Wake Up! Select Comfort Puts Mattress Account In Review

SleepNumberMattress-AMinneapolis-based Select Comfort Corp., marketer of Sleep Number brand mattresses and related bedding products, is conducting a media agency review, according to sources.

The company spent $90 million on ads in 2011, up about 30% from the previous year, according to company documents.

The review comes just as the company is undergoing a management transition. COO Shelly Ibach will succeed president and CEO William McLaughlin effective June 1. When it announced the pending shift earlier this year, the company credited Ibach as “one of the key architects” behind much of the company’s growth over the last 18 months.

Select describes its growth plan as an “integrated, customer-focused strategy that combines increasing brand and store awareness with accelerated local-market development; elevating the in-store and service experience; and advancing product innovation.”

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In 2011, net profits nearly doubled to $60.5 million.

In its 2011 annual report, the company reported net sales of $743 million while spending nearly $320 million on combined sales and marketing efforts. “Our most significant growth driver has been building brand awareness,” the company stated.

As part of the effort, Select recently embraced Sleep Number as its sole consumer brand, discontinuing the use of Select Comfort for brand marketing although that remains the name of the parent corporation.

Going forward, the company stated, it will continue to bulk up on national advertising through TV and other traditional media, direct marketing and increasingly, e-commerce. Sources said the company’s ad spending could reach $120 million this year, which would be double the $60 million it spent in 2009.

Select is also planning to expand the number of its retail outlets by up to 30 new stores this year, and more in 2013 and beyond. The company also uses several wholesale distributors, including cable home shopping outlet QVC Network.

It wasn’t clear whether the company had an incumbent media shop or bought its media in-house. A Select Comfort rep did not respond to a query at press time.

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