Jan 17, 2008 6:04 AM, PROMO Xtra, By Amy Johannes

Mattress Giant is running a mobile tour in South Florida to promote its 25th anniversary and a sweepstakes.

Mattress Giant is promoting its 25^th anniversary with a mobile marketing tour in South Florida and sweepstakes to drive traffic into its showrooms.

A truck decked out to resemble a moving bedroom is hitting the streets of Miami making stops at community and sporting events to talk up the brand. At each stop, visitors can peek in to see the bedroom up close.

The marketing stunt is meant to “grab our target consumers’ attention in places where she would be and in ways that she wouldn’t expect,” Terri Stevens, vice president of marketing and advertising for Mattress Giant, said.

“January is traditionally a challenging month for mattress sales and we knew that we needed to dramatically grab the attention of our target consumer in order to cause her to start thinking about buying a new mattress—and then come into our showrooms,” Stevens added.

Mattress Giant is targeting married women 25 to 54 who have household incomes of $75,000 or more with the promotion. The company operates 340 stores nationwide.

A second truck will roll out in Tampa, FL, starting Jan. 28 for four weeks. The tour will visit four to six other markets as part of the campaign, Shawn Gurn, associate media director for Moroch, Mattress Giant’s agency of record, which is handling the promotion, said.

“Most, if not all, women truly dread shopping for a new mattress,” Stevens said. “But it doesn't have to be that way. The giant bed truck can help us with [that mindset]— it’s friendly, it’s approachable and it’s fun.”

The effort marks the first integrated marketing program Moroch has launched for Mattress Giant. In developing the campaign, Moroch looked to find a fun way to draw attention to the brand and get people thinking about mattresses, Gurn said.

“People buy a mattress every five years or so,” he said. “It’s not something commonly talked about on a regular basis. So we said, “Why don’t we take Mattress Giant to the people?’”

The campaign also includes a sweepstakes. South Florida residents can register at http://www.giantbed.com for a chance to win bedroom makeovers through Feb. 29. Three grand-prize winners will receive three beds and bedding accessories.

The company plans to collect consumer data from the sweepstakes to add to its database use for future marketing efforts, Stevens said.

A separate contest on the site lets people enter to win a giant bedroom makeover. South Florida residents submit photos of bedrooms in need of a makeover online through Jan. 31 for a shot at the grand prize: $5,000, a bed and bedding accessories.

Clear Channel is running radio spots to promote the contest and tour stops.

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