Purple Innovations
Purple Innovations
Product & Project Manager - Pillows
Aug 2021 - Current
Hi.
Claire Proudfoot
Product Manager 5 yrs
Turning ambiguity into roadmaps, cross-functional momentum, and consumer-driven product decisions.
View My Work
$70M
Projected roadmap revenue.
6
Product launches resulting in 300K+ units sold to date.
1,180
Walmart stores reached.
20%
Increase in pillow net revenue.
Thomas Arts
Thomas Arts
Associate Account Manager - Aetna/CVS
Apr 2020 - Aug 2021
Vestmark
Vestmark
Marketing Intern
Jun 2019 - Aug 2019
Category building
Strategy
Built product and campaign direction that connected customer needs, portfolio gaps, margin goals, and executive alignment.
Purple Innovations
- Led pillow-category strategy from roadmap through operating model, securing support for a $70M incremental-revenue plan and driving a 20% net revenue increase.
- Expanded channel strategy across DTC, wholesale, and national retail while scaling project-management practices and PM onboarding.
Thomas Arts
- Shaped integrated Aetna Medicare and Veteran campaign briefs while keeping seven brands aligned on messaging, brand standards, and compliance.
Vestmark
- Built annual marketing planning recommendations covering budget, campaign strategy, and performance metrics.
University of Utah
University of Utah
- Developed reorganization recommendations with Universidad Francisco Marroquín students for Tigo Guatemala to reduce profit cannibalization risk.
Purple Innovations
- Built and secured executive support for a pillow product roadmap projected to drive $70M in incremental revenue.
- Drove a 20% increase in net revenue for the pillow category by identifying market opportunities and executing product strategies to fill portfolio gaps.
- Developed key product strategies to expand Purple's pillow category across DTC, wholesale, and national retail channels.
- Designed and rolled out a scalable project management process that improved task tracking and cross-functional collaboration across the organization.
- Onboarded and trained two new project managers to support improved project execution and team scalability.
Thomas Arts
- Drove the development of integrated marketing briefs for Aetna Medicare and Veteran-focused campaigns across email, digital display, and landing pages.
- Supported campaign strategy and execution across seven Aetna brands, ensuring consistent messaging, brand alignment, and compliance across consumer touchpoints.
Vestmark
- Developed an annual marketing plan including budget allocation, campaign strategies, and performance metrics to drive brand visibility and market growth.
University of Utah
- Proposed strategic solutions for an internal reorganization project with students at Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala to help Tigo Guatemala avoid profit cannibalization.
Strategy into product direction
Market signal into decisions
Research
Translated competitive analysis, market trend discovery, campaign planning, and stakeholder synthesis to sharpen product and messaging decisions before teams committed resources.
Purple Innovations
- Converted market trends, category gaps, customer needs, and cannibalization analysis into pillow roadmap and launch decisions that supported 115K+ units sold.
- Led six pre-launch A/B product tests with 400+ research participants, plus in-home consumer validation with Purple’s Consumer Insights team.
Vestmark
- Delivered competitor SWOT insights and recommendations to senior marketing leadership.
University of Utah
- Analyzed organizational challenges with international business students and recommended solutions for Tigo Guatemala.
Purple Innovations
- Discovered market trends and category gaps that informed Purple's pillow product roadmap and new product development strategy.
- Evaluated new pillow segments and customer needs to support the launch of four new pillows, contributing to 115K+ units sold.
- Assessed category performance and cannibalization risk, helping new product launches exceed top- and bottom-line expectations with little to no cannibalization.
- Led six blind product-feature A/B tests with 400+ research participants, to validate pre-launch concepts and confirm product direction aligned with consumer needs.
- Collaborated with Purple’s Consumer Insights team on six in-home use tests against consumers’ current pillows to evaluate performance and ensure products exceeded customer expectations.
Vestmark
- Conducted a thorough SWOT analysis of competitors and delivered insights and recommendations to the Chief Marketing Officer and Senior VP of Marketing.
University of Utah
- Collaborated with international business students to analyze organizational challenges and recommend solutions for Tigo Guatemala.
Research translated into sharper decisions
Execution at retail scale
Launches
Led cross-functional execution for pillow launches across product, marketing, operations, wholesale, and DTC channels, with measurable growth and national retail reach.
Purple Innovations
- Launched four of six new pillows, scaled GridCloud to 1,180 Walmart stores, drove 115K+ units sold, and helped the category reach 12% YoY sales growth.
- Accelerated DreamLayer two months early, improved gross margin by 6%, and supported award-winning launches recognized by major media outlets.
Thomas Arts
- Managed campaign timelines and assets across 40+ team members for Aetna/CVS work reaching up to 55 million consumers.
Purple Innovations
- Launched four of six new pillows targeting new pillow segments, resulting in 115K+ units sold and performance in line with forecast.
- Expanded nationwide distribution by launching the GridCloud™ pillow in 1,180 Walmart stores and sister SKUs in nationwide HomeGoods and Sam’s Club locations.
- Launched the FlexCloud pillow in Sam’s Club with a unique in-store display built for the club channel.
- Accelerated the DreamLayer pillow line extension launch two months ahead of schedule by building a detailed Jira timeline, tracking cross-functional tasks, and leading strategy sessions to remove roadblocks.
- Contributed to a 6% increase in omni-channel gross margin through the DreamLayer line extension launch and improved execution.
- Launched three new pillows in 2023 that exceeded top- and bottom-line expectations, helping the pillow category achieve a 12% year-over-year sales increase despite challenging macroeconomic conditions.
-
Product awards and category recognition:
- Men’s Health Magazine “Most Versatile Pillow 2024” - Purple Harmony Anywhere Pillow
- Good Housekeeping “Best Bedding Award” - Purple Harmony Pillow
- Real Simple’s 2025 Smart Sleep Awards “The Universal Pillow” - Purple DreamLayer Pillow, featured on Good Morning America
Thomas Arts
- Managed project timelines and assets across 40+ creative, technical, and production team members to deliver high-impact, on-brand campaign content on deadline and within scope.
- Supported the full lifecycle of Aetna/CVS campaigns across email, digital display, landing pages, and other marketing touchpoints, reaching up to 55 million consumers.
Launch execution across channels
For product work that needs consumer-driven decisions, cleaner alignment, and a confident path to launch.
GridCloud Pillow
Expanded into 1,180 Walmart stores with sister SKUs launched through nationwide HomeGoods and Sam’s Club locations.
DreamLayer Pillow
Line extension accelerated two months ahead of schedule and tied to a 6% omni-channel gross margin increase.
Harmony Pillow
A multiple award-winning pillow with a 9% margin increase driven through cost-savings work.
Harmony Anywhere Pillow
Travel pillow recognized by Men’s Health as the Most Versatile Pillow in 2024.
Freeform Pillow
An adjustable pillow that lets consumers personalize comfort to their needs, with neck-roll chambers that offer optional, targeted support.
Aetna Medicare Communications
Integrated Medicare and veteran-focused Medicare advertising campaigns across email, display, landing pages, and print media.
About me
A love for trying new things while staying down to earth.
I am a product manager who likes the messy middle: turning open-ended business problems into clear strategy, industry and competitive insights, and launches that actually make a difference in people’s lives. My work has centered on consumer products, retail expansion, and cross-functional communication that creates clarity in complex situations.
- I obsess over what consumers need and want, then translate that signal into a roadmap.
- I like building processes that make projects easier, faster, and less dependent on heroics.
- I love working with a team that is ready to dive in and get things done.
- I am happiest when I am making memories with my friends and family.
