Wakefit.co's video content during Diwali helps brand double subscriber base

Anybody who has shopped for a mattress at a store will relate to that uneasy feeling of being taken for a ride. The so-called discounted rates, the relentless industry jargon, and the overwhelming sense of chaos are all-too-familiar experiences. So, this Diwali, the sleep solutions start-up Wakefit.co launched a social media video ‘Online vs Offline Shopping | Funny Honest Shopping Experience’, showcasing the problems faced by people when they go to buy mattresses offline in a humorous manner.

The video:

Within a week, the satirical YouTube video garnered over one million views.

The Bengaluru-based start-up’s subscriber base doubled in seven days after the campaign launch. In fact, during Phase 1 of their Diwali sale, they recorded a 163% increase over the weekly festive revenue from last year and sold a total of 30,000 units.

Commenting on the campaign, Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Co-founder and Director, Wakefit.co, said, “We have been hearing customer stories on how shopping for mattresses at stores is an unpleasant experience. Once they switch to online shopping, they are pleasantly surprised to discover that it can be a stress-free and cost-effective endeavour. Our latest campaign captures this reality in a delightful, tongue-in-cheek manner. We are thrilled that so many people could relate to the video. Hopefully, this will pave the way for more demand for online mattress shopping.”

In order to highlight the maddening confusion that consumers face when they set out to buy a mattress, Wakefit.co campaign adopts a comical take on the mattress shopping experience at local mattress stores. Typically, in a local mattress store, the salesman tries to get consumers to buy mattress variants that are likely to fetch them a good commission. They upsell mattresses with superficial qualities and aren’t really concerned with the sleep quality per se. What’s more, these mattresses are priced exorbitantly, with hidden costs of middlemen, overhead costs and the like. The campaign encourages consumers to look beyond the world of phoney mattress stores and to get online for a hassle-free mattress shopping experience.

The brand aims to reach one million customers by next year, clocking revenues to the tune of Rs 300 crore.

Traditionally, mattresses in India have been a part of ‘impulse buying’ and ‘need-based’ purchase for customers. Only if a customer was moving to a new house or shifting cities, would he/she buy a mattress — and that too from a neighbourhood shop selling ‘gaddas’. Even today, over 80% of the mattress industry in India is unorganised and unbranded.