IKEA is thinking inside the box with a second-year marketing initiative specifically developed for Quebec’s annual Moving Day.
Up to 700,000 people throughout the province—including 225,000 in Montreal alone—move each July 1, and finding moving boxes is one of their biggest challenges. To help alleviate the problem, the home furnishings retailer is distributing 18,000 boxes throughout Montreal between Wednesday and Sunday.
A branded IKEA truck will distribute 16,000 boxes, while an additional 2,000 boxes will be available at 20 street-level locations. The truck is equipped with GPS, enabling consumers to obtain real-time updates on its location through IKEA’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.
The boxes, which are made from 85% recycled material, feature an offer for a meatball dinner at IKEA, as well as a discount coupon for people looking to decorate their new home.
“We’re a tongue-in-cheek brand, a lifestyle brand and we like to connect to our customers in a meaningful way,” said Madeleine Löwenborg-Frick, public relations manager for IKEA in Burlington, Ont. “What we really try to do is understand our customers’ needs and how they live their lives, and not just market to them but also provide services that are meaningful.
IKEA has two stores in Montreal, and is currently in the process of building an addition to one of the locations that will make it the biggest IKEA store in North America—at 469,694 square feet—when it opens in summer 2013.
IKEA saw same-store sales growth of 2% across its 11 Canadian stores last year, which was in stark contrast to double-digit decreases for the home furnishings category as a whole, said Löwenborg-Frick.
The Moving Day program debuted last year, with IKEA distributing 15,000 boxes through a series of giveaway sites. The 2011 program produced a 14% increase in store visits and a 24.5% increase in sales over the July 1 weekend versus the same week a year earlier. The program recently won a bronze Media Lion in the best use of special events and stunt/live advertising at the recent Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Leo Burnett developed the campaign creative, with media overseen by Jungle Media and media outreach by Citizen Optimum.
