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Outlast and Select Comfort Team-up to Offer A Winning Temperature
Control Solution
Edited by: Melanie Burk-Read,
Managing Editor
Mattress/bedding retailers know that one of
the more frequent complaints or concerns they hear from customers is
the discomfort they experience from being too hot. Some of the
higher profile beds or newer technology foam-based beds seem to
envelope or cradle the sleeper and in some cases not offer as cool
and comfortable a sleep experience as the customer may wish.
Consumer research on sleep comfort reinforces this common perception
confirming that overheating at night continues to result in sleep
disruption. According to a study released by Outlast Technologies
and Select Comfort®, approximately 37 percent of Americans
have trouble falling asleep because they are too hot. Nighttime
temperature variations occur when there is a single bed occupant;
but they occur more often when the temperature under the covers is
affected by two sleepers, with varying body temperatures and
different comfort levels within those temperatures.
Since Select Comfort markets their mattresses under the promise of
“personalized comfort”, they wished to advance that comfort another
step to include a way to offer a personalized temperature balance
solution for individuals and sleeping partners. To that end, they
contacted Outlast Technologies.
Outlast proposed a special layer of fabric that interacts with a
person’s own microclimate to help manage individual temperature and
provide a more restful night’s sleep while sleeping in a Sleep
Number bed. To amplify the benefits, they proposed a complete sleep
system including mattresses, pads, pillows and more, and offered
three levels of performance fabrics: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Select
Comfort opted to adopt the systems approach and do it using only
Gold Certified fabrics from Outlast.
Outlast® temperature-regulating technology is a high-performance
material originally developed for NASA. It is designed to balance a
sleeper’s skin temperature, allowing him or her to remain
comfortable during the night. Unlike traditional fabric and
insulation that trap heat, products that incorporate patented
Outlast® Thermocules™ actually absorb the sleeper’s excess body heat
when that person becomes too warm; Outlast technology also releases
heat back when the consumer needs it.
“The addition of Outlast® technology is really perfect for two
sleepers with different temperature preferences to find
compatibility in the same bed. In fact, it’s uniquely engineered to
help moderate night sweats,” said Greg Roda, President and CEO of
Outlast Technologies.
By working directly with Select Comfort’s product management team,
Outlast Technologies was able to provide the mattress manufacturer
with an easily incorporated solution that offered a higher level of
comfort to their customers.
Education and training of the Select Comfort sales force in
conjunction with the in-store demonstration are critical factors in
the overall success of the collaborative efforts of Outlast
Technology and Sleep Number beds. Select Comfort took advantage of a
variety of point-of-sale (POS), on-pack/in-pack and in-store demo
opportunities to convey the end-user benefits of their Outlast® Gold
Certified technology. To demonstrate the benefits, Select Comfort
created an interactive display for each of its retail stores
including a communication piece that explains the benefits of
temperature regulation, and 30-second and 30-minute infomercials.
Knowledge of the products and end-user benefits served as the final
piece of the puzzle to connect all the messages consumers are
receiving through advertising, marketing and PR.
Since Outlast had offered Select Comfort a system approach to
increase the sleeping value of their temperature regulating
material, Select Comfort incorporated the material into their
mattress pads and pillows, in addition to their mattresses.
The systemic approach is a concept that Outlast had advocated for
years. By layering Outlast® technology into the total sleep system,
Select Comfort can now offer a solution for everyone from normal
sleepers in search of a more comfortable night’s sleep to thermally
incompatible couples to women experiencing symptoms associated with
the change-of-life. With the ‘personalized comfort and innovation’
concept, Select Comfort has realized their goal to create a
personalized environment of comfort for their customers.
Retailers and manufacturers seeking more information are
invited to contact Guy Eckert at (610) 925-3243,
geckert@outlast.com or
visit
www.outlast.com
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