2022 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

IKEA is famous for its affordable furniture. But that affordability also made it disposable. For decades, IKEA has been the poster-child of Fast-Furniture. But IKEA is now emerging as a leader in sustainability. The brand has a mission to become fully circular by 2030. The agency needed to shift the perceptions of Canadians and get them to view IKEA as a leader in sustainability. In addition, sustainable practices among Canadians had dropped as a result of Covid-19. Canadians were buying more, wasting more, and conserving less. It was an opportunity not only for IKEA to demonstrate its sustainability commitments, but also to help Canadians live a more sustainable life at home.

IKEA’s commitment to sustainability became less of a priority for many Canadians. But the same place people were forced to retreat because of Covid-19 (their homes), was exactly where they could help the planet the most. Small sustainable actions done at home, by the many, can have a big impact. They needed to show people the power of these small, accessible actions taken at home. And, more importantly, that even though we’re apart these actions can make a big difference when we come together as a community.

They launched the Our Little World campaign. A campaign that didn’t ask people to buy more, it actually asked people to buy less. And they showed Canadians they could help make their own little worlds (the home) a more sustainable place. The campaign kicked off with a spot centred around a highly visual world, showing people living on their own little planets. Within it we see them going about their everyday lives in a surreal environment while taking different sustainable actions, big and small, to make their home worlds a better place. Ultimately, showing that what you do at home, in your own little world, can change the whole world.

They then gave Canadians instruction manuals but for old furniture so their furniture could have new life: Repurposeful Instructions. There were instructions for turning a cabinet into a beehive, salad bowls into a birdhouse, and the famous blue FRAKTA bag into a hanging planter. For Black Friday, IKEA gave new meaning to the term “Black Friday savings,” pivoting from Black Friday being about saving money to being about saving the planet. Finally, at the height of the pandemic, as single use take-out container waste skyrocketed, they supplied restaurants with reusable sustainable IKEA containers for free. After the campaign, IKEA saw a 6% lift in consumer belief in the brand’s positive impact (the belief that the brand has a positive impact on the environment). The campaign also led to a 40% increase in site visitation as well as a 32% increase in the sales of IKEA’s sustainable products.

Credits

Agency: Rethink
Client: IKEA Canada
Chief Creative Officer: Aaron Starkman
Executive Creative Director: Mike Dubrick
Head of Art & Creative Director: Joel Holtby
Creative Director: Joel Holtby, Dhaval Bhatt
Associate Creative Director: Zachary Bautista, Geoff Baillie
Art Director: Michelle Budge, Hayley Hinkley, Rachel LeBlanc, Ryan Cookish
Copywriter: Jackson Byrne, Jacquelyn Parent, Tyler J. Edwards
Designer: Brandon Methner
Strategist: Shereen Ladha
Chief Strategy Officer: Sean McDonald
Broadcast Producer: Anne Marie Martignago
Head of Broadcast: Laura Rioux
Director of Broadcast: Shelby Spigelman
Digital Producer: Terri Winter
Print Producer: A.J. Merrick, Narine Artinian
Production House: FUZE, Scouts Honour
Photographer: Adrian Armstrong
Photo Retoucher: Kevin Luc
Production House EP: Nicole Gomez
Studio Artist: Todd Bennett
Editor: Taylor McWade
Post Production Producer: Yumi Suyama, Sarah Brooks
On-Line: Fort York, James Marin
Audio House: Vapor Music
Music Director: Ted Rosnick
Audio Producer: Lindsey Bates
Audio Engineer: Ryan Chalmers
Director / DP: Mark Zibert
Executive Producer: Rita Popielak, Simon Dragland
Post Production House: Outsider Editorial
Editor: Michael Barker
VFX/CGI: a52 VFX
Group Account Director: Sarah Riedlinger
Account Director: Hayley Kleynhans
Account Manager: Megan Christopher, Gabrielle Bergeron
Media: Carat
VP - Group Account Director: Karen Hrstic
Associate Account Director: Vanessa Coutinho
Account Director: Tracey Cronin
Account Supervisor: Faizal Shaikh
Media Planner: Monalyn Quelnat
Media Coordinator: Crystal Kim
CRM: Wunderman Thompson