Simmons BackCare, Ultimate Reduces Back Pain by One-Third Study Fuels New Lifestyle-Specific Marketing Strategy for Mattress Industry's Sixth Largest Brand

Furniture World Magazine

A study just released by the National Foundation for Spinal Health shows that the Simmons Company's BackCare, Ultimate mattress can reduce the frequency and severity of back pain by up to 33 percent. This study, the first time a medical agency has attributed substantial benefits to a bed, positions BackCare firmly as an industry-leading health care product that provides real, tangible benefits for your back. "This research from the National Foundation of Spinal Health validates a simple concept we've believed in ever since we launched BackCare: sleeping on a mattress that conforms to the body's natural curves puts less strain on your back and helps you sleep better," said Tim Oakhill, vice president of Simmons BackCare. "Millions of people wake up each morning with an aching back. This research proves that BackCare Ultimate can make a huge difference in these people's lives." In gathering its data, the foundation conducted surveys with people who purchased a BackCare Ultimate mattress and asked them to rate, on a scale of one to ten, the frequency and the severity of their pain prior to and after they began sleeping on the bed. In what the foundation calls a "significant improvement," respondents reported an average reduction in back-pain frequency of 33 percent and an average severity reduction of 35 percent. And of those who gained relief from back pain, a full 90 percent attributed that relief to the BackCare mattress. Translating Benefits to the Consumer: To ensure shoppers on showroom floors understand and differentiate the benefits of BackCare, Simmons Company has replaced its old "Five Zones for Your Bones" tagline for BackCare with a new message: "The Mattress Built the Way Your Back is Built." "Our entire focus is on the real-life benefits BackCare provides to people in a variety of lifestages," Oakhill explained. "So in communicating about the product, we want people to instantly identify with the 33 percent reduction in pain they can realize by sleeping on the BackCare Ultimate mattress." Supporting this mission, Simmons also has developed new, lifestyle-specific, in-store identity, collateral and advertising for the product – scrapping traditional images of bedposts and uncovered mattresses and replacing them with visuals of real, relatable people. For example, one in-store sign features an active, vibrant, Gen-X woman springing into the air. The other shows a relieved retiree in a beach chair with his arms raised high. Diverting from a traditional home-furnishings media-buying approach, Simmons plans to launch a full-scale $1 million advertising program targeting those Americans with active lifestyles including do-it-yourselfers, parents, as well as health-and-fitness enthusiasts. This spring, two print ads will run in Health, Fitness, Cooking Light, Gourmet, Better Homes & Garden, Prevention Family, Outdoor Explorer and Ladies' Home Journal magazines. Maker of Simmons Beautyrest,, Deep Sleep by Beautyrest,, and BackCare,, Atlanta-based Simmons Company employs more than 2,500 people and operates 18 plants throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Simmons is committed to helping consumers attain a higher quality of sleep and supports that mission through its Better Sleep Through Science™ philosophy, which includes developing superior mattresses and promoting a sound and smart sleep routine. For more information, consumers can visit the company's new Web site at www.simmons.com.