2022 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

We wanted to talk to a target we know is big in UAE: Football lovers and, among them, Messi fans.

Background

IKEA’s strong brand personality has a fun, quirky, yet caring nature. For this reason it is always rewarding to jump on trending topics without seeming inauthentic. Messi was leaving FC Barcelona and die-hard Messi fans would be heartbroken. Our objective was to create affinity with this category of people that in UAE are in a huge number.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

We created a post as a reactive piece of social content in response to Messi leaving FC Barcelona. We knew die-hard Messi fans would be heartbroken — so we wanted to help fans always keep a piece of Messi’s legacy. So instead of being tucked away in their wardrobes, as a reminder that they could never wear it during another game, the team decided to help fans frame the t-shirt in their homes. And get prepared for future trophies.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

We know that the number of football lovers in UAE is huge. IKEA is not a brand associated with Football but it is a fun brand always ready to jump in a popular conversation with our point of view. The two - IKEA and football lovers - are not easy to associate and we found Messi's love story ending with Barcelona a great opportunity for the brand to join the popular conversation.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

We used the post on IKEA owned social channels on the day Messi announced he was living Barcelona, with a historical press conference.

List the results (30% of vote)

Launched on the 3 countries in the Middle East with $0 production Impressions 500K with 2 posts only