MxMIndia

Tag: IKEA

  • A Family’s DIY Experience

    A Family’s DIY Experience

    Sanjeev KotnalaThe Ikea experience is more than just assembling furniture; it is a fascinating, engaging experience reshaping how we perceive DIY craftsmanship. No doubt IKEA is changing the furniture space one piece at a time.

    DIY, short for Do It Yourself in furniture assembly is new to Indian customers. For us, fully assembled, no-nonsense furniture is the norm. And if they are to be made at the site, the seller must better send the carpenter to do it. Our apprehension and discomfort associated with assembling furniture stem from unfamiliarity, perceived complexity, and concerns about potential damage.

    However, it is not so tough for a well-informed and slightly more confident – mainly from the new generation. Ikea had given wings to it.

    So here is what happened when our family tried it out with a simple three-drawer cabinet during the weekend.

    My daughter identified it (the three-drawer cabinet) on the Ikea site, saw it at the Ikea shop and then ordered it for delivery at home. We all thought that it should not be complicated.

    The assembly was in a slim, minimalistic, safe, and robust packaging. Something that one did not associate with e-commerce. The unboxing ceremony was eventless, but soon all the elements were on the floor.

    There was an immediate urge to start assembling it. How tough it could be?!

    The initial optimism soon gave way to a realisation – the task was more intricate than anticipated. Different-sized panels with varied holes, grooves suggesting interlocking parts, and an assortment of screws confronted us. A 3D puzzle with eight different types of screws, locks, and holders was before us. The initial thought was to call professional help, and UrbanClap sounded the best option- till someone discovered the assembling booklet.

    And the family decided that we would try it out and make the whole thing.

    This booklet was the saviour of the situation. However, there were no words but pages after pages demonstrating some 38 steps to follow. Simple sign language of pointers and crosses and tick-marks. Instruction to match the dots on the board with the screw number that would go in there. I would call it idiot-proofed, ensuring that even beginners could navigate the assembly process effortlessly.

    There was no way things could go wrong.

    The challenge arose when our tools at home were far from Ikea’s specific requirements. There was no star-headed screws and even a hammer. So, the juggad tendency took over, and the innovative solutions of using a knife and spoon and such items from the kitchen took over. And as for the hammer, the back of the screwdriver and belan took over.

    So, we started the family activity- the best part of the whole process.

    Everyone joined in. What followed was a delightful family activity lasting about three-and-a-half hours, punctuated by a well-deserved 30-minute tea break. Each family member played a unique role. The daughter took the lead in understanding and reading the manual. I took the role of macro directing, and my wife, who is not so mechanically inclined, took charge of putting the pieces together. The process was not just about building furniture; it was a lesson in understanding structural connections, channels, and lock-ins.

    The family members learned how things are held together, about channels and lock-ins. They truly admired the thought that has gone into designing every piece of DIY structure. More, so at the end, get up to say- not that harsh- not so bad- brilliant.

    It was joyful and playful working together. The family had its first DIY Ikea three-chest drawer that worked, and there were wild cheers when the drawers actually worked. The smiles and satisfaction that accompanied the completion of our first DIY Ikea three-chest drawer were invaluable.

    I believe such events help strengthen the family bond. And I suggest some offices take it as a bonding exercise.

    I may use a somewhat complex DIY structure in my workshops. Ensure that teams get different pages of the manual so that, in the end, they can derive new learning of coordinated, cooperative teamwork. The client would also get a fresh piece of furniture in the process.

    Our family thoroughly enjoyed the Ikea DIY adventure, and we’re eager to explore more projects in the future. So, try it out whether you’re a seasoned DIY enthusiast or a novice contemplating furniture purchases.

    Maine Ikea Kiya – Kya Tumney Kiya? Take the plunge into the DIY world, and you might discover not just furniture but a new way to bond and create memories with your loved ones.

  • Features their home furnishing products

    Ikea rolls out new campaign

    By Our Staff

     

    Ikea has launched its latest TVC campaign demonstrating multifunctional home furnishing solutions for consumers.

     

    The TVCs capture the essence of Ikea’s mission to create a better everyday life for the many people by providing well-designed, good quality, affordable, and sustainable home furnishing products.

     

    Anna Ohlin, Country Marketing Manager, IKEA India said: “We are aware of the evolving needs of our customers. With our new campaign, we are providing customers with endless possibilities while creating a functional living space for their homes. Our goal at IKEA is to ensure that living in a smaller space doesn’t compromise your comfort. Our TV commercials invite our viewers to discover the endless possibilities of multifunctional furniture and unlock their homes’ potential with IKEA’s home furnishing solutions.”

     

  • Insights behind the winning work from the WARC Rankings

    Warc unveils lessons from world’s most awarded brands

    By A Correspondent

     

    WARC has released ‘Lessons from the World’s Most Awarded Brands’, a report based on an analysis of the recently released three WARC rankings – Creative 100, Media 100 and Effective 100.

     

    The study looks at the strategies and approaches of some of the brands placed highly in the 2020 WARC Rankings, an independent benchmark of the world’s most awarded campaigns and companies based on their performance at the industry’s most important global and regional award shows of 2019.

     

    Said David Tiltman, VP Content, WARC: “To learn from the best, we’ve interviewed the teams behind some of the highly ranked work to see how it came about, and what they learned from it. At a time when marketing budgets are coming under pressure as the threat of recession looms, these are some of the ways marketers can make sure their brands stay relevant.”

     

    WARC has found nine common marketing themes used by highly successful brands:

     

    1. They are marketers, not just communicators

    While a lot of the work featured in the rankings is communications, the stories behind that work reveal marketers working across the classic 4Ps spectrum – product, price, place, and promotion.

     

    IKEA identified a product opportunity to appeal to a new audience and ensured distribution through 3D printing. NRMA Insurance took marketing communications budget and effectively reinvested it in cashback to its customers via its Safety Hub. There is also a growing interest in the breadth of the customer experience, and how to align all interactions with a brand – McDonald’s talks about “feelgood moments” that span ads to packaging to design.

     

    2. They know how they’re contributing

    A consistent theme through the interviews in the report is that marketers know how their work contributes at a business level. Meaning brand metrics are joined up to commercial objectives. For retailers that link might be very direct – as Colin Mitchell, CMO of McDonald’s points out, they receive sales data very quickly and can see what is working. For others it requires more work. Samsung and its agency Starcom, use search data as a leading indicator of business impact.

     

    3. They have one eye on the long term

    Long-term marketing investment versus short-term is a very live debate at present. This might involve splitting budgets between distinct ‘brand’ and ‘activation’ work. It also involves the nurturing of ‘distinctive brand assets’ over time, which demands consistency as well as creativity.

     

    Volkswagen balances brand investment like the ‘Road Tales’ project with very sales-focused work. Meanwhile, Fernando Machado, CMO of Burger King is criticised by some for a ‘stunt’ approach. But as he points out in the report, that is only one element of his marketing plan as he balances high-impact brand activity with everyday executions designed to drive footfall.

     

    4. They know creativity is key – but only when applied in a business context

    Creativity is a key element as brands seek distinctive and innovative products and communications. Whilst creativity drives distinctiveness, and in some cases delivers a cultural impact, it means nothing if it isn’t achieving broader commercial objectives.

     

    An example is Burger King’s Whopper Detour: fantastically creative, but with a real business purpose underlying it – to drive downloads and orders through an app.

     

    5. They tolerate risk

    The decision to do something different – for example, to run a campaign that does not play by category rules, or to divert budget into an untested proposition – can seem risky. But the rewards are potentially much higher. The marketers in this report understand that trade-off. Indeed, some of the brands in the report – even big ones like Samsung and Burger King – take a ‘challenger’ approach. They deliberately flout category rules and use attention grabbing tactics that court controversy to position themselves against a bigger competitor.

     

    6. They execute flawlessly – even if it takes time

    The scale of some of the work in the WARC Rankings is breathtaking. ‘Whopper Detour’ took a year to come to market due to the technical and legal complexities. Carrefour’s ‘Black Supermarket’ also took a year as the marketing team convinced colleagues, lawyers and lobbyists it should deliberately flout the law to gain an advantage. IKEA’s ThisAbles project took even longer. A genuinely great idea is worth the wait if that’s what it takes to land it seamlessly.

     

    7. Their purpose is focused

    Purpose has become synonymous with ‘save the world’ communications that have little alignment with a brand’s actual objectives or its impact in the world. In this report, a lot of the marketers use the word ‘purpose’ – but that purpose is usually focused on their customers and their pain points. In other words, they know why their brand exists and how it ought to behave.

     

    IKEA’s approach to developing add-ons for the disabled community is a textbook example of spotting a new way to serve a specific group, and Volkswagen’s ‘Road Tales’ was built on the simple need to entertain children during a car journey.

     

    8. They look for the human stories in data

    While a lot of modern marketing revolves around data-driven ideas and tech innovation, successful brands have the ability to spot human stories or ‘small data’ and turn that information into a source of creativity and competitive advantage.

     

    Much of the success of KFC’s work in China is built around Chinese gaming and e-sports. This in turn was built on the observation that KFC’s meals can be eaten with one hand, leaving the other hand free to hold a controller. Volvo’s EVA initiative was all about data; but what made it powerful was the message that crash test data had become a gender issue.

     

    9. They build an ecosystem of trusted partners

    Most marketers work with external partners, but much of the work in this report springs from relationships that go beyond supplier and contractor. Some projects involve broader ecosystems, as clients and agencies bring in specialist support. A common thread: it’s not just about hiring the right people – it’s about sharing data, giving them access across the organisation, and setting them briefs that will bring out the best from them.

     

    Joe Stubbs, Vice President of Global Brand, Interbrand, who provides expert commentary in the report, comments: “Becoming a successful brand is not as easy as having great products and services. Becoming a successful brand is about having the courage to continuously make bold and iconic moves that will drive exceptional results.”

     

     

  • With Ikea set to launch in India next year, it had undertaken an elaborate, three-month pitch process with many agencies participating

    Dentsu Impact bags Ikea’s India creative mandate

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu Impact, the recently rechristened creative agency of the Dentsu Aegis Network, has bagged the creative mandate for Ikea.

     

    With Ikea set to launch in India next year, it had undertaken an elaborate, three-month pitch process with many agencies participating.

     

    Ulf Smedberg
    Amit Wadhwa

    Commenting on the association, Ulf Smedberg, Country Marketing Manager, Ikea said, “We are happy to sign up Dentsu as our creative partner in India after a long pitch process involving the best agencies in the country. We have high expectations on ourselves and Dentsu to build a strong partnership in India and use our collective knowledge, creativity and experience to launch IKEA in the most successful way. “

     

    Having bagged the mandate, Amit Wadhwa, President, Dentsu Impact said, “Putting the feeling of getting an opportunity to work on this brand is even more difficult than winning the business. We at Dentsu Impact are delighted to work on brand Ikea and can’t wait to get started on this….Time to get down to producing some amazing work.”

     

  • A number of people have been proudly putting out ‘I am at Starbucks!’ tweets. And to think it's just a bloody coffee joint, writes Anil Thakraney

    Anil Thakraney: Starbucks: Power of a brand

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    The night before Starbucks opened its gates to India, I was dining with some friends at Trishna (Kala Ghoda). After we finished with our prawns and fish, we decided to drive by Horniman Circle to check if Starbucks was already in operation, and whether it looked as fancy as some media reports had suggested. The outlet was still to be born, but I was stunned to see all the crowds that had collected there, the heavy action that was underway to give the coffee shop the finishing touches. With major light and sound rehearsals, stuff that even Shah Jahan would not have conceived of when the Taj was first thrown open to the public.

     

    And of course, the social media has been going crazy over the event. A number of people have been proudly putting out ‘I am at Starbucks!’ tweets. The maha excited reviews in the media have only just begun. And to think Starbucks is just a bloody coffee joint! Although I am not a coffee drinker, I did try out their stuff once on a visit to New York City. And must say I found the potion to be utterly expensive and totally distasteful. Though the loo was quite clean, so I didn’t really leave the place in a huff.

     

    This tells me two things about us desis: One, that we are still a wannabe nation, nothing much has changed in the last two decades. Then, I spotted a long queue at Linking Road in Bandra, when McDonald’s opened shop in India. And it’s ditto at Horniman Circle today. Two, that we are a brand-starved nation. Clearly, India’s teeming masses want the best of the world, there is heavy demand but poor supply. This is great news for all those multi-brand retail outlets who want to come here. I can already see huge crowds inside and outside Wal-Mart and Tesco. Not to speak of IKEA. Now if only our short-sighted, small-minded politicians would let it all happen.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Very interesting article on whether media companies must list down social media usage guidelines for journalists, even if they happen to be freelancers. My belief is that they should. Because whether we like it or not, tweets and Facebook updates posted by journalists do get associated with their employers by most readers. Even if the journos choose to be in denial of it.

     

    Link: http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/17/after-an-outburst-on-twitter-the-times-reinforces-its-social-media-guidelines/

     

     

  • The site itself has been trying to tell advertisers that if they want scale, they'll have to shell out the hard cash for offerings like "sponsored stories", not to be confused with "sponsored ads"

    Can Facebook, the marketer’s online best friend ever become its ace salesman?

    By Delshad Irani & Ravi Balakrishnan

     

    In 2009, Facebook terminated the ‘Whopper Sacrifice’, Burger King’s social experiment cum marketing activation. Created by Crispin Porter Bogusky, the campaign’s premise was the more ties you sever the closer you get to your BK Whopper. The application as it turned out was a whopping success.

     

    Within a week 200,000 ‘friends’ were virtually burned out of existence from various lists. Facebook couldn’t handle the loss of those hard-earned friendships. Burger King, on the other hand, proved the point it set out to make – Americans sure do love their burgers. That same year, Swedish furniture giant Ikea spent practically nothing to create a campaign to promote its newest store.

     

    The agency Forsman & Bodenfors created a new Facebook account for the manager at the store in the city of Malmo and posted catalogue pictures of furnished rooms.

     

    Users could win furniture and other items in the photos if they beat their friends to the punch. All they needed to do was tag the pieces with their names first. Needless to say the prospect of first-to-tag-wins drove Facebookians crazy. The campaign was hassle-free, cheap and effective, just like the Scandinavian furniture it was advertising.

     

    Fast-forward to a few weeks ago. General Motors, the world’s fourth-largest advertiser and spender of $3.9 billion globally on advertising in 2010, haunted by questions related to effectiveness and ROI, pulled out its pretty penny, all $10 million of it, from Facebook’s paid-ad kitty just days before the social network’s stock went public.

     

    In addition to that sum, the automaker spends a reported $30 million on content creation for social media. These examples make Baccarat-crystal clear what we know already – you don’t have to pay big to make an impact via social media.

     

    In India, most marketers love talking about the worth of a campaign by the number of fans, or likes received on the most recent post. But even they are starting to ask a tricky question: what’s the real worth of their campaigns on Facebook? Worth more than a burger, eh?

     

    The site itself has been trying to tell advertisers that no longer will mere presence and innovative social media campaigns cut it. If they want scale, they’ll have to shell out the hard cash for offerings like “sponsored stories”, not to be confused with “sponsored ads”.

     

    For instance, products like Reach Generator guarantee that posts by a brand stand to be seen by 75 per cent of its fans every month or an estimated 50 per cent every week. Non users of the tool will have to settle for an average of only 16 per cent of fans viewing posts on a weekly basis. Not everyone’s buying though, believing that compelling content will win any day of the week.

     

    Anuradha Aggarwal, senior VP, brand communication and insights, Vodafone India said: “Since having high engagement scores is our goal, we focus on creating content on our Facebook page rather than on advertising. We focus on creating posts and apps to enable our 3.2 million fans to create conversations and experiences around the brand.”

     

    PepsiCo’s approach is to use a combination of both, posts/promotions on brand pages and display advertising. One of the cola maker’s prominent campaigns on the site was ‘Meet Messi in Miami’ where fans had to complete a series of tasks to win a chance to meet The Atomic Flea.

     

    During the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, Pepsi launched an online progamme as part of the ‘Change the Game’ campaign where fans could win a dream trip across the country for all India matches. The latter initiative was listed as one of the 19 best campaigns in the world by Facebook on their success stories blog, the only Indian effort to feature on the page.

     

    According to Homi Battiwalla, category director – colas, hydration and mango based beverages, PepsiCo India, it is too early to give a conclusive opinion on new advertising properties like sponsored stories and other offers. So the bottom line when it comes to the marketing on the social network is the game hasn’t quite changed. “The primary focus remains on organic content as we believe it results in better consumer connect,” said Mr Battiwalla.

     

    For automakers like Mahindra & Mahindra, Facebook is good for what it was born to do in the first place. Well, that and to spy on “old acquaintances”. According to Vivek Nayer, senior VP, marketing, automotive division, Mahindra & Mahindra: “Rather than looking at Facebook for advertising reach, we’ve leveraged it for what the platform is inherently good at; building communities. Today at 5 million, we are the largest automotive community on Facebook in India”

     

    In the case of Unilever, the company moved from almost accidentally stumbling on the power of the site – after noting a lot of action on its first Cornetto Luv Reels page long after the promotion was over – to it being a key pillar to the launch of Fruttare, its new range for the summer. Sapan Sharma, general manager – ice creams, Hindustan Unilever, said: “There’s an advertiser login where you get all the details. In the first 10 days of launch, 1.2 lakh fans signed up and there were 1.2 to 1.5 lakh conversations.”

     

    Arch-rival P&G is not lagging either. According to a company spokesperson: “In just less than two months, we have over 690,000 fans for our Thank You, Mom campaign. This makes it the largest, most engaged-with Thank You, Mom community globally.” For the launch of Olay’s premium skin care range, Olay Regenerist, a Facebook waiting list was created, with both fashion journalists and consumers signing up for an exclusive trial on the site; in less than three weeks, over 11,400 people had registered.

     

    But as the eight-year-old Facebook enters a new league as a listed company, it needs to, and rather urgently, scale its revenues to sync with its audience. Minute, often ineffective, right-rail ads aren’t exactly a juicy bone to dangle in front of existing and potential advertisers; thus the introduction of premium ads and better placement.

     

    According to Siddhart Rao, CEO of digital agency Webchutney, the sweet spot between organic and paid promotion is the one that will yield maximum benefit to brands looking to extract value from social media marketing platforms like Facebook. “One cannot work without the other,” he said.

     

    S Yesudas, managing director – Indian subcontinent, Vizeum, said: “I do not think all marketers know what to expect from the medium. The hurry to be on to the bandwagon gets them there. The fact that Facebook offers free advertising inventory for brands to test the medium gets overlooked. In my opinion, the medium can be successfully used to build relationships with the consumers.

     

    Targeting can be done based on profile information, relationship status, interest or based on certain words in profiles or status messages. But the truth is the brand communication will always compete with the updates, videos, etc from friends.”

     

    Indeed, it’s complicated; the relationship between advertisers and Facebook. Especially when one moves from the fluffy world of engagement to hard sales. Many retailers in the West like JC Penney, Gamestop and Gap pulled the shutters on their stores on Facebook this February.

     

    Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer – founder – MD, BC Web Wise said: “Ironically Wade

    Gerten, the founder of 8thBridge – the flower store that was responsible for the coinage of the term F-commerce as it was the first to open shop on Facebook for 1,800 Flowers – has admitted that sales never really materialised for their first or other F-outlets, adding that F-commerce deserved an F. Given the fact that F-commerce (Facebook commerce) has failed in the west for retailers, it appears that Facebook would be an engagement vehicle. Peer recommendation and product ratings are not integrated. Should it launch a brand intelligence tool which can be used by consumers – which exposes peer comments and recommendations that can be accessed by the FB community – then the ball game will change.”

     

    Venkat Mallik – president, Tribal DDB & Rapp India says Facebook’s ability to deliver sales impact has been a bit of a mixed bag: “There need to be more strong case studies demonstrating the sales or brand impact from the use of Facebook led engagement.”

     

    However while Facebook may not itself be a platform to sell it can impact sales according to some of its satisfied customers. Unilever’s Mr Sharma for instance believes there’s a definite co-relation between high levels of engagement and products sold.

     

    According to Carlton D’Silva, chief creative officer, Hungama Digital Media, “Opinions of family and friends matter when making purchase decisions decisions and Facebook activity will provide a lot of data to consumers, which can be leveraged in places where they make these decisions, causing a significant, if not direct impact on purchase behaviour.”

     

    “GM is slashing its advertising budgets by $ 2 billion, of this only $10 million or 0.5 per cent was on Facebook. They have also announced they won’t advertise on Super Bowl, either. Further, what should be noted is that GM has 8 million fans already. I am sure that they are going to continue with the engagement plans for acquired fans. It would be foolish to assume anything beyond, or assume Facebook has failed for GM, it would be just that advertising further is currently not the best bet in its media plan,” said Ms Aiyer

     

    The users of Facebook both on the agency and the marketer side each have their wishlist ready.

     

    “The analytics are available at a lag of 7 to 15 days; I’m sure it can come earlier. I’m sure there will be a time when we can talk to people from a specific city or market,” said Mr Sharma

     

    “They are hugely data rich. If in some way they get to using some of the data millions of people put in their hands on a minute to minute basis, sky will be the limit for them.This will surely come in with resistance from the users, unless they persuade them. They have to walk this path very carefully,” added Mr Yesudas.

     

    Most brands have a clear agenda from marketing spends on social media platforms like Facebook – greater outreach among target audiences through personalised interaction and engagement, leading to higher impact on conversions and sales.

     

    “It’s a perfectly reasonable expectation from a social communication platform with 900 million members,” said Mr Rao of Webchutney, “but whether brands invest enough thought, time, resources and action to engage audiences meaningfully is another question.” And one helluva question it is. Because for every whopper of a Scandinavian success story, there are at least a dozen marketing campaigns that have fallen flat on their face. So, ask not what you can do on Facebook but what Facebook can do for you.

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • The Government’s decision to allow FDI in retail has opened up possibilities for international retail giants who till now have been waiting in the sidelines.

    IKEA, Carrefour welcome FDI

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    The Government’s decision to allow FDI in retail has opened up possibilities for international retail giants who till now have been waiting in the sidelines. While Indian politicians are busy either batting for FDI or opposing it vehemently, the international biggies are playing safe and watching their step before making any decision.

     

    IKEA, the international home products company that has been clear that it will only enter India when 100% FDI will be allowed now seems to have crossed that hurdle. With Indian government allowing 100% FDI in single brand retail, it clears way for the Swedish furniture giant to make its presence in India.

     

    An IKEA spokesperson informed MxM India, “The IKEA Group welcomes the Indian Government’s decision to allow 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment for single brand retailers. We will now over the next few days look into the details of the decision and we expect to present more information shortly about our intention to establish retail operations. India is since long a strong and growing purchase market for IKEA.”

     

    IKEA has been looking towards India increasingly over the years to outsource its products including textiles and carpets and the country finds the retailers focus in its social initiatives. Looks like it’s not far when IKEA would announce its plan for India and be present in a market which is seen by many International retailers as crucial because of the changing dynamics and economy of the country. In fact, giants like Walmart is already present but in Cash & Carry business with a partnership with Bharti Enterprises. Tesco has strategic partnership with Tata Trent for back end and supplying for Tata’s Star Bazaar. French retailer Carrefour too has opened last year its cash and carry store in Seelampur area in Delhi.

     

    Carrefour’s statement on FDI in India stated, “Carrefour welcomes the Indian Government’s decision to allow up to 51% foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail. This legal evolution should contribute to modernise Indian food supply chain and to fight against food inflation for the benefit of Indian customers. It will also provide farmers and local SMEs with new outcomes and will more generally contribute to India’s economic development. Carrefour will remain attentive to the finalisation of this new regulation and continues the development of its cash and carry operations. Please note that we cannot give you any further elements.”

     

    The move is a welcome relief for the international biggies but it now remains to be seen how and when these giants make their entry into the front end of the business in India.