Mistaken for a retail store's staff member? Awkward… Check out this company's solution to this problem!
Campaigns of this type serve as reminders that promoting or advertising a brand doesn’t always have to be too complex, formal, or traditional. In today’s article, we’d like to share with you an example of a clever guerrilla marketing stunt. Keep reading to know how this furniture retail company turned a common source of confusion among its customers into a fun and memorable marketing strategy.
|
||
|
Mistaken for a retail store's staff member? Awkward… Check out this company's solution to this problem! Have you ever experienced going into a grocery store or department store then suddenly, another customer asks you where a certain product is located or if a specific product still has stocks? That person probably thought you’re an employee in that store! If you’ve experienced that, don’t worry. You’re not alone. In fact, there’s this furniture retail company that often receives reports about some of its customers being mistaken for store employees. What’s that company? IKEA!
IKEA is a multinational conglomerate that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances, decorations, home accessories, and other products. Established in 1943, the company has been the world’s largest furniture retailer since 2008. The brand is primarily known for its modernist designs on various appliances and furniture, and its interior design work is often associated with simplicity and minimalism. Additionally, IKEA is known for its attention to cost control, operational details, and consistent product development. These enable the brand to lower its prices for an average of 2% to 3%. Never Wear Yellow in IKEA If you’ve ever been to an IKEA store and unintentionally worn a yellow shirt or dress, chances are you’d blend in with the store’s staff… and be actually mistaken by other customers as part of the workforce! In January 2022, an IKEA brand in Al-Futtaim, Dubai received such reports. It was the sale season and the foot traffic in the store increased by 600%. That time, many customers were confused and clueless on where they could find the products they were looking for. Their knee-jerk reaction? They approached the nearest person who wore yellow to ask for directions!
Some of them were lucky to have asked the right people—meaning the actual staff… but for others, they had to ask for apologies as they mistook a fellow customer for an employee. IKEA Al-Futtaim’s management team knew this kind of confusion was common in the store, especially during sale seasons. So, to turn this issue into something customers could have fun with, the company decided to make a guerrilla marketing campaign out of it. Enter the “Co-Worker For the Day” campaign…
From January 26 to 29, 2022, IKEA Al-Futtaim rewarded customers who unintentionally wore yellow: By inviting them to become “employees for the day” and giving them discounts on their purchases. Here’s how the campaign played out: Every time someone who wore yellow entered the store, IKEA’s staff would ask that person if he or she was willing to be a co-worker for the day. If that person agreed, he or she would be handed out an IKEA ID and asked to download IKEA’s mobile app. Afterwards, he or she could start assisting fellow customers with their inquiries. You might be wondering: How could these people answer other customers’ inquiries when they were only asked to help out on the spot, with no proper training and all? That’s why they were asked to download the company’s mobile app before they started their jobs as co-workers. The software had a database of over 9,000 products, and by scanning the QR code attached on a product display, these co-workers were able to explain the product’s features, if it still had available stocks, where it was located, etc.
Awesome, right? Then, at the end of the day, it was the co-workers’ time to shop for items and as a reward for their hard work, they received discounts on their purchases.
Was IKEA’s “Co-Worker For the Day” campaign effective? Throughout the 3-day guerrilla marketing campaign, IKEA Al-Futtaim was able to turn yellow shirts into an asset during one of its busiest seasons. Additionally, the company was able to promote its mobile app and increase its customer retention rates. Here are the results of the campaign:
Kudos, IKEA Al-Futtaim! These results show the “Co-Worker For the Day” campaign achieved its objective not just in turning customers’ awkward encounters into a good asset but also in showcasing the perks of having the IKEA mobile app. *Applause* — As a business owner, leader, manager, or marketer, one of the things you can learn from this guerrilla marketing strategy is problems or awkward encounters can be one of your brand’s greatest assets if you’re creative enough to properly take advantage of them. In IKEA Al-Futtaim’s case, using the problem of yellow-shirted customers being mistaken for salespeople became an opportunity to:
This strategy became a win for everybody because it removed the embarrassment and annoyance customers felt for unintentionally wearing yellow, and at the same time, it enabled IKEA to use various elements (app, yellow, co-workers, etc.) to leave a lasting impression on shoppers. Unleash your creativity and, like IKEA, turn a common “epic fail” into one of your brand’s strongest “marketing weapons!” Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn. Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing! Do you want to learn how one beverage company turned its bottle’s silhouette into a classic visual hammer in consumers’ minds? See it in next week’s article! |
