When IKEA first entered the US in 1985, visitors had never experienced anything like it. It was weird, exciting, and slightly overwhelming. But it was also amazingly affordable, and Americans embraced it. 

​

Fast forward 30 years, and there were ominous signs on the horizon. In early 2016, as operational earnings at brick-and-mortar retailers declined by 25% and major retailers were forced to close thousands of stores, IKEA North America showed slight improvement in visits, customers, and sales over $4B, but much of this growth was precarious, driven by new store openings rather than true, same-store growth.

​

People thought they knew they brand. They saw IKEA as a compromise or the furniture you have when just starting out on your own. The prices were low so the quality was questioned. The stores seemed farther away than they actually were. And there was an assumption that everything was going to be some sort of stereotypical Swedish minimalism.

​

To ignite real, solid growth, IKEA needed to confront “false” familiarity and reframe their democratic design philosophy for the American people – not as a compromise but as design for real life.

​

We started with an ethnographic study. Based on these findings, we developed and tested 3 positioning territories and put them into quantitative research to select the one with the most potential and identify the profiles and sizes of our base, swing and opposition. We then enlisted The Economist’s Intelligence Unit to conduct a study of 2,050 Americans of varying ages, socio-economic statuses, races and genders to gauge current American consumer preferences and create the foundation for the brand platform

​

The resulting communications offered a positive – but credible – vision of the American Dream in the face of profoundly pessimistic narratives elsewhere in the culture: IKEA can help you make it. Incorporating an IKEA-blue flag as a marker, we boldly proclaimed how IKEA was helping democratize the American dream.

​

The results were incredible:

• Sales up +6.3% YOY, from $4.83B to $5.14B, profit up +26.3%

• Increases across the board on critical KPIs greatly exceeded expectations: +40 favorability, +32 purchase intent, +38 advocacy, +29 trust, and more

• Increases on most perception metrics on brand, kitchen, and holiday categories

• Store visitation increased 60% and website visits more than tripled amongst target audience