Why there’s no one-size-fits-all instruction manual for Ikea’s global comms

“Ikea wants to keep one brand identity which is playful, inclusive, simple but we believe there is a lot of value in giving space for different minds and different countries to evolve the brand,” she explains.

Frau-Uriarte, who oversees the global marketing strategy at the furniture maker, which owns 482 stores operating in 31 countries, says: “There are a lot of local nuisances we need to be super observant of. In some places, you eat on the floor; in others, on the table. There are even small things like certain fruits not being eaten in certain countries.

“There are some places, such as in the Nordics, where running around naked at home is more common than in other countries, while for some places, talking to your plants is pretty normal.”

She says there is always a tension of how to be as global as possible but as local as needed but describes it as a “healthy” tension. “We have a mix of everything; as I say, we play the full piano. Ikea has external and internal agencies, big agencies, small agencies, global and local teams and that requires extra effort on syncing.”

Ikea maps out its marketing in both three-year plans and yearly plans. In the yearly planning, local teams will be given campaigns created by global comms and have the chance to push back on ads not relevant to their market and see gaps for more culturally relevant comms.

“Our brand allows for the flexibility in creativity,” she adds. “We [global comms] give that freedom to say, OK, then you go with your own personality or with your own creativity and that will help us grow as a brand.”

In-house studios

In recent years, Ikea has been dabbling in cheeky reactive campaigns that tap into zeitgeist moments. It has trolled Balenciaga catwalk shows, creating copycat images using its iconic blue shopping bag and a towel skirt. More recently, the brand weighed in on Doja Cat’s Meta Gala outfit.

@ikeauk Have you MET our newest addition to our range. Introducing the DÖJA Towel dress. #MetGala #METball #fashion #MetGala2024 @Doja Cat ♬ original sound - May

To tap into these viral moments and create reactive campaigns, Ikea set up an in-house studio in 2022 led by Frau-Uriarte. “We saw the need to improve quality, efficiency and be faster,” she says. Ikea needed a team that could guarantee consistency in tone of voice that could create quick, low-cost content for a “fast to market approach.”

The studio launched with existing Ikea talent but has since added outside skills, including copywriting, art direction, graphic design and broadcast production – 100 people now sit in the studio. Keen not to diminish the value of external agencies, Frau-Uriarte says: “It’s given us another muscle.”

Responsible AI adoption

Ikea will be taking a measured approach to adopting AI, Frau-Uriarte reveals. “We have decided Ikea isn’t going to own AI or be the leading AI company but the leading responsible AI company,” she says. Ikea has “put a lot of effort” into figuring out what AI means for its business, and what it says about its business. “We really feel that we want to embrace it with a strong sense of responsibility and with humans in the center so that really AI is empowering us empowering co-workers to master the future not replacing co-workers,” Frau-Uriarte shares.

Ikea has started by training the first cohort of 3,000 staff in AI literacy and putting its top 500 leaders through AI ethical training. “First, you need to understand what it is, what the opportunities are, and also what the risks are.”

In the marketing department, Frau-Uriarte is already seeing savings by using AI translation and is in the early stages of testing Gen AI content creation. “So we’re starting something small test to test and try our way forward,” she says.

Frau-Uriarte credits Ikea’s ownership model for allowing its leader to take a considered approach to AI adoption. “We don’t have the pressure of investors or the stock exchange, which makes us freer. We don’t feel that pressure to lead. Instead, it’s about getting it right rather than first and AI is the best example of this.”

Life at Home

Frau-Uriarte started our conversation by talking about the many cultural differences between countries, but she ends it by acknowledging there is one uniting factor. “At the end of the day, most of the world feels joy at home through connection moments. In a way, we are much more common than different.”

52% of people in the world say home is their favorite place, according to Ikea’s annual Life at Home report. “The power of home can affect your happiness, your joy and your everyday life. When we see this, we say, ‘OK, we have a job to do.’”