New creative from IKEA Canada is looking to highlight the global efforts the retailer is making to slash prices.
The retailer’s new “Spot the Difference” campaign presents identical images where the only difference is lower price points on the products in each picture. The goal, says IKEA Canada head of marketing Jonelle Ricketts, is to underline that Canadians won’t need to sacrifice product quality for lower prices.
“Usually, if there’s a lower price involved, it comes at a sacrifice and it’s usually less quantity or you’re sacrificing something else when it comes to the quality of the product. So we thought we’re lowering our prices and there’s no actually no catch to it,” Ricketts tells strategy.
“We know that with Canadians especially, they are out there looking for deals, but at the same time, they don’t want to compromise on quality either.”
The campaign highlights a global effort this year for IKEA, where the company is investing $80 million to reduce prices on more than 1,500 items. Ricketts says the goal with this campaign is to use humour and include a range of products that are popular among Canadians.
Ricketts adds that because of the difficult economic climate in Canada, a campaign highlighting slashed prices is set up to empathize and connect with consumers, and show that the brand understands what much of the public is going through.
That empathy with Canadians is also a part of the company’s work to build brand love in the long term, she adds.
“Like many companies who might be more concerned about how they’re growing quarter to quarter, we’re really looking at what future generations look like for IKEA,” Ricketts says. “So that’s really huge to not get caught up in promos and offers and things like that. It’s really about building brand love in the long term.”
The marketing spend is standard compared to other activation campaigns for the brand, Ricketts says. The creative is anchored by OLV, while featuring social and digital, as well as some OOH to have a physical presence in the communities where IKEA is located in Canada.
The campaign was developed by agency partner Rethink, with Carat handling media planning. VML oversaw loyalty/CRM. Ricketts notes that the campaign features a greater focus on radio, which is a strong driver of in-store visitation and is where IKEA competitors are also spending money.
