Sleep Startup Casper Is Reimagining Labor Day Mattress Sales With This Ingenious PR Ploy Ahoy, mattress shoppers!

If Labor Day mattress sales have become something of a seasonal staple, sleep startup Casper is aiming to put its own irreverent spin on a tradition that CEO Philip Krim says "has become almost laughable."

Mattress sales on Labor Day (and Memorial Day) originated because these holidays tend to be popular moving dates when school is beginning and ending, explains Krim, and shoppers are frequently in the market for a new bed. But brash posters from traditional retailers proclaiming 'Closeout Sales' and 'Lowest Prices Ever' tend to be largely meaningless, he says.

"These pricing gimmicks are just ways that they trick consumers into feeling like they got a deal. But in reality, there is no objective pricing standard -- there's no Kelley Blue Book of mattresses."