Creating an Advertisement Campaign for IKEA Company
Introduction
Founded in 1943, IKE has been the world’s largest furniture retailer since the year 2008 (Mishra, Raj, & Karuna, 2019). For a long time, the Swedish company has been ranked among the world’s top valuable companies. The company has become a destination for a whole family since the furniture stores now offer a modern and homey lifestyle experience to its consumers, including designing children’s playing area. Since Sweden was a small market that was likely to have limited growth potential, IKE quickly considered expanding into international space. According to Mishra, Raj, & Karuna (2019), the company currently operates in 52 countries, with a total of 433 offices. I selected IKEA to create its advertising campaign because globalization has made the company to have more room for expansion to operate in even more countries worldwide. The company’s leadership philosophy has been impressive, but there is a need or better marketing strategies and recommendations that will enable the company to increase sales.
Overview of the Current Marketing Mix at IKEA
Figure 1: IKEA ad (IKEA, 2020)
The current IKEA marketing mix is based on a sophisticated market and consumer researches. To satisfy its consumer’s needs, the company usually sends design experts to consumers’ homes to listen to their concerns and before providing feedback. This approach helps the company make marketing decisions based on real-life experiences through customer feedback rather than conducting a survey.
In 2018, IKEA shifted its marketing strategies from rooms to product innovation, and it has proven to be a success. At the core of its marketing strategy is the ‘magic’ blue bag designed to showcase how additional innovative items at home can transform the space. According to Mishra, Raj, & Karuna, (2019), the current marketing mix at IKEA revolves around four primary objectives: –
- The company focuses on product and price elements, where it attempts to offer the most excellent range of products at a lower cost. Alongside price and product, the company observes the 7Ps of marketing, including people, process, promotion, place, and physical evidence.
- In product positioning, the company utilizes mono-segment and adaptive types. The IKEA products target cost-conscious clients who prefer to get the value for money they use to purchase. IKEA’s unique selling proposition is that it has adapted the lowest costs on its products alongside the broadest range.
- IKEA has integrated several channels of marketing communication, including sales promotions, media and print advertising, direct marketing, public relations, as well as events and experiences. Over the past years, the company has derived maximum benefits through advertising its products on print, media, and direct marketing.
- IKEA has applied product placement marketing techniques effectively. The most notable cases of product placement by IKEA are showcased in Television programs (such as Blind Date and 30 Rock) and movies (such as Cash Back and Night Club).
Current Advertising Campaign at IKEA
The current brand campaign for IKEA products revolves around sustainability, innovation, inclusivity, and commitments (Edvardsson et al., 2014). As usual, the mass and print media are the backbone of IKEA’s advertisement options. It not only showcases IKEA products but also highlights the corporate decisions it has made. For instance, it highlights the company’s efforts to plant more trees to replace the used ones, and also it employs workers from a diverse range of ethnicities for inclusivity. As for the commitments, the company has been so vocal about their choices. For example, by the year 2030, the company has promised to use recycled and renewable materials when producing to enhance sustainability.
Figure 2: IKEA’s African Culture Merchandise (IKEA, 2020)
In my view, the advertising strategy that IKEA is pursuing is peculiar. The advertising campaigns for IKEA happen via the advertising agencies in each country that the company operates. It is worth noting that for these advertisement campaigns to be a success, they must consider and observe the region’s cultural reality. The company gives complete freedom to the advertising agencies to suit their customers’ needs, but they have to follow a few style guidelines. This freedom causes each nation to launch the advertisement campaigns they deem as appropriate. As a result, there is always an advertisement in print or mass media talking about IKEA products. The benefit of this advertising strategy is that the company will have considerable material recorded in different countries—more need to be done in terms of designing advertisement campaigns to make the company grow.
Creating the Advertisement Campaign
The advertisement campaign will integrate cross-cultural marketing to target potential consumers in a culturally-sensitive population. IKEA has to adopt a cultural approach to international marketing because experts believe that culture penetrates people’s inner being subconsciously and at a deep level. Although world cultures may share various standard features, they all display a unique style after combining certain common elements. Despite the progress in globalization, consumer behavior and market environments will always face barriers related to culture (Edvardsson et al., 2014). It will take longer for a change in consumer’s perspective on cultural differences.
The new advertisement campaign will explore IKEA’s model of marketing mix by adding the cultural impact centered on consumers in a diversified environment. By recognizing cross-cultural similarities and differences, IKEA can understand which aspects are diversified and need to be adopted by the local culture versus those shared worldwide. Therefore, cultural dimensions and other perceivable factors such as habit and stereotypes play a significant role in determining consumer preferences among cultures in different countries (Edvardsson et al., 2014). IKEA has to tailor and customize advertisements based on specific customs, habits, and traditions to catch the audience’s attention. The below case study, a print ad, will analyze the culturally sensitive marketing strategy IKEA should observe in promoting a wide range of products.
Case Study: Bathroom Print Ads
Figure 3: Bathroom print ads- Saudi Arabia on the left and Sweden on the right (IKEA, 2020)
The two advertisements above represent a similar IKEA product (bathroom prints) advertised in two different countries, Sweden and Saudi Arabia. The assumption is that the left picture is for the Swedish customers, and the right picture targets consumers in Saudi Arabia. In both pictures, they show ordinary moments of parents taking care of the children. The two advertisements are equal in terms of quality. The only difference is for the woman who is missing in the second picture. It seems to be in an Arabic catalog. Although some people might find this information sensitive, from a cultural perspective, this picture displays the truth behind advertising in a multicultural environment. Although the governments in Arabic cultures do not officially prohibit women from appearing in advertisements, it is usual for Islamic women to ask for permission from their husbands to perform duties such as working and driving a car. With that being mentioned, the picture is also based on the assumption that Islamic women have to wear a headscarf when appearing in mass or print media ads.
When IKEA entered the US and other global markets as a Swedish brand, it faced various challenges because its business model failed to be replicated in the new markets (Larsson, & Schiehle, 2016). The company’s management realized that despite challenges associated with other cultures, there was a need to adapt. It means the business model applied in Swedish markets failed to work in the US markets or other global markets. Therefore customization of the IKEA brand in different cultures can influence sales in general.
Conclusion
The purpose of advertising is to inform the customers of sales promotion by providing short-term incentives that encourage sales or purchase a product. Culture is a significant factor that affects businesses, especially those operating overseas like IKEA. In foreign markets, culture can become a hurdle, and there is a need to integrate it when designing a marketing strategy mix. Although IKEA is taking steps to integrate cultural factors in their advertisements, much innovation and creativity are necessary for the company to progress in more countries worldwide. However, this should be applied moderately to avoid confronting sensitive ethnic beliefs, traditions, and customs that can divide consumers. Also, more research for the same is encouraged before implementing culturally-sensitive ads to avoid compromising the whole process and objectives.
References
Edvardsson, B., Klaus, P., Gummesson, E., Kuusela, H., & Närvänen, E. (2014). Reinventing marketing strategy by recasting supplier/customer roles. Journal of Service Management.
IKEA. (2020). Products – IKEA. Retrieved 6 August 2020, from https://www.ikea.com/us/en/cat/products-products/
Larsson, A., & Schiehle, S. (2016). The Effects of Diversity on Multinational Organizations: An exploratory case study investigating the cross-cultural management and organizational culture of IKEA.
Mishra, R. K., Raj, A. S., & Karuna, M. (2019). IKEA, Furnishing the Indian Homes: The Challenges of Culture, Competition, and Channel. IPE Journal of, 95.