RETAIL THERAPY

TitleRETAIL THERAPY
BrandIKEA
Product/ServiceFURNITURE
Category C01. Use of Digital in a PR campaign
Entrant AKESTAM HOLST NOA Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation AKESTAM HOLST NOA Stockholm, SWEDEN
Media Placement MEC Stockholm, SWEDEN
PR AKESTAM HOLST NOA Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production AKESTAM HOLST NOA Stockholm, SWEDEN
Credits
Name Company Position
Magnus Jakobsson Åkestam Holst Creative Director
Caroline Andersson Åkestam Holst NoA Art Director
Felicia Jensen Åkestam Holst NoA Copywriter
Jerker Winther Åkestam Holst Planner
Karl Andersson Åkestam Holst NoA Planner
Ida Persson Åkestam Holst PR Director
Digge Zetterberg Odh Åkestam Holst NoA PR Director
Kjell Månsson Åkestam Holst Account Executive
Mimmi Morén Åkestam Holst NoA Account Manager
Alex Picha Åkestam Holst NoA Digital Producer
Anna Lundeborg Åkestam Holst NoA Digital Strategist
Kalle Peterz Åkestam Holst NoA Web Developer
Eric Karlsson Åkestam Holst NoA Motion Designer
Carin Jacobsson IKEA Client Supervisor
Maria Granath IKEA Client Supervisor
Patrik Nygren-Bonnier IKEA Client Supervisor

The Campaign

The idea was simple - to not just show what the products are, but what they do for IKEAs customers. We deep-dived into the most commonly Googled relationship problems in Sweden, and mapped what really engaged people. Search queries like ”My husband snores”, ”He can’t say he loves me”, ”My son plays too much computer games” etc. And then, building on IKEA history of quirky product names, we renamed a large number of IKEA products after Google searches. Every search for a common relationship problem led to a renamed IKEA product that solved that problem, using only simple AdWords. We called it Retail Therapy. IKEA Retail Therapy invented a new way to use paid search, met consumers with relevant and fun answers on demand when using Google, and showed that IKEA really anticipated and understood the struggles of daily life - and got the consumers to talk about IKEA again.

Execution

The hub of the campaign was http://ikearetailtherapy.com. The site was launched as a ”stealth initiative” without obvious promotion. We bought Google keywords based on the most common search phrases to secure visibility, but gradually the relationship solutions rose in the organic searches as well. The initiative was picked up by international media – from American tv-shows to local newspapers all over the world. Even Google themselves praised the initiative on Twitter, asking ”Nice one IKEA. What’s your solution for ”ate too many Swedish meatballs?”. To which we responded with an IKEA solution. All this drove traffic directly to the campaign site ikearetailtherapy.com, a library of relationship problems, with ”related problems” keeping visitors on the site. When hitting the ”buy-button” you were redirected to IKEA's main shopping site. It was also possible to read about ”democratic design” - IKEA's design philosophy regarding products inspired by life itself.

IKEA turned relationship problems that people only dared confide to Google into the most shared and praised relationship solutions of the year. Tier 1 - Media Outputs IKEA Retail Therapy charmed it's way around the world with an earned media reach of 175 million, 100.000 positive shares on social media and was featured on more than 500 news medias. Tier 2 - Target Audience Outcomes 1,7 million Swedes (out of 9,5) observed the initiative. But most importantly, the perception of IKEA's products changed in line with the campaign specific targets/KPI’s. The liking for IKEAs products increased with 11% and so did the KPI ”IKEA has product for all stages of life” with over 30%. Tier 3 - Business Outcomes The campaign increased the sales of some of the products by over 25%. Last but not least, IKEA Retail Therapy solutions had an astonishing click through rate of 16,13%, compared with the Google average of 0,17% , bringing more people into IKEAs digital store. IKEA had created retail therapy for real, and demonstrated how IKEA’s products can improve the lives of its many customers.

The Situation

IKEA Retail Therapy disrupted the traditional way of using search engine engagement by providing answers to relationship questions you rather not discuss with others. Thus turned awkward relationship problems into the most shared, discussed and praised relationship solutions in social and traditional media. In a time where targeted advertising is criticized in regards to personal integrity, this was achieved with a limited budget and simple AdWord ads. SEM, SEA, SEO, etc. might be as boring as it gets, but IKEA Retail Therapy managed to change the perception of IKEA’s products, raise sales and charm it´s way around the world.

The Strategy

The key insight was that Google has become the common entry point to the problems we all struggle with- a friend we all ask for help. By deep-diving into Google keywords we figured out the most common relationships problems swedes struggles with at home. By knowing the questions people were asking, we could highlight relevant and entertaining IKEA solutions by renaming the products. The target audience was all homeowners, but was in effect self-selecting - when people had a problem they felt was important enough to ask Google about, IKEA had the answer for them By using paid search creatively we gained an element of surprise, a cost-effectiv way of getting attention (no competition for AdWords), but most importantly adressed real emotional issues for IKEA’s customers - live and continuously. We could connect IKEAs products to what people felt were their most pressing issues, here and now.