2022 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

IKEA wanted to prove that the IKEA app is your best companion while shopping inside one of our stores. To do so, we created a branded experience unheard of in retail promotion; we gave our customer jobs. We took a negative perception around wearing yellow shirts to IKEA and turned it from fashion mishap to an opportunity, giving customers in yellow shirts the chance to become Co-Workers For The Day. Armed with only the app as their only training, our temporary co-workers helped others around the store as well as our actual co-workers. This activation become the ultimate product demonstration.

Background

The IKEA app holds the key to over 9,000 products in our range. During busy times, the app can offer as much help to customers as our actual employees. The problem was encouraging shoppers to use the app while they were shopping. This sales season, we found a solution and it all began with a yellow t-shirt and a case of mistaken identity.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

For our customers, wearing a yellow shirt to IKEA is a big no-no as it’s common to be mixed up as one of our own staff members. We wanted to flip this and use it as a chance to promote our IKEA app by taking something seen as an annoyance for customers and turning it into a win for everybody. Since yellow shirted customers were already being seen as co-workers, we decided they would be the best ambassadors to help us prove just how good the IKEA app is. Our idea was to take advantage of this fashion mix up by inviting yellow shirted customers to become Co-workers For The Day and arming them with no training other than our app.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

We needed an impactful way to get our messaging about the app across. One that would appeal to younger, tech savvy audiences as well as older, more hesitant ones. It needed to stand out in a crowded retail environment and show audiences that the IKEA app makes you as knowledgable about IKEA as our actual co-workers. Armed with our insight around wearing yellow shirts to IKEA, the way forward was clear and IKEA Co-Worker For The Day was born, an activation that would let ordinary customers turned co-workers use the app and prove to the UAE that it really is all you need to find your way through any IKEA store.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

In the last week of January across our Dubai stores, we launched the Co-Worker For The Day activation. Any yellow shirt wearing customer had the opportunity to become an IKEA co-worker for the day, with the help of the IKEA app. It was all the training they needed as with the app, our temporary co-workers were able to look up any product in our range and find it for curious customers. They gave directions, looked up stock numbers, colours and even gave design advice. They were just as efficient as our actual employees and for their not-so-hard work, our IKEA co-workers for the day were rewarded with a generous employee discount. The entire process was filmed and shared on IKEA's social channels where the idea took off.

List the results (30% of vote)

In the end, over 29 yellow shirted customers became Co-workers For The Day. Our activation led to 85k IKEA app downloads over the month of January. Footfall increased by 4.3% and revenue by 2.7%. But best of all, was the fact that three Co-workers For The Day went on to become full-time Co-workers at IKEA