Marketing in the News
To be honest, beginning this assignment I had a completely different understanding of the task at hand than where I landed after rereading it and realizing that I needed to start over. After trying to switch gears from the post I was writing, I searched in a new direction looking for an article about an ad campaign. I came across this one in Digital Marketing News. Apparently, the Swedish housewares and furniture company IKEA have found themselves battling misperceptions and assumptions about the quality of their products, specifically their kitchen furnishing. In an ad released in the UK, they present a kitchen by the company "Eureka Spiritsis". The ad shows a luxury kitchen. A sophisticated-looking man talks about its superior quality and uses an over-the-top approach to convey its level of fanciness. Then as it seems the ad is ending, they say, "Surprise, it's IKEA," which is the same letters used in the name Eureka Spiritsis. They say, "So we lied about the name, but the rest is true." Trying to not only bring a new light to their products, but also bring a sense of humor. The end of the ad also includes the tagline "The Wonderful Everyday."
According to the article, IKEA (under the guise of Eureka Spiritsis) invited members of press and influencers to a brand debut event. After showcasing the kitchen, they unveiled the surprise. They then launched a multi-platform campaign to follow the debut. The company aims to turn positive what was potentially negative thoughts about the brand's products. The three main takeaways I got from the article is that one, sometimes facing things head-on with some humor can turn the tide on what started as negativity among consumers, putting you back in control of the narrative and creating a larger presence for the brand. Two, inviting media and influencers to get a first take can help drive engagement and earned media. Many people look to influencers and bloggers for their take on products and services. It's a brilliant way to garner some positive attention. Three, launching the campaign across many channels gives them the opportunity to reach a greater and more diverse audience.
The value proposition of IKEA is to provide everyday people with stylish, quality, and affordable home furnishings. This is at the heart of this ad campaign as well as they try to steer their brand back into a good light among consumers and critics. One of the brilliant things about the sort-of-deception of the commercial is that for a moment, you are seeing their product without preconception. I would liken it to a blindfolded taste test. Whose coffee is better? Okay, now we'll tell you what brand you chose. See this high-end kitchen? Surprise, it's IKEA! It can kind of jolt you in a good way into giving a brand a second chance to impress you. The uniqueness of this campaign, I feel, is that they actually organized a physical event to debut their fictitious brand. It is creative, fun, and a little funny. The idea driving the campaign is good, and I think building off of it would be advantageous. Even though the surprise has already happened, I still think they could make a series of ads building on the "surprise, it's IKEA" theme and of course emphasizing their tagline of "The Wonderful Everyday." One way to build and expand upon the campaign would be to create different versions of the ad that targets different customer personas. Still showing the prospective customer that they make quality, stylish, and affordable products, but maybe showing, "look, we have styles for the college student, the working person, the stay-at-home parent, the retired, etc." If I were the marketing manager, I would definitely want to explore ideas of how to build on this fresh attention and positive buzz. Making sure to bring in some direct engagement from customers, and maybe posting some great blogs about home design and decorating ideas. Partnering with influencers and celebrities in the field of home design or home improvement and trying to gain the emphasis of the quality and durability of IKEA's products.
It feels odd to be writing an article about an article about an ad. I have learned, however, that articles like these can be a great way to learn more about a new campaign beyond just viewing the ad. It helps to tear apart the tactics and motivations behind the campaign to better understand marketing and build your own marketing techniques for the future. Learning from others' successes and failures can be one of the wisest things you can do.
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