Casper Sleep Inc.: Marketing the "One Perfect Mattress for Everyone" case study focuses on the company and the threat of direct-to-consumer mattress firms. It discusses how the company has differentiated itself from its competitors and what strategies it has applied to stand out.
Robert J. Dolan
Harvard Business Review (517042-PDF-ENG)
September 27, 2016
Case questions answered:
- How significant of a threat are the direct-to-consumer mattress firms to traditional “Big Mattress”?
- How was Casper Sleep Inc. able to differentiate itself from the other direct-to-consumer firms?
- Evaluate the company’s promotional strategy from launch to September 2015. Did the initial focus on “earned” rather than “paid” media make sense?
- What do you think should be the main goal for Casper Communications? To Chief Creative Office Luke Sherman, “it’s all about brand love,” to Chief Executive Officer Phillip Krim, it’s “sales performance in the short term.” What do you think?
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Casper Sleep Inc.: Marketing the "One Perfect Mattress for Everyone" Case Answers
1. How significant of a threat to Casper Sleep Inc. are the direct-to-consumer mattress firms to traditional “Big Mattress”?
The direct-to-customer mattress firms do not pose a serious threat compared to the traditional channels and significant firms in the market industry, such as Serta, Tempur Pedic, Sealy, and Simmons, with a total market share of 95%. However, since Casper Sleep Inc. is a startup, it is threatening that direct-to-consumer channels have very similar offerings and want to beat the company, which currently only holds 0.7% of the market share.
Casper does not see its direct to consumers as a threat but rather as a way to motivate themselves to keep improving. The competitors in these categories are:
- Saatva:
- Takeaways old mattresses for $39 (service not offered by Casper)
- Positioned as “America’s best-priced luxury mattress.”
- Charges delivery for $99 – does not deliver in a box
- Queen size: $999 plus $99 for delivery
- Tuft and Needle:
- Came to the market two years before Casper Sleep Inc.
- “Quality Mattress at a fair price.”
- 100-day trial like Casper
- Similar delivery to Casper
- Priced at $600
- Leesa:
- Only one mattress model
- Free shipping and trial policy same as Casper
- Price at $890 for queen size with same six months 0% financing as Casper
2. How was Casper able to differentiate itself from the other direct-to-consumer firms?
Casper Sleep Inc.’s point of differentiation from the rest of its consumers is its shipping method. They are the only ones that use a UPSable shipping mechanism where their mattress can be stuffed in a 20 x 21 x 41-in height box.
Many other qualities of the Casper mattress are matched by competitors or beat, such as prices, 100-day trial, and/or quality and level of foam.
Another point of differentiation for Casper has been its communication strategies through social media, radio, podcast, press media, and outdoor advertising (subways, taxis). These strategies allowed Casper Sleep Inc…
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