Mary Best
Editor in chief
The Better Sleep Council helps you convey to consumers the benefits of a quality mattress
Since 1979, the Better Sleep Council has been spreading the good word to consumers—through national, local and social media—about the relationship between restorative sleep, the quality of their mattress, and a healthy, productive and fulfilling life.
As the consumer education arm of the International Sleep Products Association, the BSC has been constantly tapping consumers on the shoulder with a creative collection of stories, resources, surveys and research through newspapers, magazines, television, its website and, most recently, social media. Its messages are designed, as former Sleep Savvy editor Nancy Butler wrote in 2005, “to move mattresses higher on the buying priority list and send consumers in your direction.”
The BSC is an important ally and resource for retailers as well. Its website offers a wealth of useful information—from mattress-buying tips and a glossary of bedding features to sleep statistics and surveys, insights into myriad sleep issues and advice from leading experts on how to sleep better—that you can share with your customers in your own marketing materials and social media efforts. If you haven’t visited the site recently, be sure to spend some time at bettersleep.org.
The BSC also is here to help you make the most of its “Better Sleep Month” public relations endeavors each May. This year, the BSC is launching a new campaign to encourage consumers to stop making excuses for their old mattress and get on top of a new one to experience the difference a quality mattress can make in getting a better night’s sleep—and thus improving quality of life. (For more about “Get on Top,” read this issue of Sleep Savvy; to learn how you can tap into these free resources and be a part of Better Sleep Month, contact Mary Helen Uusimaki, ISPA vice president of marketing and communications, at mhuusimaki@sleepproducts.org or 571-482-5436.)
By citing the BSC as the source in your marketing materials, consumers are assured the third-party information is unbiased and credible. The council doesn’t promote individual brands or technologies, but rather gives consumers the tools they need to thoroughly research and confidently select sleep products that meet their personal preferences and needs—which, in turn, provides them a restful night’s sleep.
And, ultimately, isn’t that what we’re all working toward?
