The Marriott mattress is majestic, relevant

I'm going to a Marriott property tomorrow to attend Mike Sansone's blogging seminar. Too bad I won't be staying in a room overnight, because Marriott has hit relevance on the head as far as I'm concerned. It's right there in the mattress. Those pillow-top mattresses are something to behold. They just cradle you so gently that you can't help but sleep.

Marriott decided that a good night's sleep was a relevant part of the Marriott experience, so they replaced all the mattresses in every single Marriott property over the past few years. Seth Godin blogged about the bad advertising last September: luckily, the mattress is better than the ad.

Marriott is working hard to manage its brand by focusing on performance and making sure that the Marriott brand is different, inviting, relevant and truthful. In this case, the implied promise that you’ll get a good night’s sleep is inviting, but it’s the mattress itself that is one of the most relevant brand components. More importantly for the business traveler; it's truthful.

At it again
Marriott is at it again, trying to be relevant to women travelers. In this article (registration required), you’ll read that they’re working with geniuses at IDEO to reinvent the extended stay hotel. Except for the part where they say they followed travelers around, it seems like they’re really getting to understand the female traveler so they can be even more relevant.

Marriott is one of the ones that gets it!