This brand turned hidden tags into a proof of durability. Here’s how it pulled it off!
| From the desk of Miles Everson: Hello! Welcome to today’s edition of “Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!” For those of you who may not be familiar with it, guerrilla marketing is an unconventional strategy that encourages marketers to come up with out-of-the-box tactics when engaging with their target audience. I’m a fan of this strategy because it’s a reminder that marketing a brand or an offering doesn’t always have to be conventional. For today, I’ll talk about a brand that lets its product and customers do the talking in revealing just how long its products last! Keep reading below! |
This brand turned hidden tags into a proof of durability. Here’s how it pulled it off! Swedish furniture company IKEA has built a strong and recognizable brand identity since its founding in 1943 due to its stylish, easy-to-assemble, and long-lasting products. In almost every corner of the globe, you’re bound to find many patrons of the brand who swear by its quality and durability. … and while IKEA’s strong brand identity and reputation for long-lasting products has largely held up over the past decades, some have labeled its offerings as “throwaway” products. The important question is this: Are IKEA products flimsy and easy to break? Well, that’s exactly the question the brand answered in 2024… and it did so in such a unique and memorable way! Turning Negativity Into Opportunity
IKEA has earned heaps of praise on social media for the prices and durability of its products. However, not every social media post has been positive, as some have criticized the brand of manufacturing flimsy products. Some pundits have even gone as far as labeling them as “trash,” “not built to last,” and “not being the most durable.” Instead of refuting these claims through a press release or a video message, IKEA and ad agency UZINA addressed these claims in a unique way in 2024. So, what did they do and how did it play out? At the heart of this guerrilla marketing campaign was IKEA’s product labels. You see, every IKEA furniture comes with a product tag that contains key details like its name, origin, product identification, and production date.
Since these tags indicate when a product was made, IKEA had the means to disprove claims about the durability of its product. … and to show just how durable these products are, IKEA and UZINA kicked off a campaign in Portugal that encouraged everyone who has bought furniture from the company to photograph and share their product tags! The reward? A EUR 2,000 to the person with the oldest IKEA furniture! That’s not all. IKEA also used the campaign to find the average lifespan of its products. All participants had to do was visit a specially-made IKEA Portugal landing page that enabled to do the following:
To draw attention, IKEA and UZINA leveraged social media, out-of-home (OOH) ads, and traditional TV ad placements while also working with influencers. So, was this worth all the trouble? YES! Over 4,500 furniture tags were submitted and it was discovered that the average age of IKEA products were a whopping 18.5 years. More importantly, the oldest piece of IKEA furniture that was found was 55 years—an offering dating back to the company’s 1969 catalogue! Aside from those discoveries, the campaign yielded an additional 14% increase in sales, with 31% of those coming from new IKEA loyalty program members. Lastly, the campaign recorded an additional 42% growth in IKEA’s loyalty program membership, which translates to over 95,000 new signups. To add icing on the cake, IKEA and UZINA’s campaign garnered citations from prestigious award-giving bodies like The One Club and D&AD! It’s clear that the campaign was a success… and even more importantly, it showed that IKEA products indeed last for a long time! That said, what are the key takeaways from this successful campaign? For one, negative feedback about a brand or its offerings can be an opportunity for a business to cultivate engagement and—in IKEA’s case—debunk unfavorable narratives. This campaign showed that with enough searching and a fair bit of wit and creativity, brands and marketers can leverage even the most minute details of their products as the centerpiece of their marketing efforts! So, the next time you search for ways to improve your brand visibility or even respond to negative criticism, consider taking a page from IKEA's playbook! Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful. Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing! Do you want to know how one car brand used the power of sound to save kangaroos and drivers in Australia? See it in next week’s article! |
Miles Everson
CEO of MBO Partners and former Global Advisory and Consulting CEO at PwC, Everson has worked with many of the world's largest and most prominent organizations, specializing in executive management. He helps companies balance growth, reduce risk, maximize return, and excel in strategic business priorities.
He is a sought-after public speaker and contributor and has been a case study for success from Harvard Business School.
Everson is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants. He graduated from St. Cloud State University with a B.S. in Accounting.
