At its core, positioning is about offering an unique, desirable benefit to prospective customers.  Of course, that’s often easier said than done, given the highly competitive landscape most products & services operate within.  Sometimes, it takes a new examination of existing data to create a new positioning claim.

For example, after being a relatively sleepy category for many years (pun intended 😊), the mattress category has become very competitive, prompted by the direct-ship disruptors like Casper.  Even relatively new brands like Sleep Number need to find a way to stand out.

A recent ad from Sleep Number demonstrates how data can be used to create a new way to think about the brand.  A podcast ad claimed “get 100 more hours per year of sleep” using the features of their Sleep Number 360 bed.  This was a provocative headline culled from the full story:  “People who routinely use the Sleep Number 360® smart bed features and SleepIQ® technology can improve their quality sleep by more than 15 minutes a night — nearly 100 (yes 100) more hours each year — by delivering personal insights into heart rate, breathing and movement, as well as natural sleep and wake cycles. Studies show that even 15 more minutes of quality sleep per night increases a body’s ability to stave off a cold or weight gain and can increase productivity.”    Sleep Number could have said “get 15 more minutes of sleep a day”, but that’s uninspiring.  Using the same numbers over a longer timeframe yields the more noticeable claim, and speaks to many people’s concern about their sleep.  With the unique features of their mattress delivering the data to claim additional hours of sleep, they can own the core benefit of a better mattress: better sleep.