory, or component. Your role in business is to help people sleep better, which is what this is all about, right?

I don’t care what you do, but for crying out loud, do something! We as an industry all have a responsibility to carry the water here and make sure that everyone we know is aware. Here are a few ideas for you: 

• Simply add a line to your e-mail signature that says something about the fact that it is Better Sleep Month. Don’t you think your friends outside of the industry would like a reason to catch more zzzz’s? You can always slip in a link to The Better Sleep Council – there are great things happening there for Better Sleep Month. This year it is the Better Sleep Challenge, so you have to check it out!
• Do something internally for the people in your own company. How about allowing 20-minute power naps around the 3 p.m. hour. Let’s test out the theory that naps can actually increase productivity.
• If you are a retailer or producer placing ads in May, are you including this handle to create interest? It will, you know.
• Many of you have LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or maybe even Pinterest accounts, so are you going to talk it up in your own social media world?

Maybe these suggestions don’t sound like much, but when you have an entire industry participating this way, we can actually make an impact. Don’t just leave it up to your company, because you can participate (even if it is just you).

This is our month people, so let’s not screw it up. Have a meeting, make some plans, and beat the Better Sleep Month drum until you bust a hole in it!

What are you planning? Tell me in the comments section.

Because it is relevant, that’s why! These guys want to take a component that is new to the market ­– a better product that delivers real value to the RSAs out there selling motion furniture – and sell it instead of what exists today. Now they could simply create a few magazine ads, maybe buy some digital space with some industry trade publications, push their message out on social media platforms, create a selling strategy for their sales people to take to the customer base, or get really crazy and do something like direct mail. Or they could do all of what I just mentioned and then some. If you are going to really penetrate a marketplace today, you really can’t do it by trying one medium. A magazine ad on its own is going to get you a very limited result, but if you pair that with several other tactics that will find your audience where they are today, then you have a much better shot at making the impact you want. Most people advertising to the consumers today really get what I am saying here, but for those of us in the B2B space, we sometimes forget that the rule applies to us as well.

You may watch the series and not care much for the humor or the way we positioned the product, but I hope you will at least appreciate the effort these guys made. They had Second City Communications of Chicago write the scripts while our in-house agency shot, produced, directed and edited the episodes. So let us know what you think. Go ahead. We can take it.

We are all humans after all and we like to be entertained. So when you can both entertain and educate your customer base at the same time, you have really accomplished something. Consider for a minute that over four billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube alone, and you will understand why video makes perfect sense when promoting your products. Even if you don’t like the idea of using video to tell your story, PLEASE get creative and make it somewhat interesting to the audience. Nobody wants to be bored by yet another print ad that we have seen 100 times in every trade rag.

In summary:

1. If you are going to market your products, make sure you are hitting the audience from multiple directions. Be sure that your message changes with the medium, if that makes sense.
2. Your digital approach is important because that is where everyone is today. Figure out where you can participate and get busy telling your story.
3. Video is a great way to reach your target market and it is cheap to produce these days. Writing is the key, so make sure you have a solid partner.
4. Be creative. If your message breaks through then you have accomplished a great deal.

Take a look at the Cycle Man series and tell me what you think in the comments section below. Happy viewing!

P.S. My hat is off to Pat Loch, Jenn Brisco, the Leggett & Platt Creative Services crew, and Media Cross our communications firm that ultimately produced this show. You guys did a great job, and I love seeing people do new things. Way to go!

Few envision themselves as a person doomed to be inadequate. Those thoughts may creep into one’s head, but they’re not welcome. We believe there’s a hero inside each of us. So why do marketers and salespeople rely on a model of inadequacy when people really want to be the hero of their own story?

According to Jonah Sachs, author of “Winning the Story Wars,” empowerment marketing is all about telling stories that encourage audiences on their path to fulfillment. You’ve probably heard, or used, the inadequacy approach. According to direct marketing guru Herschell Gordon Lewis, the inadequacy approach relies on the five prime motivators: fear, greed, guilt, exclusivity, and approval.

Think about yourself for a moment. Don’t you want to control your destiny? Live your dream? Sell more mattresses? Lead the category? In this regard, you are not unique. Almost everybody wants to be the hero of his or her own story. Whether it’s being a great parent, or learning to play cello. Most of us want to be our best. It’s ingrained. And as marketers, speaking to the hero works.

Instead of relying on the five prime motivators (fear, greed, guilt, exclusivity, and approval) empowerment marketers understand other motivators like wholeness, perfection (mastery), justice, richness, simplicity, beauty, truth, uniqueness, and playfulness.

Inadequacy Model

• Tell a story that creates anxiety and introduce the magic solution.

Empowerment Model

• Tell a story that encourages your audience to become the person they want to be.

According to Sachs, there are some tactics you can use to employ empowerment marketing. Here are those approaches, along with a few examples from the real world.

Tactics

1.     Expose the lies of inadequacy marketing: tell a more resonant truth in the face of a commonly accepted lie.

Think Small: American automakers sold the public on status, taste, and social acceptance. In 1959 Volkswagen encouraged people to Think Small. The campaign told a new story of thrift and efficiency, exposing the current lie that a luxury car was the only answer.

2.     Speak to the hero, not the child.

Nike Courage: This campaign starts with a website featuring a gallery of athletes. At the center is a sixty-second video. The title card reads: “Everything you need is already inside.” The video shows images of athletes at their best. Children. People from different cultures. All pursuing athletics. At the end, the famous tagline reads “Just Do It.” It speaks to the hero in all of us.

Compare the Nike Courage approach to Kim Kardashian’s Sketcher’s Shape Ups commercial in which she dumps her personal trainer because her shoes are doing the workout for her. This product led to a lawsuit and $40 million settlement because the shoes don’t actually contribute to weight loss or toning.

A child thinks he or she can wear magic shoes like Kim Kardashian’s and walk into the NBA. A hero knows it takes hard work. According to Sachs, traditional marketing mores ingrained in us the assumption that audiences prize ease and convenience and avoid making sacrifices at any cost. This is a destructive and flawed assumption. People are programmed to believe in heroism, and, as Christopher Vogler notes in his text on mythic structure in movies: “Sacrifice is the hero’s willingness to give up something of value, perhaps even her own life, on behalf of an ideal or group.” The post-modern inadequacy approach insists that people have lost any interest in difficult actions, but this is not true. Nike Courage versus Sketchers Shape Ups is growing proof that the hero in all of us is winning.

As marketers, it’s our job to help audiences see themselves as the emerging heroes of their stories. In the sleep industry, this means helping people understand what they can achieve with a good night’s rest. In every story, the hero has a weapon, or a tool. Indiana Jones carries a whip. Marty McFly drives a time machine. Every hero has something that helps him reach the goal. In the mattress industry, we need to become part of the hero’s tool kit. An arrow in their quiver. When your product becomes a key part of a person’s journey toward becoming the hero, you’ll win big.