Sealy Mattress Co. is using mobile to complement its new interactive marketing campaign that focuses on the time people spend in bed.

The campaign includes an app inspired by the fortune cookie game in which players add the words ?in bed? to the end of a fortune. The app is an attempt to introduce a more playful?maybe even a bit risqué?side of the company.

?Research found that people do much more in bed than sleep,? said Christa Tanner, vice president and account director at Leo Burnett, Chicago.

?It?s this core insight that presented an opportunity for us to enter a relatively unchartered space in the industry, while ultimately tapping into consumer emotion,? she said.

Sealy, a global mattress manufacturer, paired with advertising agency Leo Burnett to launch the app, and the campaign intends to generate buzz about the company?s Posturepedic mattress brand, and reflects Sealy?s focus on digital marketing.

About the app
The ?In BedTagger? app is part of the ?Whatever you do in bed, Sealy supports it? campaign, along with three television spots, interactive banner ads, a new Web site and an overall stronger focus on social media.

The free app lets users take photos and then upload them to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter or Flickr with the words ?In Bed? added via watermark, as a humorous final touch. It was created to engage consumers while driving awareness of the new campaign and the Posturepedic brand.

?What?s great about this particular app is that the possibilities are endless,? Ms. Tanner said. ?App users can find countless new objects, signs and billboards that make the joke funny.?

The app is available as a free download, currently compatible with Apple?s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. It is coming to Google?s Android devices by the end of February.

The In BedTagger is being promoted with its own Twitter page (@InBedHallOfFame) as well as through Sealy.com, YouTube and Facebook, and with search engine marketing and display banners on mobile networks.

?The mobile app is designed to generate buzz leading up to and during the launch of the campaign,? Ms. Tanner said. ?This is definitely a first-of-its-kind in the mattress category.?

Rich media placements help maximize awareness and drive the apps? downloads, and Ms. Tanner hopes they also help generate excitement surrounding the app.

Outside of mobile
A TV spot during Super Bowl XLV marked the launch of the campaign in New York and Boston, and two other commercials will air during the first half of 2011.

The advertisements highlight people spending time in bed?scenes from jumping on the bed to romantic interactions to late nights spent working on a laptop.

Even with all of the campaign?s different aspects?from TV to mobile to online?it took only 90 days for Sealy and Leo Burnett to go from pitch to production.

?The ideas presented by Leo Burnett at the pitch in October were loved by Sealy and tested well in consumer research,? Ms. Tanner said.

?So we moved forward with an aggressive timeline to launch the campaign concurrently with the new product being rolled out into retail locations beginning in January,? she said.