IKEA | Inspiration Experience

For 75 years, IKEA has brought inspiration out of the store and into millions of homes with the iconic IKEA catalog. But in the era of Pinterest over paper, it was time to reinvent how people experience the Brand.

This year, we took all the inspiration, room settings, and IKEA products that fit on a page, and brought it to life so you could see, touch and sit on it. More than a showroom, we carefully curated four unique living spaces that reflect the various ways we all live at home: we had a Zen room for nature lovers; a cozy, playful space for a small family; an eclectic room for world travelers; and a living room for a large family that loves arts and crafts. 

And it wasn’t your regular old activation, because we gamified it all. We built an interactive mobile trivia game that taught visitors about IKEA’s unique culture and approach to design. As people explored the different rooms they used their own phones to scan product price tags and unlock trivia questions. The best part? In true IKEA fashion, everyone left with an iconic “blue bag” full of prizes.

To further educate, we innovated a “selfie time machine” to entertain visitors in-line to enter. Inside a replica of the IKEA founding “shed” from 1943, people found a vintage phone, chair and lamp. Pulling the lamp’s switch activated a camera with awesome retro filters, and the vintage phone allowed them to send their photos via text message. Visitors exited through a meatball bar serving a delicious sampler of IKEA meatballs with gourmet sauces. 

And that’s how we took IKEA out of the mailbox and into an unforgettable Brand experience.