Tag: earned media

IKEA Beröra

To launch the iPad version of the IKEA catalogue in Norway, ad agency SMFB created a brand new IKEA product called “Beröra”.

“Beröra” is a sewing kit with a special conductive thread that you sew into the index finger of your favourite gloves. Once the operation is done, the gloves work on a touch screen.

The idea in one clean sentence: Beröra turns any winter glove into a touchscreen glove, so the IKEA catalogue app fits the reality of how people live and move.

A launch mechanic that feels like a product, not a campaign

The smart move is that the “ad” looks and behaves like an IKEA item. A needle, instructions, and conductive thread. Simple enough to DIY, tangible enough to talk about, and useful enough to keep around after the novelty fades.

Conductive thread matters because most touch screens register conductive contact. So the kit essentially makes a glove fingertip “readable” to the device without forcing people to buy specialised tech gloves.

In cold-climate retail markets, the fastest way to accelerate digital adoption is to remove the tiny physical frictions that stop people trying it in the moment.

Results and recognition

The promotion generated a lot of interest. As reported at the time, 12,000 kits went in roughly two weeks, and the IKEA Norway iPad catalogue app broke download records.

The work later picked up awards-circuit recognition, including a One Show merit award, and gold at the Festival of Media in Montreux in the Best Launch Campaign category.

What to steal for your next app launch

  • Turn the barrier into the giveaway. Do not “explain” the friction. Remove it with something people can hold.
  • Make the object shareable offline. A physical product travels through homes, offices, and friend groups faster than a banner ever will.
  • Keep the installation simple. If the user needs a tutorial longer than a minute, the drop-off kills word of mouth.
  • Let the product demonstrate the promise. When the benefit is self-evident, belief comes for free.

A few fast answers before you act

What is Beröra, in plain terms?

Beröra is a DIY conductive-thread sewing kit created for IKEA Norway. You sew the thread into a glove fingertip so it works on touchscreen devices, supporting the launch of IKEA’s iPad catalogue.

Why does a physical kit help launch a digital catalogue?

Because it removes a real-world usage barrier. If people cannot comfortably use a phone or tablet in winter conditions, they will not build the habit. The kit makes the app feel practical, not theoretical.

What makes this a strong “earned media” idea?

It creates a story that is easy to repeat. IKEA made a product that solves a modern annoyance, and it is tied directly to the app being promoted. That combination tends to travel well.

What is the key mechanism that drives engagement here?

Utility creates trial. Trial creates talk. Talk creates downloads. The kit is the trigger that makes the catalogue experience easier, then social sharing does the distribution work.

What should you measure if you do something similar?

Track speed of redemption, install lift during the distribution window, and repeat usage of the app. If you have it, add branded search lift and share-of-voice during the launch period.

IKEA Manland

Last month IKEA in Sydney, Australia ran a four-day trial of Manland. They created a dedicated area in the store which men with short retail attention spans could use to escape the pains of weekend shopping at IKEA. In simple words, it was day-care for husbands and boyfriends who wanted to take a break from the shopping.

The store offered free hot dogs, Xbox consoles, pinball machines and nonstop sports action on TV. IKEA even handed out buzzers so women would get reminded to come back and pick up their men after a short session.

Turning “waiting time” into a branded service

Manland works because it is not pretending men suddenly love shopping. It acknowledges the reality. Some people will be there for the relationship, not the retail. So IKEA reframes the pain point as a service, the same way Småland turns “kids are restless” into a solved problem.

The mechanism is deliberately low-effort. You do not need an app, a QR code, or an explanation. You just drop in, decompress, and rejoin the trip with less friction and fewer arguments.

In big-box retail, weekend shopping is often a couple activity, and boredom is a conversion killer for the accompanying partner.

Why this becomes press, not just a gimmick

It is instantly legible. A “day-care for men” is a headline. The imagery does the distribution work. Consoles, sports, hot dogs, and a buzzer are all recognisable symbols, so the concept travels across cultures even if you have never been to an IKEA.

It is also slightly provocative, which helps. People argue about whether it is funny, patronising, or brilliant. That debate is oxygen for earned media.

The business intent: protect dwell time and reduce walk-outs

The practical goal is simple. Keep groups in-store longer, reduce the urge for someone to storm out, and make the trip feel easier, especially on peak weekend traffic. The PR upside is a bonus. But the operational benefit is the real value.

What to steal for your next in-store activation

  • Solve a real friction. If it does not remove pain, it will not spread.
  • Make the rules obvious. The best retail ideas need zero onboarding.
  • Build a “photo truth”. If the experience photographs well, it earns its own distribution.
  • Use time limits to keep it fair. A short session keeps it accessible and stops it becoming a hangout that blocks capacity.

A few fast answers before you act

What was IKEA Manland?

Manland was a short trial inside an IKEA store in Sydney. It offered a staffed, game-and-sports lounge where men could take a break while their partners shopped.

Why did the buzzer matter?

The buzzer turned “come back later” into a simple timing system. It made pickup predictable and helped manage capacity without complicated queueing.

Is this primarily an ad idea or an operations idea?

Both. It is an operations idea that creates PR. The experience removes friction inside the store, then the simplicity of the concept turns it into a shareable story.

What makes this kind of activation risky?

Stereotypes. If the tone feels insulting or dated, the press flips from amused to critical. The safest version is to frame it as optional decompression, not a judgment.

What should you measure if you do something similar?

Dwell time, drop-off rates, and satisfaction in exit feedback. For comms, track earned pickup and social sharing, but only after the in-store metrics look healthy.

Kia Lie Detector

Most people in Belgium know that Kia gives a 7-year warranty on all its models. That is a good thing. But a lot of them also think 7 years sounds too good to be true, and that there must be a catch. That is a problem. If people do not believe your advertising message, regular advertising is insufficient.

So LDV United built a campaign designed to prove one simple point. Although it sounds unbelievable, the 7-year warranty is described as 100% true, with no catch.

Proof beats repetition

To prove the warranty was genuine, the campaign used a lie detector. Legal Connections, described as an official lie detector company, hooked up the CEO of Kia Motors to a polygraph. Consumers then asked him questions about the 7-year warranty during a live online session.

In European automotive markets, long warranties are a major purchase heuristic, and credibility becomes the real bottleneck when the claim feels “too good”.

Here is the key marketing idea in one line. When your promise is extraordinary, you need a proof ritual that feels public, simple, and hard to fake.

How the stunt travels

The lie detector was not the whole campaign. It was the anchor. The stunt was communicated through newspaper ads, banners and a press release announcing that an actual CEO would undergo a live lie detector test. That structure is what turns a proof moment into earned media and word of mouth, meaning peer-to-peer sharing both online and offline.

Because a polygraph is a culturally understood symbol of truth-testing, it reframed the warranty from “marketing claim” into “something we are willing to be challenged on, live”.

Recognition and reported impact

The work later picked up Cannes Lions recognition, listed as a Direct Bronze Lion for “Lie Detector”.

The campaign’s impact was reported via independent media company Scripta as:

  • Brand recognition: 42% (instead of 32% sector average)
  • Attribution: 73% (instead of 62% sector average)
  • Resulting in an Effectiveness Rating of 31% (instead of 20% sector average)
  • And last but not least: An impressive credibility of 80%

What to steal for your next “credibility gap” claim

  • Identify the credibility gap early. If the promise sounds implausible, spend on proof, not frequency.
  • Choose a proof mechanic people already understand. Polygraph. Lab test. Public demo. Anything that signals “hard to fake”.
  • Make the proof interactive. Live questions beat scripted endorsements when trust is the objective.
  • Package the moment for pickup. Announce it like an event, so press and blogs have a clean story to carry.

A few fast answers before you act

What problem does the Kia lie detector idea solve?

It solves a credibility problem. When a benefit sounds too good to be true, people assume a hidden condition. The campaign is designed to remove that doubt by staging proof in public.

Why use a lie detector in advertising?

A polygraph is a widely understood truth ritual. Even if people do not treat it as perfect science, it signals confidence and willingness to be challenged in front of an audience.

What makes this more than a stunt?

The stunt is structured as a live, interactive Q&A, and it is distributed through paid announcements and PR. That combination turns a single moment into a story that can travel.

When should brands avoid “proof theatre” like this?

If the claim cannot withstand scrutiny, or if the proof method is likely to be seen as misleading or unsafe, the stunt will backfire. Proof mechanics only work when the underlying promise is clean.

What are better success metrics than views for credibility campaigns?

Measure belief and consideration shifts. Brand trust, message credibility, attribution to the correct benefit, and downstream intent signals are usually more meaningful than raw reach.