Note: The following news release was published on June 12.
Click here to read about media coverage of the redesign and launch.
RICHMOND, Va. – Carpenter Co. recently launched a redesigned SleepBetter.org website that combines all of the company’s innovative consumer education programs and tools into an online communication platform like no other in its industry. Created by Dan Schecter, senior vice president of consumer products at Carpenter Co. in 2007, SleepBetter is both a brand and a multi-year program to educate consumers on the critical importance of sleep. The program has been cited by numerous trade and national-consumer media as a leader in leveraging new technologies for communications and new sleep-related products.
“SleepBetter.org’s new look is fantastic and underneath that appealing design, there are powerful features built into the code. The new site includes intuitive site navigation, social sharing tools and improved SEO design,” said Schecter. “SleepBetter.org is the center of Carpenter Co.’s year-over-year effort to encourage Americans to focus on sleep issues. Over the past year we have been busy improving our industry-leading assets. We redesigned the Sweet Dreams eNewsletter and the Zzzz Score™, we announced our new Sleep M.D., generated the explosive growth of our Facebook fans (currently: 160,000 fans), and the new website now integrates them all seamlessly.”
SleepBetter.org’s new features include:
- A prominent, interactive “Dr. Lisa Shives, the Sleep M.D.” section
- A media room for journalists to quickly get information, images and quotes from SleepBetter
- A social media hover bar keeps all SleepBetter social media sites accessible and in a fixed location at the top left of the site on all content pages
- Zzzz Score integration – the new Zzzz Score is the prominent “app” on the site
- Flyout navigation tabs aid site navigation without the visitor leaving the front page (for example, to the right of the seal, a user can rollover “Sleep Info”, or “Recommended Products” and get a flyout preview menu of the content and sections to navigate to)
- “Breadcrumb” navigation. When going deeper into the site users no longer need to rely on their “back” button to navigate to previous content. Rather, the headline shows visitors what their navigation trail is and it can be clicked to back up or slide over to other sections
- Social media feeds are incorporated in many sections of the site, giving content from Facebook and Twitter more visibility.
- A prominent call out box on the home page highlights the most recent article posts.
- Increased searchability for users who are seeking information on a specific topic.
“SleepBetter.org’s new features are part of Carpenter Co.’s culture of continuous improvement in everything we do, we are always looking ahead for ways to leverage today’s technology to get America to Sleep Better – whether through new bedding technologies like IsoFresh™, online applications like the Zzzz Score™ or by encouraging our Facebook fans to become sleep ambassadors, we are constantly innovating.”
A History of SleepBetter Innovations:
- SleepBetter.org – the flagship consumer outreach platform for SleepBetter, it has become the most robust sleep-information and tips site on the web. It features a catalog of hundreds of original articles, analysis on the latest scientific sleep studies, original research, expert advice and the Zzzz Score™ – an online sleep assessment tool. The website has been visited millions of times since its inception, it has been sourced by hundreds of media outlets and it receives a steady stream of inquiries from consumers including students who use the site for projects and reports.
- Social Media – SleepBetter has been at the forefront of the industry in social-media engagement. It has developed a huge and active Facebook community, it has tweeted for years and was one of the first bedding brands with a Pinterest account. It produced a massively-viral online video with the Rhett & Link’s “2 Guys 600 Pillows” (more than 5 million views for the original video alone) which won two Webby awards (the Oscars of the internet) and was named one of Time.com’s “Best of Everything” for 2010.
- Marketing Events – Over the years, in order to spread the message of getting a good night’s sleep, SleepBetter has produced a variety of sleep-themed community awareness campaigns. SleepBetter has partnered with superstars like Betty White and Jewel, it has created the only scientific study of college-students bedding, taken over towns like Pillow, PA and Stephenville, TX – all to remind American’s of the critical importance of sleep in their lives and to encourage them to invest in the best sleep equipment available. Hundreds of media outlets have covered these efforts, including USA Today, Live! with Regis and Kelly, People.com and Entertainment Tonight.
- Sleep Expert –SleepBetter has partnered with Dr. Lisa Shives, “The Sleep M.D.” and leading sleep medicine expert who translates the latest in sleep medicine into easy-to-understand sleep tips and information. Her expertise has been sought after by publications like Fitness, SELF, Parents, Redbook, Men’s Health and The Doctors. “Ask Dr. Lisa” a regular series of consumer “Q & A” with Doctor Shives on SleepBetter.org and its Facebook page has no peer in the industry.
- eNewsletter – “Sweet Dreams,” the unique eNewsletter for SleepBetter provides monthly sleep tips and information in an easy to read image-based format to thousands subscribers.
About Carpenter Co.
Carpenter Co. is the largest manufacturer of comfort cushioning products in the world. The Richmond, Va.-based company manufactures a wide variety of polyurethane foam and polyester fiber products, all designed to make the world more comfortable. Born and built in the United States, Carpenter Co. has a 64-year history of designing the world’s most comfortable products and remains on the cutting edge of product development, creating innovative products that improve sleep and enhance active lifestyles. The Carpenter Co. Consumer Products Division offers a familiar line of trusted products, including Isotonic®, AmbientTM and IsoCool™ by Isotonic® pillows, mattress pads and neck pillows as well as comfort technologies like Avena™ and Avela™ and new technologies like IsoFresh™. For more information, visit www.carpenter.com.
About SleepBetter.org
Created by Carpenter Co., SleepBetter.org is dedicated to helping people sleep better. Designed as an online resource, the website creates a forum for visitors to define, discuss and discover solutions to fit their particular sleep needs. SleepBetter.org’s quest is to continually gather pertinent sleep information and share this knowledge with the general public. The site also shares tips on the best sleep-related products, both in stores and online. SleepBetter.org has created the SleepBetter seal as a way to easily identify products recommended for their superior quality or scientifically based design. For more information, please visit www.SleepBetter.org.
# # #
