Continuing to take an unconventional approach to advertising, Purple, whose quirky comedic ads garnered 1.5 million views in just three years, has partnered with lifestyle influencers to more narrowly target their marketing efforts. The partnership is specifically designed to reach an audience of homemakers who actually purchase most of the household’s mattresses and bedding.
With this audience in mind, Purple is enlisting the help of influencers in interior design, the bridal space, and the mommy blogosphere to use their individual styles and formats to market a mattress that broke the mold for foam mattresses.
According to Purple CEO, Joe Megibow, most of their potential customers hear about Purple through word of mouth. By harnessing the power of social influencers, the digital equivalents of next-door neighbors, Purple engages potential customers where they live and lounge—on their digital devices—making it easy for them to connect with the brand and appreciate its irreverent sense of humor.
Most importantly, because younger viewers are savvy and cynical about advertising, social influencers who have actually used a product and relate better with young viewers have more sway than your average celebrity or even a popular influencer whose authenticity and credibility may be suspect.
According to Paul Greenwood of We Are Social, “celebrity sway over Gen Z is, in fact, very limited if the celebrity is trying to flog something outside their realm of expertise, while influencers with mega popularity are downright unappealing.”
Purple Disrupts Again
Just as the Purple mattress disrupted the mattress industry, Purple’s innovative marketing efforts have ironically created a credible ethos by removing any sense of gravity from their scientific approach the mattress construction. Their website cheekily asserts, it’s “so sciencey, it’ll put you to sleep.” And no one would accuse their lab-coated spokespeople from taking themselves too seriously.
The formula appears to work, earning Purple a raft of advertising awards including
- 2016 Utah Marketing Awards: Branding, Rebranding, Digital, Social Media Campaign
- 2018 Digiday Social Campaign Award: The Purple Boys, Best Creative—Finalist
- 2019 American Business Awards: The Purple Boys, Online Marketing Campaign of the Year—Gold Winner
- 2019 Indigo Awards: Purple Native 360 Ads by Verizon Media Group, Gold in Innovative Use of Mobile Technology 2019 and Silver in Mobile Ads 2019
- 2019 Online Marketing Campaign of the Year: The Purple Boys
Now Purple pushes the envelope even further by partnering with influencers who already have loyal followings and who share the same interests as potential customers. The unique and idiosyncratic styles of influencers harmonizes perfectly with Purple’s brand, whose innovative products and advertising have helped earn $300 million in sales in their first three years as a public company. In an industry plagued with complaints about exaggerated claims, shady business practices, and inflated prices, Purple’s humorous, engaging, and, most importantly, credible marketing campaigns continues to revolutionize the bedding world.
Sources:
WARC: warc.com/newsandopinion/opinion/why_influencers_are_losing_their_influence/3094
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