Ikea launches live comedy at Singapore stores

In addition to promoting its bedroom collections on TV, print, digital and outdoor, the international home products company is presenting a 'bedroom comedy' about the coming-of-age of a young woman—and her relationship with her bedroom. The 20-minute show stars actress and DJ Denise Tan.

Irene Lau, regional marketing manager at Ikano Retail Asia, told Campaign Asia-Pacific that the idea fits with Ikea’s concept of bringing surprise and creativity to its customers. The campaign aims to show customers that home is a place where they can spend time with their family, which is more important than gadgets, she continued.

“A lot of people are staying out of home most of the time and spending time on their gadgets," she said. "We want to bring the message that the bedroom is the most intimate place for us, while home is the most important place on the earth. Home furnishings can be connecting and engaging.”

The idea of the comedy comes from the internal marketing team, and it is piloting in Singapore. Lau noted that the idea might be implemented in Malaysia and Thailand as well.

The overall campaign is developed by Lowe Malaysia, while the media agency is OMD.

The live comedy is one of the two main focuses of the campaign, which runs from 4 April to 13 May. It will be played at Ikea Alexandra on 21 and 28 April at 2pm, as well as at Ikea Tampines on 22 and 29 April at 3pm. The final performance will be on 1 May at 6pm at Alexandra and 4pm at Tampines.

Another element of the campaign is a Facebook app called “Who can you sleep with”. Developed by One9Ninety, the app aims to generate awareness for Ikea bedroom products and its related services, while driving traffic to its websites and stores.

To attract new fans and maintain engagement with existing ones, the app invites users to discover their perfect sleeping partner—among Ikea mattresses. It drives users to first declare their favourite sleeping positions, which later leads them to discover the psychological profile associated with this position, and appropriate choices from the brand's offerings.

The app also sorts users’ friends according to their sleeping styles, psychological profiles and ideal mattresses, and allows people to discover friends who match their “sleeping” profile.

Laurent Verrier, founder and managing director of One9Ninety, noted that the Facebook app has helped develop a large and engaged fan base for IKEA Singapore and Malaysia.

“The multi-phased approach recommended and executed is largely data driven," he said. "It places a strong focus on community building, iWOM [Internet word-of-mouth] and aims at reinforcing the Ikea brand values of being surprising through exciting online activation campaigns and community dynamics.”

Lau said Ikea is responding to its customers desire for a Facebook page as a platform to interact with the brand.

“We particularly value the very direct engagement and immediate feedback we establish through buzz tracking or Facebook comments," she said. "We relish the opportunity to listen and engage with our target audience and get better in the process. A 240,000 strong community now offers both qualitative and quantitative value that can be expressed in terms of insights, reach, awareness and traffic to stores.”