- August 14, 2014
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Ikea’s Insta-Website Reaches Customers on the Go
Websites can be expensive undertakings (just ask the House of Human Services with its Affordable Care Act roll out). But one clever company has found a way to build its product website using a free app.
Furniture-seller Ikea has created a new marketing campaign as quirky as its new line of furniture. But to truly appreciate the Swedish company’s new “website” promoting its PS 2014 furniture collection, you can’t view it on your normal web browser. That’s because it’s built in Instagram.
Do yourself a favor right now. Go launch the mobile app on your phone and find the Instagram account ikea_ps_2014. (It won’t format correctly in your browser, so use the Instagram app on your phone.) It will make a lot more sense to see it in the proper context than just reading this description!
Virtual Catalog
Reported by Valentina Palladino for The Verge, the Insta-site was created for Ikea’s Russian division by the ad agency Instinct. With 20,000 followers already, the Ikea PS 2014 Instagram account was launched two months ago. It opens on a “website” page with just 12 images, nine of which are product shots that use the “tagging” feature to allow users to drill down to those respective categories: benches, tables, storage, light, textiles and ideas. Tap the image to reveal the tags and “click” through to the category, which unveils additional images, each containing tags that connect to separate pages with additional product information.
The product photos resemble catalog pages, but are designed to take advantage of the way the popular Instagram app operates.
Expanding the Catalog
The campaign allows customers to share photos of the furniture bought and tag it, thereby expanding their catalogue with real-life examples. As part of its integrated marketing effort, Ikea created video teasers and coordinated its new Instagram presence with an outreach to individual European and Scandinavian bloggers.
Built for a Mobile Audience
What was behind the idea for using a mobile app to build a virtual catalog? The description of the new line offers a clue. According to The Verge, PS 2014 furniture is designed “for a home in constant motion, always ready for new situations and furniture needs.”
