THE WORK

IKEA
The Creative Debrief
Insights, intelligence, talks, data and commentary
into creativity at the world’s largest furniture retailer
 Themes from winning work

In this 1 Learn how IKEA

has built its brand
edition of by being
entertaining,
responsible and
The Creative relevant to
audiences.
Top Performers, 2010-2021

Debrief... 3
2
Data around Lion wins

Be inspired by IKEA’s creative Find out which

agencies have
performance over the last
won the most Discover more about four of
decade trophies for IKEA’s best performing pieces of
IKEA, as well as work.
what work has
won the most
and in which
Lions.
The Creative Debrief November 2021 2
Lessons from IKEA
Three takeaways from this edition of The Creative Debrief

1 Provide solutions

Whether it’s responsible

consumerism or helping
parents play with their
2 Keep it real, keep it light

IKEA doesn’t shy away from

‘difficult’ subjects, such as
divorce and dementia. At
3 Maximise in-store

IKEA uses its stores not

kids - or both - IKEA is
adept at solving
problems. Identify
problems faced by your
audience and work out
how your brand could
help.
the same time, it enjoys
entertaining its audience by
deploying a light touch.
Consider how your brand
can find a relevant,
authentic voice between
reality and humour.
just to promote its own
products but also for
awareness-raising and
entertainment. Assess
how your retail brand
could use in-store in
unconventional,
attention-grabbing ways.
The Creative Debrief November 2021 3
1
Provide solutions
The Creative Debrief November 2021 4
Provide
planet-friendly
solutions
Problem-solve for your audience

IKEA has long been regarded as the place for storage solutions.
But over the last decade, it has become synonymous with solving
problems on a much bigger scale.

After Unilever, beauty company Natura & Co and Patagonia, IKEA

is cited as a sustainability leader in the Globescan SustainAbility
Leaders Survey 2021.

When asked about leaders integrating sustainability into their

Source: Globescan SustainAbility Leaders Survey 2021
business strategy 13% of respondents cited IKEA.
The Creative Debrief November 2021 5
Planet-friendly solutions:
‘#buybackFriday’
Incentivising customers to work in harmony on
responsible solutions
IKEA’s commitment to responsible
consumption is coming through in its
creative communications.
‘#buybackFriday’, where IKEA
repurchased second-hand IKEA
furniture and sold it on, was the most
successful initiative IKEA has ever run,
according to Olivia Ross Wilson,
Global Comms Director, Ingka Group
(IKEA Retail).
Watch the talk: Trust Makers and Culture Creators: Building Brand Trust With IKEA
2021 IKEA | #BUYBACKFRIDAY
In a LIONS Live talk with Richard
Edelman, CEO, Edelman, and Judy
John, Global Chief Creative
Officer, Edelman, Ross Wilson
said: “The best way to create a EDELMAN LONDON
cultural shift is through
togetherness. ‘#buybackFriday’
tapped the power of > Takeout: subvert a seasonal occasion
peer-to-peer. It built a circular that encourages excessive
economy and let people interact consumption and switch the focus to
and engage with it.” responsible consumption instead.
The Creative Debrief November 2021 6
Planet-friendly solutions:
‘Toy Box’
Solving the problems of creative play and excess
packaging with one app
Following conversations with
families spanning two decades,
IKEA identified that half of parents
struggled to come up with creative
ways for their children to play. At
the same time, IKEA furniture
comes flat packed in cardboard
packaging. The Toybox app solved
two issues at once: it gave
cardboard packaging a second life
and offered a way for families to
play together.
Watch the talk: How Data Is Reinventing the Flatpack Empire
2018 IKEA | TOYBOX
The app, unveiled in a Cannes
Lions talk, used AR to reinvent
cardboard boxes as toys,
giving families a chance to play
together. Daniel Bonner, Global
Chief Creative Officer, WUNDERMAN THOMPSON, KANTAR
Wunderman Thompson, said:
“An adult might see waste but
> Takeout: build brand equity with
a child has a different
parents and families by finding original
perspective and sees
ways to entertain children.
opportunities. Creating
together is important and play
is fun.”
The Creative Debrief November 2021 7
2
Keep it real, keep it light
The Creative Debrief April 2021 8
Embrace reality
2017 IKEA | EVERY OTHER WEEK
The benefits of reflecting modern families

‘Where Life Happens’ was a positioning for IKEA

introduced by its Stockholm-based agency Åkestam
Holst. It set out to replace depictions of smiling nuclear
families with more realistic, modern scenarios: kids
dealing with their parents’ divorce, same-sex couples,
difficult teens or adopted children. The new positioning BRONZE FILM LIONS ÅKESTAM HOLST
led to a 5% increase in ‘brand I like’ and a 6% increase in
‘products I like’ in Sweden.
“People have to be able to relate to the stories we tell.
Speaking at Cannes Lions, Åkestam Holst’s Founder and We show all aspects of life, even situations that aren’t
Creative, Mark Ardelius, said: “This was a creative often portrayed in advertising, like divorce. There should
breakthrough for us. not be a stigma to live like this [between two households]
because everyone tries their best to be a good parent.”
Watch the talk: How IKEA Is Keeping It Real

The Creative Debrief November 2021 9


Place and crop your image here
“We've started portraying IKEA products in an
emotional as opposed to a functional way.
There are a lot of different family situations,
with step brothers and sisters, gay marriage
and adoption, and that is a huge market. One
in every five marriages in Sweden ends up in
divorce: that's 20% of the market for IKEA.”
Jerker Winther
Head of Planning & Strategy Åkestam Holst
The Creative Debrief November 2021 10
Sell with a smile
Several pieces of work that have won Lions for IKEA have used humour. Here are four
examples of how the Swedish brand has benefitted from keeping the tone light.

2017 Retail Therapy

Akestam Holst 2017 IKEA Responds To Balenciaga
ACNE Stockholm
Renaming products with a more
emotional, witty name offered a A designer bag or a
realistic insight into how IKEA’s shopper from IKEA? This
furniture actually got used. It turned agile work went viral
and showed off IKEA’s
an ordinary search campaign into a
fun side.
more emotional and relatable
3 Bronze Lions
connection with IKEA products. 1 Silver Lion, 2 Bronze Lions

2018 Pee Ad Akestam Holst

2020 Silence The Critics Mother London

A print ad doubles up as a
IKEA’s first Christmas ad kicked
pregnancy test. If it’s positive,
against convention: a grime
expectant parents receive a
soundtrack, opinionated ornaments
discount on an IKEA cot. The
and a speedy home makeover all
unusual ad made people
featured.
laugh, generating $12m in
earned media. And it was
used: the cot sold out!
3 Gold Lions, 1 Bronze Lion 2 Silver Lions, 1 Bronze Lion
The Creative Debrief November 2021 11
3
Maximise in-store
The Creative Debrief November 2021 12
Space invaders
Using in-store to grab attention
2018 IKEA | REAL LIFE SERIES

Only 16% of IKEA’s sales are online, so in-store is still a

central part of people’s brand experience. As well as using
its 445 stores to promote its products, IKEA has also used
its retail real estate to raise awareness for good causes. In
Italy, ‘The Room’, through DDB Milan, involved the audio of
a couple arguing and a woman being slapped being played
in store to highlight that seven million women are abused.

In Canada, Rethink Toronto’s ‘The Climate Change Effect’

saw IKEA cranking up the in-store heating to draw
attention to rising temperature on the planet.
SILVER INDUSTRY CRAFT LIONS PUBLICIS MADRID

And IKEA Dubai exhibited the ‘Real Life Series’ which

recreated some of the most famous sets on much-loved
TV shows such as Friends and Stranger Things.
The Creative Debrief November 2021 13
IKEA: Cook This Page
2017 IKEA | COOK THIS PAGE

During an in-store IKEA kitchen event, Canadians were

encouraged to try new recipes. IKEA launched parchment
paper that came with recipes printed on it for them to take
home and try. The easy-to-follow recipes incorporated IKEA
items, such as kitchen utensils and salmon fillets. Illustrations
helped cooks to achieve the precise quantities demanded by
the recipe.

GOLD DESIGN LIONS LEO BURNETT TORONTO

> Takeout: According to Statista, 15% of IKEA’s retail sales
are kitchen-related. By associating its brand with
easy-to-prepare food, IKEA reinforces a link back to its 4 CANNES LIONS AWARDS
kitchen range; the in-store events - and chefs cooking
from the parchment paper - makes the idea of an IKEA Gold Lion ⬤ ⬤

kitchen (and associated kitchenware) more of a reality for Bronze Lion ⬤ ⬤

shoppers. Shortlisted 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇

The Creative Debrief November 2021 14

COOK THIS PAGE
‘25m2 Syria’: 2017 IKEA | 25M2 SYRIA

an in-store
donation mechanic
A model of a real Syrian girl’s makeshift home
outside of Damascus appeared in-store at IKEA.
In place of price tags were information labels
with details about how the family of 9 live, for
instance queuing for food. On each label was a
call-to-action: a donation mechanic via SMS to
the Red Cross. SILVER PROMO & ACTIVATION LIONS POL OSLO

4 CANNES LIONS AWARDS

> Takeout: in-store can be an effective and creative Silver Lion ⬤ ⬤ Bronze Lion ⬤ ⬤ Shortlisted 〇 〇
touchpoint to bring to life an issue that just doesn’t
have the same impact as a news story on more Results:
conventional reporting channels. ● €23 million donated to the Red Cross
● More than 100 000 people got involved
25m2 SYRIA The Creative Debrief November 2021 15
4
Data
The Creative Debrief April 2021 16
IKEA
Lions wins by year
and annual revenue
Creativity helps drive the bottom line
Showing the relationship between creative success at
Cannes Lions and IKEA’s annual revenue growth.

Number of Lions Trophies

Annual Revenue (€bn)

The Creative Debrief November 2021 17

IKEA: Lions 2010-2021
NORWAY
7
SWEDEN
CANADA 23
6

UNITED KINGDOM
FRANCE
12
TURKEY
5
3 ISRAEL
SPAIN 11
6
UAE
10
ITALY
4

GERMANY
12
Most awarded work,
2010-2021
#Lions
● Winners featured won
three Lions or more.

● ‘ThisAbles’ has won the

most Lions (11) followed
by ‘Homemade is Best’
(5).

● ‘Wonderful Everyday’,
‘The Room’, ‘IKEA. It’s
That Affordable’, ‘Cook
This Page’, ‘Facebook
Showroom’ and ‘25m2
Syria’ each won four
Lions.

The Creative Debrief November 2021 19

IKEA:
Best-Performing
Agencies
● Individual agencies listed have won four or more
Lions for IKEA over the since 2010.

● McCann Tel Aviv, the agency behind ThisAbles, has

won the most trophies, with 14.

● Memac Ogilvy Dubai is second, with 10 Lions.

● Two Swedish-based agencies, Forsman & Bodenfors

and Akestam Holst, take joint third position with nine
Lions apiece.

The Creative Debrief November 2021 20

IKEA: Lions won by year and trophy type

2017 and 2019 were particularly strong years for IKEA, Over the last decade, IKEA has won 105 trophies,
netting 19 and 15 Lions respectively. including one Grand Prix and one Titanium.
IKEA: wins by Lion:
2010-2021
● This shows the categories in
which IKEA has won five or
more Lions since 2010.

● Cyber, Outdoor and Film

Lions are particularly strong
for IKEA.

● The Direct and Media Lions

are the next most common
type of award for IKEA.

The Creative Debrief November 2021 22

5
Top Performers, 2010-2021
The Creative Debrief November 2021 23
Top Performers,
Lions: 2010-2021
2016 IKEA | IT’S THAT AFFORDABLE

2015 - 2019 IKEA | THE WONDERFUL EVERYDAY

‘ThisAbles’ is the most awarded work

for IKEA, with 14 Lions. Also featured
over the following pages are ‘It’s That
Affordable’, ‘The Wonderful Everyday’
and ‘Buy With Your Time’.
GOLD FILM LIONS MOTHER LONDON

In this section 2019 IKEA | THISABLES

Hear insights from jurors and winning

agencies, as well as being inspired by
takeaways from the work.

GOLD OUTDOOR LIONS OGILVY DUBAI

GRAND PRIX HEALTH & WELLNESS LIONS MCCANN TEL-AVIV The Creative Debrief November 2021 24
‘ThisAbles’:
An Inclusive Approach
Ikea developed add-ons for furniture to make it accessible
for the 10% of people with physical disabilities. Copywriter
Eldar Yusupov conceived these as a solution to a personal
problem, which involved his challenges using IKEA products
due to his cerebral palsy. True to IKEA’s ‘creating a better life
for the many’ mission, ThisAbles sent a clear and positive
about IKEA’s inclusive approach.
11 CANNES LIONS AWARDS
> Takeout: Be generous and think long term. If you can Grand Prix
offer free access to innovative solutions, you’ll achieve Gold Lion ⬤ ⬤ ⬤ ⬤
greater reach and longevity. After launching in 2019, Silver Lion ⬤ ⬤ ⬤
ThisAbles is still a functioning platform offering users a
Bronze Lion ⬤ ⬤ ⬤
steady stream of new patents.
Shortlisted 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇

THISABLES
The Creative Debrief November 2021 25

Place and crop your image here
“The world can be a cruel and heartless
place at times. The Grand Prix
[‘ThisAbles’] demonstrated how brands
can help normalise the everyday for the
most marginalised in society.”
Shaheed Peera
Founder | The Creative Floor
Jury President | Health & Wellness Lions, 2019
The Creative Debrief November 2021 26
‘Buy With Your Time’:
Data-Driven Incentives
2020 IKEA | BUY WITH YOUR TIME

To incentivise Emiratis to visit IKEA on the outskirts of Dubai,

IKEA rewarded their long journey times with in-store
discounts. The farther they travelled to the store, the greater
their discount on IKEA products.

Using Google Maps, IKEA transformed time spent travelling

into a currency that could be accrued over multiple trips.

Results
• 32% increase in store footfall
• 4.2 Billion impressions
GOLD DIRECT LIONS MEMAC OGILVY DUBAI
• $14m earned media

> Takeout: Work out what the barrier to entry is with

3 CANNES LIONS AWARDS
your brand and find an appealing way to address it
that rewards your audience as part of their customer Gold Lion ⬤ Bronze Lions ⬤ ⬤ Shortlisted 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇
experience.
The Creative Debrief November 2021 27
 “There are millions of data sources out there, but
the work that stood out was where the data was
integral to the creative output. It had to be the
Place and crop your image here right data set.”

Lisa Humphreys
Chief Transformation and Integration Officer | GroupM & UK
Strategy Director | WPP, WPP & GroupM
Juror | Creative Data Lions, 2020-2021

The Creative Debrief November 2021 28

‘It’s That Affordable’:
2016 IKEA | IT’S THAT AFFORDABLE

Proving Value
To remind Saudis that IKEA’s Scandinavian design
is affordable, IKEA’s furniture was pictured
alongside everyday items like takeaway coffees,
tubes of toothpaste, stamps and pizza boxes to
demonstrate what value for money they offered.

Sales soared 21.4% year on year, traffic on the

brand’s online store increased by 93.2% and online
sales followed, doubling compared to months
where there were no special offers.

> Takeout: Positioning your brand as good value

GOLD OUTDOOR LIONS OGILVY DUBAI
rather than a budget option will resonate more
deeply with audiences.
4 CANNES LIONS AWARDS
Gold Lion ⬤ ⬤ ⬤ Silver Lion ⬤ Shortlisted 〇
The Creative Debrief November 2021 29
‘The Wonderful Everyday’:
Celebrating Small Moments 2015 - 2019 IKEA | THE WONDERFUL EVERYDAY

Take pleasure in the smaller things in life: having your

t-shirts organised, a good night’s sleep in a decent
bed, your children waking up on time for school.

This was the ethos behind ‘The Wonderful Everyday’,

a brand platform for IKEA that repositioned it away
from innovative storage solutions and injected it with
joy and playfulness.

Results:
GOLD FILM LIONS MOTHER LONDON
● Delivered an ROI of £7.20
● Resulted in £755m in incremental revenue
● IKEA hit its £2bn revenue goal a year early 4 CANNES LIONS AWARDS
● New stores were ahead of growth targets
Gold Lion ⬤ Silver Lion ⬤ ⬤ Bronze Lion ⬤

Shortlisted 〇 〇
>Takeout: Avoid the busy, cluttered seasonal occasions,
and instead focus on quieter times when your brand THE WONDERFUL EVERYDAY
could stand out more. The Creative Debrief November 2021 30
 “We're often guilty of overlooking 'the everyday'.
People would much rather think ahead to fleeting
events such as holidays, while advertisers focus
their attention on occasions like the Super Bowl or
Place and crop your image here
Christmas. However, the everyday holds great
value for consumers and advertisers: the small
things can often have the biggest differences.”

Kieran Bradshaw
Strategy Director | Mother London

The Creative Debrief November 2021 31

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