Hope for Haiti

On January 21, 2010 the city of Columbus, Ohio came together to raise money for the country of Haiti which was recently hit by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The Columbus Hope for Haiti was created by all local media outlets to give Central Ohioans the opportunity to "drive-thru" at the Ohio Historical Society and give any amount of monetary donation for the American Red Cross.

IMP was honored to provide the hospitality trailer for the event, providing warmth and a place to eat the donated food from around Central Ohio to the media personalities and volunteers. Within the 12-hour event Central Ohioans raised more than $140,000 to aide in food, water, shelter and medical care for the country of Haiti! 100% of the proceeds went directly to the American Red Cross.

IMP is committed to help Central Ohio and beyond in times of need. Our thoughts are with the country of Haiti. For more information about the Columbus Hope for Haiti please visit here.

2010 Wendy's Chili Open

We all know February in Columbus, OH is a cold cold month. What better way to warm up and have some fun than to eat some chili, dance the day away, and give back to children's charities? The 2010 Wendy's Chili Open at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium!

The Wendy's Chili Open is an annual wintertime fundraising event that raises money and increases awareness to benefit many children's charities in Central Ohio. The event began in 1997 and takes place on the first Saturday in February each year. This family-oriented event has helped raise over $1.3 million for area children's charities such as The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, The Children's Hunger Alliance, The Special Care Nursery at Mount Carmel St. Ann's, The Ohio Trooper's Caring Fund, W.A.R.M. and numerous other children's betterment programs.

The Westerville Sunrise Rotary club organizes and runs the event, so 100% of the proceeds go directly to the charities.The Westerville Sunrise Rotary Club is excited to bring the event to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium for the first time on February 6, 2010. Recently ranked as the #1 Zoo in America by USA Travel Guide, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium offers something for the entire family by allowing anyone with a ticket to the Chili Open to visit all Zoo and Aquarium exhibits at no additional charge. The Rotarians welcome everyone to sit back, relax or dance to live music and enjoy some of the finest food from well-known area restaurants!

We hope you have a wonderful time and contribute generously for the sake of our Central Ohio children's charities!

For more information please visit http://www.wendyschiliopen.com/ or contact us at IMP today. IMP is a proud sponsor of the 2010 Wendy's Chili Open and a supporter of the Central Ohio children's charities. IMP will furnish the 53' heated VIP area for the 2010 major sponsors and media sponsors, guests and rotarians.

Rave Reviews

Mobile showroom a hit for ComforPedic Loft
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, November 2, 2009
HIGH POINT-The ComforPedic Loft Showroom on Wheels rolled into market here the other day, more than halfway through its 10,000-mile tour of the United States and Canada.

The miles on the 18-wheeler, decorated with ComforPedic Loft signage, are adding up as fast as retail commitments to the new specialty sleep line, officials said.

Scott Smalling, president of Simmons' specialty sleep division, says that virtually every retailer who has seen the ComforPedic Loft line has agreed to floor some of the models.

The new line, which retails from $999 to $1,999, offers key features of the original ComforPedic memory foam line, including quick recovery, consistent comfort and heat dissipation, according to Smalling.

He has been singing the praises of the line to top retailers like R.C. Willey, Nebraska Furniture Mart and Sleepy's, and to mom-and-pop retailers, too. The reaction to the new line, launched at the Las Vegas Market in September, has been very positive, according to Smalling and Butch Webster, who has worked with Smalling since 2005 and is vice president of Simmons' specialty sleep division. He and Smalling are leading the Showroom on Wheels tour.

The two have been shaking up the industry and challenging conventional thinking in the memory foam segment since they joined forces at ComforPedic, an up-and-coming specialty bedding producer acquired by Simmons in 2007. Now they have joined forces on a two-month retail tour that breaks new ground, Simmons officials said.

Simmons President Steve Fendrich, who has more than 25 years of experience in the bedding industry, said he has never seen a retail tour like this one, which utilizes an 18-wheel rig set up as a mobile showroom.

"This is far and away a bigger success than we anticipated," he said. The showroom provides "a pretty unique experience" for retail sales associates, he added.

The tour took on a life of its own as plans began coming together, Fendrich said. The original idea of taking an RV on the road gave way to the mobile showroom, a tractor-trailer whose interior was designed to resemble a loft apartment.

Retailers have been impressed with the showroom, which will hit 31 cities across the U.S. and Canada before the tour's scheduled end in November.

"This is very well done," said Tom Wholley, president of 10-store Better Bedding of East Hartford, Conn. "This trailer is pretty cool."

Smalling said the tour has been a hit.

"We are helping dealers who did not come to the Las Vegas Market get a first-class look at our products," he said. "Also, in these challenging times, we are helping our dealers keep their travel expenses as low as possible. The overall retail reaction to this initiative has been overwhelmingly positive. And the tour has also generated a positive buzz within Simmons through the Tweets I am sending out and the success stories we are sharing internally with our Simmons associates.”
During a recent swing through New England, Smalling and Webster followed the 18-wheeler in a rental car.

Smalling started the national tour in the passenger's seat of the big rig, which is driven by veteran trucker Bill Gibson of Columbus, Ohio-based In Motion Promotion.

The first leg took Gibson and Smalling from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. Then it was north to Sacramento and east to Salt Lake City and Denver. Webster joined the tour in Omaha, Neb.

From New York, the showroom headed south. It arrived in High Point just in time for the opening of the High Point Market last month. Then it was back on the road for a trip to the Simmons campus in Atlanta, followed by a swing through the South and Midwest.

Success With Simmons

The Simmons Bedding ComforPedic Tour began in September 2009 and stopped in U.S. cities from Vegas to Florida to Canada and everywhere in between.

Recently the tour was extended for a 12-week period due to the success of the mobile road show and the impact the tour has had on Simmons sales. The 53' mobile NYC loft on wheels recently stopped in Little Rock, AK and highlighted a significant impact the tour has had on this particular retailers sales.

"Hi Everyone-Wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for selecting the Sleep & Wellness Center at Ashley Furniture Homestore as one of your distinguished partners on your North American Tour to celebrate the official launch of Comforpedic Loft. The energy level the mobile showroom creates is incredible. The Comforpedic Loft Showroom Tour was a game changer for our weekend sales performance. Sleep's most advance technology was the story of the day. Here's a recap: Sleep 24.6% of Overall Sales..$1334.84 Average Ticket. The most interesting thing was the Comforpedic Loft Collection elevated the interest in Comforpedic's established upper models. Saturday's first two sales were CP Mystere King models; one being an adjustable. This set the tone for the weekend. Please let me now when you can arrange to come back for a encore appearance in 2010. Sleep Well." - Tim Hammonds

As IMP continues to work with the Simmons Bedding Company we look forward to providing your company with the same type of results; getting your product in front of your ideal customer. Contact us today to explore the possibilities of your mobile road show!

IMP Visits the CMA Awards

The 43rd Annual Country Music Awards took place on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 and In Motion Promotion was there to entertain during a night of awards.

Rob Hunt, Owner of IMP (right) is pictured with Darius Rucker, lead singer for Hootie and the Blowfish (center) who recently took his career solo and left with New Artist of the Year at the 2009 CMA Awards.

IMP was honored to entertain Simmons Bedding Company at the CMA's, further developing the relationship IMP has begun with Simmons in the past few months. Currently, the Simmons Bedding ComforPedic Line tour is on the move extending their mobile road show tour for another 12 weeks stopping at retailers and Simmons plants across the country. The tour has proved successful with a 98% closing ratio for the ComforPedic Line that Simmons has rolled out this Fall.

For more information on how In Motion Promotion can bring your mobile roadshow to life and travel to the doorsteps of your important buyers or clients, contact us today for more information. We would be happy to speak with you!

Success on The Streets

The Simmons Bedding Company ComforPedic Line continues on it's state-to-state tour making stops at retailers, regional corporate headquarters, and to the public. The success of the mobile road tour has surprised even the toughest critics out there.

Bedding Editor for Furniture/Today, David Perry shares his insights with the public, as he visits and travels with the Simmons Road Tour in the beginning stages to gauge the shakedown and pros to this NYC Loft on Wheels.

ComforPedic Retail Road Tour: A Good Idea [click to read full article]
HARTFORD, Conn. - Greetings from the capital of the Nutmeg State, a very special place for me to embark on a journey of retail discovery. More on that in a moment.This is my jumping off point for a rendezvous with the ComforPedic Loft Showroom on Wheels, an 18-wheeler that I last saw parked in a dusty Las Vegas parking lot across the street from the World Market Center.

That's where the tour set out last month on a 10,000-mile retail odyssey across the U.S. and Canada. The goals: Introduce the new Simmons ComforPedic Loft line to retailers, conduct sales training sessions for them, and get their feedback (and that of consumers, too) on the new line. Simmons executives Scott Smalling and Butch Webster are following the truck in an SUV. In just a few hours, I'll be meeting them. Can you say Road Trip?...

ComforPedic Retail Tour: Ad Lessons in Agawam [click to read full article]
...One thing that hasn't changed, I learned, is the need for mattress retailers to keep promoting. That point was driven home at the open house the Simmons factory here is hosting. And the ComforPedic Loft Showroom on Wheels, which I'm following for the next few days, is right in the middle of the action. It is parked in front of the factory and it is a nice-looking showroom, displaying mattresses to good advantage...

For more information regarding the Simmons Bedding Company mobile road show, or to bring your marketing needs to the road contact us today for more information.

Simmons ComforPedic Loft Collection

IMP is proud to report that the Simmons Bedding Company mobile tour has hit the road! As we speak the tour is making stops across the country, and once in Canada, to introduce their new ComforPedic Loft Collection; the ideal combination of comfort and support in a premium memory foam mattress at an attainable price. The tour will visit many retailers, corporate offices, buyers and the public to preview and test the new line in a converted 53' trailer made to look like a New York City style loft, complete with three beds from the new line.

"Every stop we've been on has been a success and the Simmons ComforPedic Loft Collection has seen a 130% success rate at each visit," said IMP's tour manager Bill Gibson, who has logged over 100,000 miles on the road since working for IMP.

Gary Novak, Vice of President and Marketing for IMP is confident that this tour is bringing the exposure and awareness to the right people and decision makers benefitting Simmons in more ways than one. For more information on mobile event marketing tours like the Simmons Bedding Company tour contact us or feel free to call 888.801.0078...we would be happy to speak with you about getting your brand on the road!