Ikea

For Burlington ON.-based Ikea Canada, selling kitchens was a global priority. The high average price point of kitchens made them a lucrative contributor to sales growth. But during the housing and home renovation peak of 2008, Ikea’s main kitchen rival, Home Depot, had achieved more than double Ikea’s top-of-mind awareness as a “retailer of complete kitchens” through broad advertising and DM efforts.

To outsmart the competition, close the gap and increase Ikea kitchen sales, Zig connected Ikea’s mission of “a better everyday life at home” to a new definition of the Canadian kitchen. For Canadians, kitchens are the centre of the home. But qualitative research revealed that this was getting lost in the business of renovation. People were becoming preoccupied by resale value, square-footage and stainless steel.

To help people realize that a better kitchen could mean a better life, Zig took the emotional high ground, shifting the focus to what really happens in the kitchen. This also allowed the agency to create the much-needed perceptual distance from the more functional “renovate/re-sell” space occupied by Home Depot.

Zig developed an integrated campaign that shows what can happen when you improve the center of the home. A TV spot, “Dubbed Husband,” featured a man who storms into his new Ikea kitchen to vent about his day, while his wife imagines a more romantic soliloquy, with the tagline, “Everything seems better in an Ikea kitchen.” Other elements included rich media banners and radio.

Results far exceeded expectations. Tracking showed an increase in awareness for Ikea kitchens. More importantly, sales of Ikea kitchens increased despite the recession.