SUB CATEGORY :

RETAIL, LEISURE & ENTERTAINMENT

ENTRANT COMPANY :

OGILVY & MATHER (PHILIPPINES), INC., MANILA

TITLE :

THIS IS AN IKEA STORE

BRAND :

IKEA

ADVERTISER :

IKEA PHILIPPINES

AGENCY :

OGILVY, MANILA

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER :

ELLY PUYAT

MANAGING DIRECTOR :

MONA GARCIA

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER :

REED COLLINS/GEORGE SUGITOMO

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

CHINO JAYME

CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

KARL GARCIA/RAYNA REYES

ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

SAM DEDEL/HENRI GLO/MARK MENDOZA/
JOE YUHICO/REU FERMIN

ART DIRECTOR :

ALAINE SERRANO/ERIK BELBIS/ELAINE DIVINA/
RALPH GUIBANI/AVA ABOY/AUDREY FONTILLA/
TRINA SULIT/AIREEN REMOTO

COPYWRITER :

RACHEL COATES/MARJILL SAN DIEGO

AGENCY PRODUCER :

BINGLE VIÑA/HAZEL CORPUZ

PROJECT MANAGER :

WEEDS VALENZUELA/KRIZETTE GUTIERREZ/KRING DELA CRUZ

DESIGNER :

RAFFY CASTANEDA/RAFA VILLON/JOSEPH BUELA/MANNY GALLO/
CHARLES GARCIA

BUSINESS STRATEGY DIRECTOR :

TONI TIU

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR :

ANGELA NUNEZ

ACCOUNT MANAGER :

RICHARD RESURRECCION

STRATEGIC PLANNING DIRECTOR :

MAAN BERNARDINO

STRATEGIC PLANNING MANAGER :

RIA TAGULINAO

STRATEGIC PLANNER :

BEA CERDA

EDITOR :

DAYN HINKLE/JOHANN TANHUECO

CAMPAIGN SUMMARY :

How does a retail brand close the gap between high demand and low accessibility—when it can’t build more stores?

IKEA Philippines made a breakthrough by bringing the IKEA experience to Filipinos who couldn't visit its one and only store.

The brand recognized the strong role of media placements in purchasing behavior, and created an immersive experience using a multi-channel strategy. It built over 900 retail ‘sampling’ locations that led shoppers to IKEA.ph, and generated a 30% increase in website transactions and the brand’s strongest e-commerce performance yet.

INSIGHT :

In 2021, IKEA opened its first store in the Philippines with a vision “to create a better everyday life for the many people.”

However, with only one store out of 7,107 Philippine islands, they could not reach many Filipinos the way stores in other countries could. Unable to open up new physical stores, they created an online store to service more parts of the country.

The brand was dependent on IKEA.ph for its business growth. Unfortunately, the website’s performance remained flat due to (1) poor awareness, (2) intense competition from e-commerce marketplaces, and (3) the proliferation of fake online IKEA stores which caused public distrust for buying IKEA online.

Hence the following objectives:

- Business: Grow sales despite physical store limitations
- Marketing: Drive IKEA.ph website activity (the only official online store)
- Communications: Drive awareness for IKEA.ph as the go-to alternative to the one physical IKEA store

The creative solution was inspired by a shopper insight: While e-commerce can offer IKEA products to shoppers, online shopping misses out on what makes IKEA, IKEA. The brand is all about bringing its wide-ranging catalogue to life, inviting shoppers to see, touch, and experience their dream spaces.

This shifted the brand’s perspective: more than product accessibility, the gap IKEA truly needed to bridge was experience accessibility. They needed to deliver the IKEA physical experience at scale.

If fans couldn’t come to IKEA, IKEA would bring the store to them. They turned everyday spaces into showrooms—from clinics, to gyms, beaches, restaurants, spas, and salons. These high traffic areas were the perfect touchpoints for people to try IKEA away from IKEA. Scanning the tags led them directly to the website where customization and purchase could happen without the long lines.

STRATEGY :

As this was a matter of awareness, IKEA could pump money into standard ads. But this would hardly make IKEA.ph stand out versus nationwide retailers and e-commerce giants. So what would?

Gathering insights through social scans and interviews, the brand realized that what made the store a unique and enviable experience was:
- The immersive experience of trying out beds and sofas
- The entertainment of going through various showrooms
- The social currency of having visited the store

This shifted the brand’s perspective: more than product accessibility, the gap IKEA truly needed to bridge was experience accessibility.

A truth about the brand is that online shopping misses out on what makes IKEA, IKEA: bringing its catalogue to life, allowing shoppers to see and experience their dream spaces.

If fans couldn’t come to IKEA, IKEA would bring the shop to them by transforming every possible online & offline touchpoint into an IKEA store—putting IKEA everywhere.

Key audience insights that informed the touchpoint selection:

Urban-dwellers:
- Identified spots relevant to their lifestyle and interests such salons, gyms, food establishments, and clinics
- Turned Grab cars (the country’s biggest ride-hailing service) into roving ads around the city
- Identified cities where customers with a high likelihood to buy live

Values experiences with friends and family:
- Hijacked outdoor sites such as beaches, resorts, and camping sites

Avid social media users:
- Selected a range of influencers who were popular amongst the audience

CREATIVITY IDEA :

To launch big and reimagine the immersive experience:
- IKEA brought the catalog to life in partner sites by placing products in public places such as restaurants, salons, gyms, clinics, and beaches. Price tags and decals were attached lead to IKEA.ph when scanned.

To close the physical accessibility gap:
- Public transport, Grab cars (taxis), IKEA delivery trucks, and billboards were turned into IKEA stores via OOH placements.
- Geotargeted ads were implemented in cities where the core audience was concentrated.

To create shoppable entertainment:
- A country-wide easter egg hunt was launched where influencers searched and scanned “This is an IKEA store” logos scattered in living spaces nationwide.

To sustain impact through social currency:
- An Instagram filter enabled influencers and users to turn their posts into IKEA stores
- “This is an IKEA store” stickers were given away in-store alongside purchases to encourage customers to put up their own IKEA “stores”.

On the website, shoppers discovered the convenience of browsing and customizing IKEA items at the palm of their hands. They were even offered a loyalty program which gave exclusive discounts and perks for online purchases.

EXECUTION :

Within three months, 927 new “IKEA stores” were recreated across online & offline touchpoints.

OFFLINE
To deliver the full IKEA experience:
IKEA placed actual products in public places such as restaurants, salons, gyms, clinics, and beaches. Each piece of furniture had real IKEA price tags that led shoppers to purchase via IKEA.ph.

To buy IKEA from anywhere:
OOH: Public transport, Grab cars, and billboards on major commute routes were turned into IKEA stores via stickers.

To multiply IKEA stores:
In-store: Stickers were given away to encourage customers to put up their own “IKEA store.”

ONLINE
To creatively personalize their IKEA experiences:
Instagram: IG stickers enabled IKEA fans to turn their posts into IKEA stores.

PR & Influence: In what became a country-wide easter egg hunt, a slate of influencers searched for and documented the IKEA stores. Their content too became IKEA stores.

Geo-targeted ads hit consumers with tailored comms, turning whole cities into IKEA stores.

E-commerce: On the website, shoppers discovered the convenience of browsing and customizing IKEA items at the palms of their hands. They were even offered a loyalty program which gave exclusive discounts and perks for online purchases.

RESULT :

A single store turned into 927 IKEA “stores” across online & offline touchpoints.

Communications:
The brand first mounted 18 physical mini-IKEA stores, using the activation cost of one pop-up store (based on previous marketing efforts). Around these placements, 909 more stores sprouted through online & offline touchpoints.


New website visitors: 14% increase versus same period last year (compared to previous year performance of -30%)

Website visits: 12% increase versus same period last year (compared to previous year performance of -36%)

Influencer posts: Over-delivered by 185% in reach and 238% in engagement

Total Reach of Campaign: 46,651,823

Marketing:
Volume of e-commerce transactions: 30% increase versus same period last year (compared to previous year performance of -17%)—the highest volume of e-comm transactions to date

Business:
Website visitation: 101% achievement versus target
Website revenue: 8% growth versus same period last year—an all-time high revenue for IKEA.ph.