As any living breathing being can likely attest, (almost) nothing beats a full, great nights’ rest. Between certified long-staple Egyptian cotton and plush feather down pillows, Parachute and Brooklinen have all the fixins’ for an easy night ahead. But what happens when their products are ultra-comfortable, but their marketing efforts are less than enticing? We decided to test these two leading bed-linen brands and see if they’re sleeping on their customers.
But first, a quick reminder of what Brand Prix is all about (and another kind reminder to check out past editions): Adidas vs. Nike, Target vs. Walmart, Banana Republic vs. J.Crew, Gap vs. Zara, and Groupon vs. Living Social.
Introduction
In this series, PostFunnel will follow two competing brands to assess their customer marketing performance. For each case study, we’ll enact a customer journey with the respective brands, documenting every customer interaction that was sent to our testers and give professional inputs and insights from our experience with the brands.
The Companies
Are comfortable sheets enough to make up for sleepy marketing efforts? Let’s meet our brands:
Parachute makes refined bedding and bath goods for the home. The California-based company, which was founded in 2013, raised around $45 million to date. From napkin rings to sateen sheets, this brand offers up a healthy range of home décor essentials. Parachute built their reputation on providing customers with luxe options such as Heathered Percale.
Brooklinen made its debut on the other side of the coast, aiming to cut out the middleman and ‘deliver amazing bedding at a fair price.’ The New York-based company raised around $10 million, becoming one of the most popular direct-to-consumer bedding companies around. They’re known for their variety of bedding colors at a reasonable price point.
Methodology
This round, we gave each tester $400. They engaged with the brand for roughly six weeks on a few different platforms. The PF editorial team and marketing experts then graded the performance based on personalization, strategy, user experience, and overall engagement on all life cycle stages.
We based our analysis on metrics that speak to the data-driven marketer, moved beyond traditional tactics, and instead, approached the shopping experience from the marketer’s POV. Here are our conclusions:
Think we got it right? Or should we have picked another winner? Leave your comments below and tell us what you think, or join the discussion on Twitter and Facebook by using the #BrandPrix hashtag.
Contributors: Liz Barenholtz, Matan Block Temin