*cue Tina Turner music*
The simple ideas are usually the best – an adage that proves itself true time and again, especially in the world of PR. A true belter of an idea, beautiful in its simplicity, will fill rival PROs with envy quicker than they can say “why didn’t I think of that?”
An idea that is so neat and effective in delivering a brand message that it’s hard to believe no one thought of it before is the Holy Grail of creativity. They get stored away by others to be dusted off at a later date under the guise of ‘there’s no such thing as a new idea.’
But getting that Holy Grail isn’t easy. Some brands are better at it than others. IKEA is a brand that is better than most. Take for example its most recent Big Sleepover campaign. Capitalising on the fan-created ‘I Wanna Have a Sleepover in IKEA’ Facebook page, the company created a Facebook competition to grant 100 of the 100,000 followers their wish, turning fans into advocates overnight. The Big Sleep over became the perfect way to deliver targeted brand messages and get advocates reviewing products all in an IKEA environment. The cherry on the top was a celebrity reading bedtime stories.
This isn’t the first time IKEA got it right either. The Peace Love & Storage campaign used the domestic reality of arguing over which gender is messier to demonstrate that clutter can spoil a happy home. A problem every household can relate to. The solution? IKEA storage products of course.
The MÄNLAND man crèche trialled in Australia also nails it. Everyone knows men hate shopping with women but IKEA used it to promote lounge furniture and more masculine products by creating a space in its stores entirely for men to chill out while the women shopped. Neat and memorable with great brand and product experiences all round – everyone’s a winner.
IKEA I take my PR hat off to you.
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