Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

This is the new way of catalog design, also working as a "gallery" allows consumers to have the first experience of Serta's wide variety of products, reaching potential customers who were not able to visit a store (because of the COVID-19). Actually the organic traffic for the online catalog on the website has increased to 213%, and the sales of mattresses has increased to 107.5% in comparison with the catalog before renewal in comparison with the catalog before renewal.

Background

Serta is one of the world’s three top mattress brands. Serta Japan’s top priority is to provide made-to-order mattresses that correspond to a diverse array of comfort preferences. Our mission was to express the characteristics and philosophy of Serta with its amazingly rich array of products designed with over 16 types of comfort for a wide variety of body types and sleep preferences, and to distinguish it from other brands through a strong visual identity. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, plans for large-scale events were halted, and all that could be done this year was to produce a catalog. However, the pandemic also made it impossible to do photo shoots on large and configurable sets.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

We have seen many luxury mattress brand catalogs over the years in which mattresses are photographed in dozens of room styles that have no relation to their firmness or comfort variations. Our goal was to break with the conventions and clichés of catalog production and provide a new and memorable visualization of sleeping comfort. We prepared a single, abstract room space as the key graphic. Then we fashioned the window frame in this room as a sort of media gallery in which illustrations and artworks that represent the comfort and feel of the mattress could be interchanged. Through this method, we produced a catalog that intuitively conveys the diversity of the product lineup and the unique features of the mattresses that look the same at first glance.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Our target is people who buy mattresses without trying too much who are unaware of the differences in the comfort of a mattress, and people who cannot come to the store due to COVID-19. This is the new way of catalog design, also working as a "gallery" allows consumers to have the first experience of Serta's line of products, reaching potential customers who were not able to visit a store (because of the COVID-19)

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

We invited the participation of several artists (graphic artists, illustrators, computer graphic artists) with a particular interest in sleep and dreamlike scenes. We asked them to compare several Serta mattresses in their homes and come up with unique and distinctive works of art inspired by the mattresses’ various types of comfort. For the Pairing Twin mattress we developed that lets customers choose different comfort and support levels for each side, we had the same artist draw different illustrations for the left and right sides. By conceiving the catalog promotional tool as a “gallery” and sharing the artworks on the Serta Japan website and social media as well as in stores, the catalog images became widely shared by the artists themselves and by people with interest in art and illustration, reaching potential customers who were not able to visit a store.

List the results (30% of vote)

The organic traffic for the online catalog on the website has increased to 213% in comparison with the catalog before renewal. The sales of mattresses has increased to 107.5% in comparison with the catalog before renewal.