direct response marketing and advertising for radio

Launching Dial-A-Mattress in Chicago
Radio Tie-ins Help Gain Product Awareness and Credibility
by Norm Goldring

Who said independent media services don't get involved in their clients' businesses? The concept of media strategy tied to business strategy is foreign to many marketers. That's because most advertisers are not aware of what a media service can do beyond negotiate time and space.

Historically, media has been a marketing afterthought. Once the creative strategy has been decided, ads were tossed to the media buyers who would see that they were placed. But more and more marketers are beginning to realize the benefits of incorporating media strategy into the overall business plan.

We welcome the opportunity to get involved in all aspects of out clients' marketing activities and create media strategies tailored to their marketing situations. Our media strategy for the launch of Dial-A-Mattress, the Chicago licensee of a successful New York bedding company, demonstrates that this can be effective.

Since Dial-A-Mattress was extremely successful in New York, it seemed logical that the Chicago introduction would be as easy as taking New York's TV commercial and duplicating New York's TV schedule. Naturally, the phones would start ringing off the hooks.

We were only half right. The first commercial generated 60 inquiry phone calls but no orders for mattresses. The callers were skeptical about ordering by phone: they asked questions about comfort, quality, delivery and pricing. Dial-A-Mattress had no credibility in Chicago.

Although Dial-A-Mattress is a household word in New York City, the concept of buying a mattress over the phone was foreign to Chicagoans. More often than not, Chicagoans laughed when they first heard about Dial-A-Mattress. It was only after they understood the concept that they realized what an innovative service Dial-A-Mattress was offering.

Customers can call 1-800-Mattress 24 hours a day and speak with a certified bedding consultant who recommends a bedding set based on the consumer's needs. Dial-A-Mattress sells Sealy, Serta, Simmons beds at 60 percent savings from department store prices. Consumers select their delivery times ¬ any hour between 6 a.m. and midnight, seven days a week. Dial-A-Mattress guarantees delivery within two hours of the appointed time and will even remove the old mattress at no cost to the customer. Dial-A-Mattress virtually eliminates the hassles associated with buying bedding.

It was clear to us that Dial-A-Mattress has all the elements of a successful service company. We regrouped and created a strategy to gain credibility. We concluded that a fast and cost-effective way to reach our goal was to include well-known local radio personalities in the campaign.

We approached WGN radio because of its popular radio personalities and format. A meeting was scheduled with station management and on-air talent to explain the Dial-A-Mattress concept. After the personalities made their jokes, we placed a conference call to a Dial-A-Mattress bedding consultant and took them through the process of buying a mattress over the phone. The announcers were extremely impressed with the consultant's knowledge and were convinced that Dial-A-Mattress could deliver what the ads promised.

The next morning, when WGN's Roy Leonard described the concept on his show, the results were instantaneous. A dozen sales were recorded just minutes after the ad-libbed commercial aired. Roy's listeners were so intrigued by the message that they called him on the air to ask more questions about Dial-A-Mattress.

Our radio strategy gave Dial-A-Mattress the credibility boost it needed. The word began to spread around Chicago. This grapevine effect was precisely what we needed; experience in New York showed that 40 percent of sales result from customer referrals.

Our next challenge was to keep things fresh for the radio personalities and listeners so word-of-mouth advertising would continue. We delivered mil and cookies to the WGN personalities while they were on air, generating additional Dial-A-Mattress banter. Another radio hit was a mattress ordered by a DJ for immediate delivery to a parking lot where rock star Alice Cooper was doing a live remote for anther station. The stunt was so unusual that Furniture Today wrote and article describing the event.

Additional credibility was gained through a press kit distributed to the media along with complimentary pillows. Reporters had the same reaction as consumers ¬ not quite believing it at first and then wondering why no one had thought of Dial-A-Mattress sooner. Dial-A-Mattress was featured on Chicago's NBC and ABC local news programs as well as in the Chicago Tribune, Sun Times and the major suburban Daily Herald. A top-40 radio station even agreed to have Dial-A-Mattress provide prizes for its weekly "Guess the Whoopee" segment, in which listeners call in and guess where their neighbors last made love.

Only three months had passed since Dial-A-Mattress hit Chicago and the licensee had already doubled projected earnings. As the media management company, we remained in daily contact wit the client, obtaining hourly call volume to track results to specific stations and to evaluate messages and promotions. Our media tactics were continually being fine-tuned.

Next on the agenda, we taped customer testimonials to enhance the credibility already established by WGN's personalities. Broadcast and cable TV was also re-tested, now that Chicagoans were becoming aware of the Dial-A-Mattress message. Our public relations program is in high gear and the more outrageous we can be, the better. For example, a Dial-A-Mattress delivery person was taped delivering a mattress to the middle of a paint fight at Paint Ball Blitz. This was aired on Wild Chicago, a local TV program on PBS affiliate WTTW. Referral programs were developed with its customers and joint promotions were developed with appropriate organizations (i.e. Welcome Wagon) and retailers.

Dial-A-Mattress' Chicago launch would have clearly failed without an aggressive use of media and a flexible approach. I am convinced that as competition intensifies in every industry, more businesses will look to media management services for marketing directions as well as media planning and buying expertise. Dial-A-Mattress has already learned that there is much to be gained.