2013 Gold Retail

How did the campaign make a difference? Brits rarely spend time in their gardens, so IKEA inspired loyalty cardholders to dine, wine, or unwind alfresco. Customers got a weather forecast for their actual garden, delivered by IKEA weatherman. The campaign delivered a blazing hot 34% increase in sales of outdoor products.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? The vast majority of UK homeowners have some form of outdoor space. But sadly, many are jungle-like spaces used to store the lawnmower, dry clothes and hide junk. With the hottest months looming, it made sense to raise awareness among IKEA FAMILY members that IKEA has an extensive outdoor range. But IKEA needed to get people to rethink and choose the brand for a new breed of outdoor furniture. How can you get people thinking about their gardens, when the weather is so unpredictable? A clever use of data identified customers with gardens and created a series of personalised weather forecasts. The timely nature of IKEA direct mail, email and digital channels responded to weather changes and spurred customers into making more of their garden when sunshine was forecast. Members got actively involved, inviting family and friends to enjoy it with them, through dynamically populated, personalised video invites.

Team Nicky Bullard – Executive Creative Director,Andy O'Carroll – Creative Group Head, Spencer White – Creative Group Head, Jonathan Goodman – Group Account Director, Elizabeth Gladwin – Senior Data Strategist, Rory Smith – Senior Strategist, Althea James – Digital Project Manager , Alon Stock – Account Director, Josephine Ross – Account Manager, Jon Chandler – Technical Director, Trevor Aukin-Hastie – Senior Flash Developer, Alice Chan Gibbings – Senior Designer, Vicky Ray – Creative Services, Laura Burgess – Project Manager

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? The campaign identified members with gardens. Using digital printing, weather-responsive, personalised mailers were sent out, featuring actual forecasts for each member's garden. An online planner was designed to raise awareness and inspire members to transform their garden. To get members thinking about creating the perfect summer haven for an alfresco get-together, the campaign helped create a bespoke invite. Using Facebook, a live weather feed, Google Maps and IKEA's own weatherman Harry Caine, members sent friends a video invite for a garden event, such as a barbecue or a moonlit dinner. The invite was populated with personalised, dynamic content. What if it was more wetsuit than flip-flop weather? Harry suggested what you should wear and what IKEA products you could use to defend yourself from the typically typical British weather. So rain or shine, thanks to IKEA, out in the garden was the 'in' place to be.

Results By harnessing the excitement that erupts in the UK with a dose of sunshine, this inspired people to improve their gardens. During the campaign 2,000 people used the online planner each day on average. It generated an uplift of 7.5% in sales among those contacted, compared with the control. This outperformed previous campaigns by an incremental sales performance increase of 73%, and 86% in incremental visits. Outdoor product transactions increased by 55% and sales by a blazing hot 34%.

Team Nicky Bullard – Executive Creative Director,Andy O'Carroll – Creative Group Head, Spencer White – Creative Group Head, Jonathan Goodman – Group Account Director, Elizabeth Gladwin – Senior Data Strategist, Rory Smith – Senior Strategist, Althea James – Digital Project Manager , Alon Stock – Account Director, Josephine Ross – Account Manager, Jon Chandler – Technical Director, Trevor Aukin-Hastie – Senior Flash Developer, Alice Chan Gibbings – Senior Designer, Vicky Ray – Creative Services, Laura Burgess – Project Manager