Digital PR Agency

Silentnight Eco Beds

objectives

Our client, the UK’s leading bed manufacturer Silentnight, had developed a revolutionary new product— the first entirely eco-friendly mattress, Eco Comfort, made using fibres spun from recycled plastic bottles.

Smoking Gun was tasked with launching the mattress, capitalising on the growing environmental movement and the success of BBC One’s Planet Earth II series. The primary goal was to introduce Eco Comfort to consumers and trade, increasing awareness and driving purchase consideration.

we were set the following KPIs:

10 pieces of national coverage in mainstream media outlets
A feature-length report in trade bible Cabinet Maker to influence retailers
20% of coverage to include a backlink to Silentnight’s website
5,000 visits to eco webpage from social media sources
Direct contribution to business target of 200% sales uplift

strategy

Silentnight’s core audience is females aged 25-55, primarily mothers who have the biggest say in household purchases.

With Blue Planet II having brought the nightmare of single-use plastic waste to this demographic’s mind demand was growing for brands to be transparent about their impact on the environment and the journey their products take from design to production, distribution to final point of sale.

Taking these facts into account, our campaign focussed on a high profile charitable partnership which would show Silentnight’s commitment to helping the planet, encouraging responsible recycling.

We found this in the Marine Conservation Society. Using compelling facts, statistics and informed opinion, we developed further stories to pitch to mainstream consumer press, including interviews with the product designers.

Mass awareness was of primary importance, so attention was focussed on securing a high profile TV opportunity for the company. This wound up being a live broadcast of BBC One’s Breakfast show, direct from the Silentnight factory.

For trade press, we carefully created exclusive feature ideas for influential outlets to develop their own in-depth reports from. We invited Cabinet Maker to visit the Silentnight factory and interview the company’s operations director.

Our staff actively sought out advocacy from online influencers who were recognised and trusted by Silentnight’s core demographic. We also ensured the science and story behind the Eco Comfort mattress was publicised via compelling digital content.

results

1.5million morning viewers

BBC Breakfast TV slot with presenter Sean Farrington broadcasting live from the Silentnight factory, explaining the Eco Comfort story to some 1.5million morning viewers. Total live broadcast time of 13 minutes with 18 brand mentions

47 media hits

including nationals The Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, MailOnline, Daily Express, Huffington Post, Prima and Good Housekeeping

Two 3-page articles

in Cabinet Maker, including multiple interviews, product images and retailer call-to-action

Additional trade coverage

in Furniture News, Interiors Monthly and The Furnishing Report

100,000 subscribers

reached in Marine Conservation Society magazine and newsletter coverage

37%

of coverage included a backlink to Silentnight website

100% coverage

in key messages

57%

of coverage included product imagery, 38% included RRP

84,00 video views

Social content posted to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter produced 84,000 video views, reach of well over 1million and 24,000 engagements

30,000

visits to eco webpage driven by social media

1011%

increase in Eco Comfort mattress sales, making it Silentnight’s second most popular mattress