Casper: Founded in 2014, New York-based Casper is perhaps the most well-known among new entrants likely due to its unusual and effective marketing techniques. It has raised $240 million in VC investment, including those from celebrity investors Ashton Kutcher and Leonardo DiCaprio. Since inception, its product line has expanded to include pillows, sheets, a dog bed, and beyond. Casper has more than 300 employees and in 2016 it generated over $200 million.

1. VARDA SHAIKH
18S-MBA-BS19
CASPER CASE STUDY
1. How significant a threat are the direct to consumer mattress firms to
traditional big mattress?
Company profile:
Casper: Founded in 2014, New York-based Casper is
perhaps the most well-known among new entrants likely
due to its unusual and effective marketing techniques. It
has raised $240 million in VC investment, including those
from celebrity investors Ashton Kutcher and Leonardo
DiCaprio. Since inception, its product line has expanded to
include pillows, sheets, a dog bed, and beyond. Casper has more than 300 employees and in 2016
it generated over $200 million.
Direct to consumer mattress firms threat to traditional big mattress:
The traditional manufacturers (Serta, Simmons and
Sealy) sold mattress primarily at department stores,
mattress-specific retailers such as Mattress Firm and
Sleepy's, and local or regional furniture stores, like
Raymour & Flanigan and Art Van. At that time,
selling online wasn't a part of the playbook, mainly
due to high shipping costs, but all of that changed
with the creation of the "bed-in-a-box" technology in
2007. When the technology was invented to put foam
mattresses in a box, so that one company rider could
carry it to the door and one could carry it upstairs to
the bedroom itself, then company no longer needed brick-and-mortar in every city. This direct to
consumer concept was a big threat to the traditional big mattress firms.
2. How was Casper able to differentiate itself from other direct to consumer
firms? Why was it able to pass by direct to consumer pioneer tuft and
needle?
Casper had a singular vision: produce one high-quality mattress model, sell it at an affordable price
online, and deliver it quickly, for free, with a 100-day trial period. The idea was so simple and
smart that the New York-based online mattress company raised $1.85 million in its first round of
funding and left its competitors all behind.
Casper was able to differentiate itself from other direct to consumer firms:
Unlike other direct to consumer firms, Casper realized that a fast and free shipping solution, and
the ability for customers to try the product at home, were pivotal to their success. By designing a
mattress that could be compressed to fit inside a box, they could deliver their products via UPS at
a tenth of the price of shipping a regular mattress.

2. VARDA SHAIKH
18S-MBA-BS19
CASPER CASE STUDY
By selling directly to the
consumer via the e-
commerce store, Casper
was also able to
undercut the price of
comparable mattresses
significantly. Casper
also decided on a price
point based on what they
felt customers would be
willing to pay.
3. Evaluate Casper’s promotional strategy from launch to September 2015.
Did the initial focus on ‘earned’ rather than paid, media make sense? Why
or why not?
Before Casper came along, mattresses were a $7 billion industry dominated by a tiny group of
highly consolidated manufacturers and retailers. Mark-ups were sometimes reaching 100%, and
the shopping process was widely perceived to be unpleasant and confusing - including the
inevitable final effort to get a new mattress up a flight of narrow stairs.
However, Philip Krim, Neil Parikh, T. Luke Sherwin, Jeff Chapin, and Gabriel Flateman, thought
of a way to do things better - and Casper was born in 2014. Casper offered just a single mattress
in a selection of sizes, and that was it. The mattress came vacuum-compressed in a box, and
automatically decompressed when unpacked. By removing the confusion and stress from
purchasing a new mattress, Casper has gone from strength to strength.
Casper’s promotional strategy:
As Lindsay Kaplan, Casper’s VP of communications and brand engagement said in one interview:
“Our strategy from the start has been to change perceptions about mattress shopping and create a
community around sleep in a playful and creative way, with a genuine voice”.
 Reinvent the Buying Experience:
Buying a mattress was once a complicated affair. First, you had to browse several furniture stores
to compare prices. Then, you had to choose a type of mattress (open spring, pocket spring, etc.).
More, you had to test its firmness depending on your preferred sleeping position, height, and
weight. Next, you had to choose an appropriate size (single, double, king size, etc.). Finally, after
making a decision, you had to negotiate with a pushy salesperson trying to upsell you. And that
was just the beginning. Once bought, you had to guide the delivery man through your home,
praying he wouldn’t damage your new mattress before setting it down.

3. VARDA SHAIKH
18S-MBA-BS19
CASPER CASE STUDY
Today, it’s a VERY different experience. While buying a mattress in-store is still common, Casper
has reinvented what it means to buy a mattress. Gone are the days of awkwardly lying on a mattress
in front of a salesman and then waiting around all day for a delivery. Today, with a few clicks of
a mouse, you can order a mattress from the comfort of your home and have it delivered for free
within a 60-minute window of your choice. Casper’s reinvention of the buying experience runs
throughout their marketing, beginning top-of-funnel with their Google search ads.
4. What is the appropriate mission for Casper communication? To chief
creative officer Luke Sherman “it’s all about brand love”. To CEO Philip
Krim its “sales performance in the short term”.
Buying a mattress is traditionally a try-it-and-see shopping experience, but Casper disrupts this by
selling just a single ‘universally comfortable’ model. With studies showing that too much choice
leads to more stress and less satisfaction, this might prove to be preferable for consumers. Casper
draws in its audience with a focus on convenience and value for money. As well as shipping and
delivering its mattress in a special vacuum-packed box, it offers a tempting 100-day trial and free
returns. By recognizing the fact that purchasing a bed is a rare and drawn-out experience, and
deliberately disrupting it, Casper’s business model could prove to be a game-changer.
 Both the copy and design on Casper’s website is beautifully engaging. It attracts consumers
with a friendly, conversational and reassuring tone of voice – but it’s not the only way
Casper utilizes copy.
 It has two blogs – both designed to entertain and retain customers. The first, Pillow Talk, is a
tongue-in-cheek take on everything bed-related. From ‘The cutest Casper sleepers’ to ‘Eight
reasons why this blog post is trying to sell you a mattress’, it is a reflection of the brand’s fun
and offbeat personality. The second, Van Winkle’s, is an independent publication that’s
dedicated to all things sleep-related. The aim of Van Winkle does not appear to directly
promote or sell Casper mattresses (the brand is absent apart from a couple of links at the
bottom of the homepage) – instead, it looks to be an extension of the brand as a lifestyle.
 Alongside its editorial offering, Casper also wins the hearts of its millennial audience on
social. Often tweeting customers using GIFs and emoji, it is unafraid to take the informal
style of its main ecommerce site and ramp it up a notch.