I just impulse purchased a $1,000 mattress because of Facebook advertising…
Is it worth advertising on Facebook? That’s a question I get a lot – and the answer is yes if you A) are looking to grow your brand’s awareness and have engaging content and community moderation, or B) have an awesome, out-of-the box product and are looking for an inexpensive way to reach people. People who want to buy, when they want to buy – or when they have no idea that they wanted to buy, but your ad is so compelling that they crack open the credit card right then and there. Yes, thanks to Facebook advertising, we can now impulse purchase any manner of items that are targeted right to us. Which is why…
This morning, I impulse purchased a $1,000 mattress from a brand I’d never heard of. At least, I tried to. But apparently, the video ad from Purple mattresses featuring a surly, grown-up Goldilocks is so compelling that it’s on back order. That’s an amazing few sentences right there, and it signifies a huge change in buying habits. In the past, when I wanted a mattress, I would spend days going from store to store, lying on different mattresses while salespeople talked me through the advantages of each one. So much information. So many choices. Such pressure after spending 15 minutes on each one to choose what I would be spending eight hours a night on for the next ten years. It always ended up as a nightmare, with me choosing something not because I was sure of it, but because I had to make a choice. But Purple is breaking the mold, and that’s why their Facebook advertising is doing so well.
Capitalizing on Goldilocks of “Three Bears” storybook fame, the brand immediately connects to anyone who knows the story – and we all know the story. On the off-chance you don’t, here it is in a nutshell: a little girl with blonde hair breaks in to the Three Bears’ home. (Luckily for her, the bears are not there.) After trying each of the bears’ breakfasts that are inexplicably left out on the table, she devours Little Bear’s because it’s “just right.” I suppose all of that B&E activity and eating makes her tired, because she ends up trying out each of their beds. Papa Bear’s mattress was too hard, Mama Bear’s was too soft, and Baby Bear’s was, again, “just right.” Et voila, a mattress expert is born.
Of course, Purple isn’t selling out of four-figure mattresses thanks to video ads on Facebook just because we remember a little blonde girl from a fairy tale. We buy into the fantasy because of the real USP (unique selling proposition) that she shares with us. Goldilocks uses raw eggs, heavy plate glass, weights, and references to design by a real rocket scientist to visually and verbally convince us what is wrong with regular mattresses – and to explain why Purple is the “just right” choice for us. Now that we know the dream of owning the perfect mattress is finally real, things get even better: it’s about 1/5 of the anticipated cost – and they have a 100-night trial, money-back guarantee. And that’s when I reached for my credit card…while lying in my current bed.
Just like that, I’m ready to plunk down a thou on a mattress I’ve never tried, without setting foot in any store. I actually believe what the raw eggs seem to prove: that the mattress technology of Purple will be supportive without putting too much pressure on the heavier parts of my body, providing a “just right” balance. In other words, I believe their tagline – “No Pressure” – in part because of the story Goldilocks tells in the video, and in part because of the guarantee. That’s how Facebook advertising changed my life this morning…and it’s how it’s changing the game for brands and those who understand the new opportunity to break through to consumers.
Now let’s hope they get those mattresses in soon, while consumers are still ready to pull the trigger. After all, it’s tough to go through with the impulse purchase once that impulse is gone. But if Purple is all the eggs say it’s cracked up to be (or not cracked up, as the case may be), then this purchase will provide a whole new quality of life for me. Thanks, Facebook ads!
