Memory foam concrete

We’ve supported The Archer Project in Sheffield for a number of years. This winter, they needed to generate donations to continue their work with the city’s homeless. As well as raising funds, they wanted an idea that would spark media interest to gain further attention.

The thought of sleeping on cold, hard streets is even more impactful in winter. So we created a campaign to highlight this stark issue, in a way that contrasted with the warm beds most of us go home to. The concept of ‘Concrete Dreamz Mattress Emporium’ allowed us to play on the familiar language of bed and mattress retailers. The loud visual style was also a great way to grab attention from shoppers in the heart of Sheffield City Centre where we secured space for our ‘shop’. There, concrete paving slabs were displayed as mattresses and park benches as bunk beds. There were even ‘accessories’, including rubbish bags and breeze blocks for pillows, unfolded cardboard mattress protectors, sleeping bag duvets, and cardboard boxes with bedside drawers, alarm clocks and lamps drawn on them.

Donations reached a record high, helping the charity to continue their work. The eye-catching stunt also generated media attention, with filming from both BBC and ITV news as well as local and national radio coverage.