Sleep Country-owned brand Endy has joined the WNBA as its official sleep partner in Canada, marking the brand’s biggest partnership to date.
The multi-year relationship is kicking off with a nationwide campaign dubbed “The Beauty of Sleep,” which emphasizes the importance of rest for success on and off the court. The campaign is coming to life through the brand’s landing page, where Canadians can sign a “Beauty of Sleep Pledge” to prioritize their sleep, and enter to win a trip to Vancouver for the WNBA Canada game.
The media strategy also includes a TV commercial that will broadcast during WNBA games in Canada on TSN, Sportsnet and NBATV Canada, as well as a collaboration with WNBA star Aaliyah Edwards, who will highlight how sleep is an important component of her recovery as the new brand ambassador. Later this month, the company will also sell a limited edition sweatshirt co-branded with “The Beauty of Sleep.”
Endy handled the most of the work in-house, with the exception of Pirate Sound providing audio support for the TV spot.
Julia Cooper, the brand’s VP of marketing, tells MiC that teaming up with Edwards to showcase her passion for sleep as an elite athlete helped put a personal touch on the partnership. While the company has previously collaborated with athletes like Andre De Grasse during the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, this marks its first significant multi-year deal.
“We really thought carefully about how and where we wanted to share the news of this partnership with the league, our endorsement of Edwards, and our Beauty of Sleep Pledge,” says Cooper. “What we leaned into is the power of our owned and operated channels to engage our existing community – from email marketing campaigns, to social media, to a dedicated landing page on Endy.com.”
According to her, the timing is ideal for the partnership, given the current momentum in women’s sports globally. With Canada set to launch its own WNBA team in 2026 (the first outside the U.S.), the team also saw an opportunity to build trust with a growing and engaged fan base.
“The league’s fanbase aligns closely with our target audience. It’s very diverse: while you may expect women’s sports to be predominantly watched by women, fans are actually split between genders,” Cooper says. “WNBA fans also span across Canada, with new Canadians strongly represented.”
Both the partnership and campaign align with Endy’s “Rise to Shine” platform, launched two years ago, which emphasizes the importance of prioritizing sleep. The brand aims to reinforce this message, as many people view mattress purchases as unnecessary, notes Cooper. She adds that the partnership highlights the link between rest and recovery, citing research that shows insufficient sleep can reduce muscle repair by 18%, slow reaction times by 30-40%, and increase injury risk 1.7x.
“The beauty of sleep is realizing that rest is productive, and slowing down is a part of showing up. It’s proof that greatness doesn’t come from the grind, it comes from knowing when to pause,” she says. “We believe in the power of sleep to fuel you, and our Beauty of Sleep pledge, which we launched in tandem with our partnership announcement, reframes sleep as something active that you do to invest in your future self.”
