This week, Madhuwanti reviews marketing activations by IKEA Israel who turned its catalogue into a fun workbook for bored kids stuck inside during quarantine, Busch Beer who is offering a year of free to couples whose wedding plans got cancelled due to COVID-19 and Adidas who is inspiring us to hit the treadmill with their content series. Take a look
1.IKEA Israel
McCann Tel Aviv and IKEA Israel created a simple yet effective promotional book that doubles up as a workbook for kids and puzzle-loving adults. It’s a pamphlet designed like the brand’s home catalogue.
The pages, apart from promoting IKEA’s furniture and other products, also feature puzzles of different forms to keep the bored kids busy during the lockdown. For instance, IKEA’s wooden pencils have become the boats in a Battleship game; a maze challenges kids to find an IKEA store, colouring-in pages to keep them engrossed for hours.
IKEA does it again by coming out with a refreshing marketing activation that scores high on relevance and engagement. More importantly, the brand targeted young parents for whom it can be daunting to keep their kids entertained without stepping out. By offering something useful, fun and free, IKEA knows how to keep the fun going under the current circumstances.
The original activity book is available for download on IKEA Israel‘s website while the English version is available on blog IKEAHackers.
Interestingly this comes after the brand and the agency came out with a very Ikea-style instructional sheet on how to stay home, including locking the door, having toilet paper and not opening the door.
In the past, IKEA has always pushed the envelope with its marketing stunts whether it’s Kamasutra-inspired brand manual or the one where it let customers purchase its products with time.
Over here, in my opinion, with this gimmick, the company is aiming for brand recall by entering into the lives of its customers since it can’t be the other way round now. And it works.
Campaign: Stay Home Catalog
Agency: McCann Tel Aviv
2.Busch Beer
Busch Beer is offering couples whose wedding plans got changed due to the coronavirus pandemic, a chance to win its beer for a year (for free). The couples are asked to post a photo of themselves on social media (Twitter or Instagram), using the hashtags #BuschWeddingGift and #Sweepstakes, with a caption explaining how they still plan on celebrating.
Two hundred and fifty winners will receive a $300 debit card, which can then be used to buy two 24-pack cases per month.
The Anheuser-Busch-owned beer brand also looks to engage with friends of engaged couples by asking them to participate using hashtags #MyFriendsWedding and #Sweepstakes and tagging their engaged friend, to win a T-shirt or coozie. Submissions are open until May 1.
The social media contest is a good way for the brand to stay on top of their consumers’ minds. It is a smart move to actually engage their TG whose wedding plans got jinxed and their friends with a social media contest. In my opinion, a year with free beer can be a fun thing to look forward to.
In fact, this is not the first time the brand is promoting itself as a wedding beverage. Last year, the company ran a contest for the engaged couples to win $25,000 pay for their wedding. In addition to that, the main spokesperson for the company, Busch Guy, will officiate the wedding.
So it’s interesting to see the brand adjusting its marketing strategy for the same target audience and instead give away beer.
Campaign: #BuschWeddingGift
3.Adidas
Adidas partnered with an online platform Intersport Running to create a content series that talks on how running impacts people from different walks of life. This series was motioned to launch the sports shoe brand’s running platform ‘Faster Than.’ Created by agency Iris Amsterdam, it features Dutch DJ and producer Jarreau Vandal, British broadcaster Charlie Webster and British photographer James Carnegie.
Each episode explores how they use the ‘fast’ mindset to seek the best version of themselves in their daily lives. They capture topics like self-esteem, creativity, headspace and how running boosts different aspects of human lives. It’s an interesting idea to bring in personalities from different professions and how this activity (running) helps them to be their best at their jobs. I like how the stories present the beneficial side of running.
Every episode is well shot, engaging and inspires you to put on your running shoes and hit the treadmill (since you can’t step out).
Campaign: ‘Faster Than’ Stories
Agency: Iris Amsterdam