Sleeping Beauties
Guerilla, Street & Viral Marketing
Influencer Marketing
Public Relations
Social Media
Project Overview
Unisom is the #1 doctor and pharmacist recommended OTC sleep aid in the sleep category. The sleep category has stagnated post-COVID, and consumers are embracing alternative treatments, wearables, mindfulness apps, sleep-tech companies, and more. Functional sleep messaging has been commonplace with no brand owning the conversation, and therefore no leader of the pack in a crowded market of consumer sleep aids. Unisom had the opportunity to go beyond functional benefits to break through the clutter. Our goal was to build upon and own the ‘sleep expert’ positioning and champion the magic and beauty of sleep to make the Unisom name more deeply connected to sleep and consumers. Data shows that overall, 14.5% of adults had trouble falling asleep and 17.8% of adults had trouble staying asleep (National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, 2020). Research also showed that there were 13.3M mentions of sleep on social media in the past 13 months, but no sleep brands were part of the conversations (Source: Talkwalker, last 13 months, and TikTok).
Details
As the authority on sleep, Unisom wanted to become a prominent voice in the sleep dialogue. And we had our shot with one of the most culturally relevant events of the year — the 2024 Met Gala. The theme of fashion's biggest night out was "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion”... and Unisom couldn't sleep on this opportunity. We had to join in on the conversation with an activation that capitalized on sleeping beauties, quite literally, to draw attention to the beauty of sleep.
Unisom partnered with fashion designer Christian Siriano to design and curate 20 sleep-inspired looks for the models, as well as lend his relevant and credible voice to speak to the importance of sleep in the world of fashion and beauty. It wasn’t just about looking great, it was about blending sleep and style and getting Unisom into the conversation without the brand even needing a table at the Met (for which standard table for 10 starts at $350K.) – we made New York our stage, or bedroom…
On the day of Fashion’s Biggest Night, a group of 20 models, dressed in a Unisom palette of designer gowns with a playful nod to sleepwear, walked through the Upper East Side toward the Met. The models traveled along a choreographed route of iconic NYC locations, from the New York Public Library to Central Park and NY Subway with pre-planned spots for them to pretend to sleep. They were beautiful, eye-catching, and press and Instagram-worthy in every way.
In the lead up to the stunt, Christian participated in media interviews with consumer, lifestyle and beauty outlets, including an exclusive with Women’s Wear Daily, with the model-fitting as the backdrop. He spoke to how authentic the partnership was for him to have the opportunity to create ethereal looks around the beauty of sleep, while also touching on how important sleep is for his own life as a designer. Days before the stunt, he teased the partnership on social media and encouraged his followers to stop by the stunt locations in NYC.
The media exclusive with Women’s Wear Daily – an outlet that doesn’t normally cover OTC brands, exposed Unisom to a whole new audience. Embargoed interviews went live on the day of Fashion’s Biggest Night, and the models made NYC their runway. Branded sleep masks and products were handed out to consumers walking by the eye-catching moments, and they learned about the beauty of sleep in the city that never sleeps.
Christian posted social content amplifying the activation. Following, ten of the models who are also micro-influencers posted the campaign on their social channels.
The Unisom stunt around Fashion’s Biggest Night and the integrated campaign positively impacted brand growth, 4x more than the category rate.
Specifically, seventeen pieces of original coverage were published stemming from Christian’s interviews surrounding his partnership with Unisom, including 22 syndications, generating 241M+ earned media impressions and reaching over 11.3M+ followers on social media to date. Outlets that covered the activation included TODAY.com, The New York Post, US Weekly, HELLO!, and more.
Christian’s social content generated a 2.1M+ organic reach and 2.8M+ organic impressions. The Unisom brand Instagram reel generated a 7.2% engagement rate (industry standard rate is 1.5%), which shows an engaged community given stories are a passive experience. Further, all 10 of models went live with their in-feed Instagram carousels, resulting in an estimated reach of 340.7K+ and 650+ engagements. Several other models organically posted on their channels for additional value-added content, given the excitement around the stunt.
According to a Brand Lift study, Unisom saw 47% increase in aided brand awareness after the launch of The Beauty of Sleep campaign. Among those aware of Unisom post-campaign, consumers perceived the brand as a good value (+20% pre-campaign), having a favorable reputation (+76% pre-campaign), credible (+78% pre-campaign), having quality products (+57% pre-campaign) and committed to improving sleep (+42% pre-campaign).
Unisom partnered with fashion designer Christian Siriano to design and curate 20 sleep-inspired looks for the models, as well as lend his relevant and credible voice to speak to the importance of sleep in the world of fashion and beauty. It wasn’t just about looking great, it was about blending sleep and style and getting Unisom into the conversation without the brand even needing a table at the Met (for which standard table for 10 starts at $350K.) – we made New York our stage, or bedroom…
On the day of Fashion’s Biggest Night, a group of 20 models, dressed in a Unisom palette of designer gowns with a playful nod to sleepwear, walked through the Upper East Side toward the Met. The models traveled along a choreographed route of iconic NYC locations, from the New York Public Library to Central Park and NY Subway with pre-planned spots for them to pretend to sleep. They were beautiful, eye-catching, and press and Instagram-worthy in every way.
In the lead up to the stunt, Christian participated in media interviews with consumer, lifestyle and beauty outlets, including an exclusive with Women’s Wear Daily, with the model-fitting as the backdrop. He spoke to how authentic the partnership was for him to have the opportunity to create ethereal looks around the beauty of sleep, while also touching on how important sleep is for his own life as a designer. Days before the stunt, he teased the partnership on social media and encouraged his followers to stop by the stunt locations in NYC.
The media exclusive with Women’s Wear Daily – an outlet that doesn’t normally cover OTC brands, exposed Unisom to a whole new audience. Embargoed interviews went live on the day of Fashion’s Biggest Night, and the models made NYC their runway. Branded sleep masks and products were handed out to consumers walking by the eye-catching moments, and they learned about the beauty of sleep in the city that never sleeps.
Christian posted social content amplifying the activation. Following, ten of the models who are also micro-influencers posted the campaign on their social channels.
The Unisom stunt around Fashion’s Biggest Night and the integrated campaign positively impacted brand growth, 4x more than the category rate.
Specifically, seventeen pieces of original coverage were published stemming from Christian’s interviews surrounding his partnership with Unisom, including 22 syndications, generating 241M+ earned media impressions and reaching over 11.3M+ followers on social media to date. Outlets that covered the activation included TODAY.com, The New York Post, US Weekly, HELLO!, and more.
Christian’s social content generated a 2.1M+ organic reach and 2.8M+ organic impressions. The Unisom brand Instagram reel generated a 7.2% engagement rate (industry standard rate is 1.5%), which shows an engaged community given stories are a passive experience. Further, all 10 of models went live with their in-feed Instagram carousels, resulting in an estimated reach of 340.7K+ and 650+ engagements. Several other models organically posted on their channels for additional value-added content, given the excitement around the stunt.
According to a Brand Lift study, Unisom saw 47% increase in aided brand awareness after the launch of The Beauty of Sleep campaign. Among those aware of Unisom post-campaign, consumers perceived the brand as a good value (+20% pre-campaign), having a favorable reputation (+76% pre-campaign), credible (+78% pre-campaign), having quality products (+57% pre-campaign) and committed to improving sleep (+42% pre-campaign).
