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!

Take A Rest With Simmons

In Motion Promotion hits the road this month promoting Simmons Bedding Company's newest premium bedding line. The tour takes one of IMP's 53' expandable trailers on the road for eight weeks promoting Simmons new bed line products. The tour will make stops at Simmons distributors across the nation beginning summer 2009 and running through the fall. This rolling New York loft style apartment will feature five of Simmons proudest achievements in their innovative bedding line, announcing the launch of their next generation memory foam bedding line. IMP is pleased to add Simmons Bedding Company to our list of new clients and look forward to a successful launch later this month!

[click on images for larger view]

Disaster Relief

by: Carrie Mazza, Account Executive, In Motion Promotion

As hurricane season is in full force we are faced with the reality of natural disasters and the aftermath they leave behind. It was only four years ago that Hurricane Katrina left the gulf coast in ruins and the city of New Orleans with nothing but questions to how they could possibly rebuild their life, community, and city. Although natural disasters are something that humans cannot always control or stop, we've certainly learned how to alleviate the harsh blow with preparedness and response actions.

In the past year In Motion Promotion took on the challenge of outfitting two Prevost custom motor coaches for a local large insurance company to provide disaster relief to victims of natural disasters across the country. The vehicles are equipped with offices to properly accomodate claims adjusters to work on-site to provide efficient and supportive relief. The motor coaches are stored in our 151,000 sq ft secure warehouse facility in Central Ohio giving the insurance company the accessibility to call IMP and say, "Let's go." With IMP's certifed and professional drivers behind the wheel the motor coaches can be fired up and ready for travel to anywhere in the country for disaster relief.

IMP is proud to work with the local insurance company in the Central Ohio community in aiding disaster relief victims across the country. Reliable and dependable solutions are what make a difference in disaster response to better prepare for the unknown in the future.

For more information about our disaster response capabilities or to better secure your mobile marketing needs for the future contact us today.

Image by Google Images

The Power of the Five Senses on Consumers

by: Carrie Mazza, Account Executive, In Motion Promotion

Remember back to those elementary school days in health class when you learned all about the senses and how our body reacts to smell, touch, sound, taste and sight? The power of these five senses gives humans the ability to recall a particular time, event or memory because of the impact the senses have on the brain. As consumers of this world we are always looking for clues to steer us in the right direction; towards a product that will make our hair shinier, oil that will make our car run better, or a vitamin to make our bones stronger. But without these senses we would not have the capacity in our brains to be driven towards these signals. Fortunately, we do have them and humans respond to these clues every day. The power of smell, touch, sound, taste and sight are the driving force behind media, marketing and the consumer driven world we live in.

I am always impressed by the truisms in the power of the senses. Hearing a song can put me in a place and time in my life that brings me right to the moment I heard it; where I was, what I was wearing, where I was going and who I was with.

The most powerful association of senses linked to the memory is the influence of smell. I do it all the time. The aromas of food, cologne, candles and lotion all can evoke a particular time and place where you first experienced this message. Take the grocery store for example; the bite-sized samples are not only there to drive you towards buying the product but to link you to a time and place so that next time you smell or taste that food you are driven to make it a staple on your grocery list.

Experiential Marketing has the same principals and reasoning as the power of the five senses. Your product is something a consumer can smell, touch, hear, taste and see. It is positioning your target audience to interact with your products so that an association or memory can be made with the time and place of this interaction. Days, perhaps weeks later the consumer will be in a position to buy or choose your product over your competitor. What will be the deciding factor or how they choose?

Fortunately, you can thank the power of the five senses to make that decision for you. The consumer will remember how they met you and your latest product at your last mobile marketing event. They will remember how it felt, tasted, sounded, smelled or looked like and it will remind them of a positive time when they were able to get up close and personal with a product they may have never considered before.

Experiential Marketing is catering to the abilities we as consumers use every day to store and compartmentalize our decisions and memories. Perhaps the best part about the link of senses to the memory is that it is a free marketing tool that does not require the consumer to give much second thought to making a decision. Essentially, the senses help make up the mind for the consumer, sometimes unknowingly. It is up to you to get your product in front of your target consumer and allow them to interact with it to make a lasting impression...then let the five senses take it from there!

Let In Motion Promotion help you entice your consumers with a mobile event marketing experience. Contact us today for a free quote on how we can bring your marketing ideas to life.

Image by 2emagine

Tired of Tradeshows?

I'm tired of tradeshows. From what I am hearing, many others are unsatisfied with tradeshows as well. It seems every show touts itself as the largest or the best or the most comprehensive. Each generally promotes its attracting the best target audience of buyers, users, engineers, and high-level managers and executives. Shows are hotbeds for words and phrases like "innovative suppliers", the "newest tech", "money saving systems", but do you ever really seem to get your money's worth from a tradeshow? My answer to this question is "sometimes" or "occasionally" or "It is really hard to tell". Is this good enough for your company in these highly competitive, tight economic times? There must be some other marketing and sales tool out there that can deliver at a level better than "OK".

What is it that you are searching for in a tradeshow-type promotion? Most companies want an interested, engaged, target audience who has the time to spend with you to become acquainted with your offerings, your solutions, your service level, and your people. After many years of observation and participation, I have found that most people walking around a tradeshow floor are more interested in gimmicky promo items they can take to their kids or in getting back to the hotel so they can get ready to go out and have a nice dinner and drinks than they are in your company and your stuff. The entire atmosphere of a show often seems to have very limited value anymore and we haven't even touched on the fact that they are likely to be very expensive, providing a limited bang for your buck.

In Motion Promotion (IMP) is the ultimate alternative to the tradeshow crutch. The difference is all about delivery. By delivery I mean the delivery and demonstration of your company's stuff (and just as importantly, your people who engineer, sell, and service that product) directly to the people who buy, operate, engineer, and manage operations that require products like yours. Mobile promotion of your item on location at your customer's business assures many of those targeted goals you try to reach through a tradeshow, without the problem of unfocused, uninterested, and untargeted conventioneers, let alone having to deal with the convention center's show personnel! When you can bring your product to a worksite or business site where the focus is only on the customer to which you are promoting that day (and they on you), the interest level and interactivity level go up dramatically.

Offering an interactive demo event to your customer or potential customer that is comfortable, inclusive, and informative, in a non-competitive, non-tradeshow environment offers you and your customer to control the activity and focus. This type of promotion is exactly what many customers are looking for. A customer wants to feel catered to and unrushed...and going away with a feeling that his/her questions have been adequately addressed. An afternoon of demonstration and discussion, maybe including conversation over a grilled hamburger and a soda, provides the proper atmosphere. In Motion Promotion provides for this approach with its truly innovative, customer-reaching mobile promotions. From a marketing standpoint, the ability to be visible and generate interest, while culturing feelings of need for a product or service and shaking hands with the target audience is massive. Get the right people there talking to your people in an environment where you can actually do all those things that tradeshows promise. Call In Motion Promotion today to inquire about your many mobile promotion options.

Take It To the People

How do you market your products, equipment, and services? Getting your "stuff" in front of target buyers and operators always requires a multi-pronged approach. As a sales and marketing guy, I am always excited when I come across a novel way of getting my message and product in front of potential customers. In Motion Promotion offers an alternative way of delivering your message, giving customers a convenient, hands-on venue to review your companies' wares.

In Motion Promotion's first success story features then and current customer, Asea Brown Bovari Process Automation (ABB). ABB needed a way to get their physically large, papermill process automation equipment in front of the right people. Tradeshows and paid customer visits to the ABB plant weren't proving to be enough. Alternatively, an idea was hatched between In Motion Promotion and ABB to "take it on the road to the people"..and not just a side show plant visit was planned for the potential buyers and users, rather, the intent was to create a main event atmosphere that was a happening at each company where the traveling show stopped.

It all started with the custom internal and external buildout of the tractor-trailer (supplied by In Motion Promotion) in which the equipment was going to be displayed and test operated. The vehicle needed to create a presence and attract attention and it did! A traveling circus approach created excitement around ABB's product. With scheduled visitation time in prime parking lot locations, a sit-down barbeque lunch/dinner area, and an awning-covered equipment exhibition section, inspection and discussion of ABB's automation equipment became an event for on-site personnel of all types, from engineers to operators to buyers to executives. And the next day, on to a new facility and a new show! After a three month run and success beyond expectation, the concept was solidified as a recurring event in both In Motion Promotion's and ABB's portfolio. I love a good success story, especially one that so many from multiple industries can employ in their marketing and sales efforts.