It’s curtains—as well as throw pillows and accent rugs—for Shaw Media in a new TV and web marketing partnership with IKEA Canada.
The home furnishings retailer is attempting to demystify the home makeover process in the new “Quick & Easy Room Makeover” campaign running with HGTV Canada.
Conceived in partnership with Shaw and IKEA’s agency partners Jungle Media and Leo Burnett, the program is built around a series of two-minute TV and web episodes in which three real-life couples work with HGTV personality Samantha Pynn (Pure Design, Summer Home) to solve “design dilemmas” using IKEA products.
“It’s about making sure we have our customers understand that the process of redesigning their home and bringing inspiration to their home is not an intimidating process—in fact it’s one that all customers should find rather quick and easy,” explained Hilary Lloyd, country marketing manager for IKEA in Burlington, Ont.
The content is appearing on HGTV and HGTV.ca, as well as a custom microsite. It is also being promoted across HGTV’s properties through digital pre-roll and on-air bugs.
IKEA is also running out-of-home video boards in Calgary, Toronto and Montreal that allow consumers to take samples of curtains, rugs and cushions to try out in their home.
Aimed at women 25-54, the content marketing program is intended to convey the message that even small changes to home décor can have a big impact. “The great benefit is that they can make a big difference, but they don’t have a big impact on your wallet,” said Lloyd.
“We wanted to make sure we’re convincing people it’s not as difficult as they perceive,” she added. “The easiest way to do that is to actually put it in practice—host makeovers and let consumers do it themselves to facilitate the process.”
The program is showcasing a “broad spectrum” of IKEA products, said Lloyd, with a particular emphasis on its textile products, such as pillows, rugs and curtains.
Lloyd said that content marketing is “relatively new territory” for IKEA, but is “super-exciting” for the retailer because of the residual opportunities it creates to share additional content through its various social channels.
