At Campaign Middle East, we have a new feature called Brand Focus which showcases companies we think are doing great things with their marketing and advertising campaigns.
In July 1943, Ingvar Kamprad, then only 17 years old, founded IKEA in the small town of Älmhult in Småland, Sweden. In the beginning, IKEA was a small mail-order business where orders were filled by a teenage, none other than Ingvar himself on a bicycle.
Fast forward to 2023, the brand is now represented in 62 markets with 462 IKEA touchpoints, 700 million physical customer visits, 2.6 billion online visits, and more than 20 million IKEA app downloads. The team of 231,000 IKEA co-workers worldwide help create a better everyday life.
IKEA’s brand identity ranks among some of the most iconic logos, campaigns and companies in recent history.
Democratic design
“Our fascination with life at home is what makes us IKEA – and never has it been more important than it is now. It’s why we talk to thousands of people each year about what makes life at home better for them, so we can help them to not just survive there, but to thrive.
“Through this fascination, we’ve built our special knowledge of the feeling of home and off the emotional needs we have in it – including privacy, comfort, ownership, belonging and security. And of how designing the IKEA range based on our Democratic Design principles means affordable, accessible, sustainable solutions for all.”
Digital transformation
Digital technologies have completely changed the way we’ve lived our lives. At IKEA, the brand not only wants to create a better everyday life for the many people but also convert every visit into an experience. Its store in Festival Plaza is equipped with new and improved digital solutions which will help enhance its customer’s shopping experience.
Keeping up with the market needs, IKEA launched an online home planning and interior design service where in IKEA consultants help customers choose the right product design that suits their needs and style.
Ecommerce and personalisation
The two most important trends for online retailers today are mobile ecommerce and personalisation. IKEA continues to develop and optimise its furnishing offers digitally, make them relevant and provide tailored online experience for consumers.
It is working towards offering new levels of convenience for online consumers through customer services, speedy delivery, quality installation and an easy return policy among other fetaures.
“We will inspire and help people improve their life at home through digital interaction based on knowledge and insights. We will create possibilities for our consumers to experience our products through Augmented Reality on their mobiles, allow using high quality 3D assets to design their homes and decide on their choices,” a spokesman for the brand said.
Chatbots
IKEA is also developing communication channels available 24/7 using AI chatbots as a support mechanism for customers, to enquire about order status, get required assistance, and information related to home furnishing decisions and needs.
“We are constantly listening to our customers feedback to understand their needs and areas of improvement. We are also constantly working towards innovation and strategies which help us to adapt quickly to customer centric needs and expectations.”