Case Study: IKEA

The Way It Was

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IKEA has been in business for over 20 years and accounts for the largest portion of worldwide sales.

IKEA is known for offering affordable and well-designed furniture at prices so low that the majority of people can afford to buy them. IKEA has established a brand character that is light-hearted and imaginative.

The Challenges

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German economy was still reeling from the costs of reunification. Tastes generally favor heavy, dark wood furniture - the antithesis of IKEA product.

Some of the most discerning and demanding consumers worldwide, Germans expected quality and superior engineering in all products and goods.

The Insights

ikea_rightAlthough awareness of IKEA was very high, German consumers saw the store as boring and staid, offering cheap, inferior quality furnishing. However, IKEA was also the source of good Swedish ideas which separated it from its competitors.

The Actions

Initiated a strategic shift away from simply selling products to providing affordable home innovations. Done with a sense of whimsy and quirkiness that defines IKEA's creativity, this campaign reinforced the IKEA proposition of great design at affordable prices.

The objectives for the Swedish Solutions Campaign was to increase awareness of IKEA, to drive store traffic and visitor frequency by constantly offering a reason to come to the store.

The television campaign included both long (25 or 20 seconds) and short-format (10 seconds) spots. The ten-second spots focus on a single product and price-point and were intentionally provocative and in-your-face while The 20 and 25 second commercials support specific in-store activities.

The Results

2002 Effie Award in Silver for Swedish Solutions Campaign.

IKEA campaign resulted in over 10% growth in store traffic and sales increase of 12%

IKEA Germany continued to grow, led the industry in-store traffic figures despite an overall sluggish retail market.

IKEA Germany is now one of the top ten most recognized brands in Germany up from ranking of 188 seven years ago.

In 2001"Kontakter Magazine", the German equivalent of Advertising Age, awarded the best campaign and best TV spot to IKEA advertising.