The ALL Industry Event for Mattress Manufacturers, Retailers and Suppliers

ISPA Industry Conference Wrap-Up...

Beautiful weather, a historic setting and a timely, dynamic program greeted the 200-plus mattress manufacturers, suppliers and retailers at the ISPA Industry Conference, March 16-18 in
St. Petersburg, FL.

"In our industry, we've gone back to the basics—quality, value and trust. It's real simple," said ISPA Past Chairman Don Wright, who kicked off 2 ½-day event.

Fitting for a conference set on the Gulf waters, keynote speaker Roch Parayre explored the "Blue Ocean" concept. Stop bloodying the waters by beating up on competitors in terms of price and me-too product launches and start exploring uncontested "blue waters" of new opportunities—whether those are innovative, marketing-changing products or new business models, he told attendees.

"If you were a new player entering the marketing, would you constitute your business the way it exists today?" Parayre, a fellow at the Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School, asked the audience. "If you wouldn't enter the market the way you're currently playing, why are you playing that way?"

Other speakers and panels picked up on the idea of using new strategies to reshape your business, offering ideas for redesigning the customer experience, tapping the power of social and digital media, and redefining the manufacturer-retailer partnership.

Attendees also got important updates on the mattress industry’s advances on the sustainability front and ISPA’s government relations efforts on both the federal and state level.

Networking is always a big part of the conference and, in addition to two fun-filled evening parties and the ever-popular golf tournament, the new ISPA Women’s Network held its first cocktail reception.

The next Industry Conference is slated for March 2013.