A Swedish Example for Us All: Marketing Strategies Focused on the Consumer

This week we learned of a genius and creative move made by IKEA, the world’s largest furniture retailer, in their marketing and SEO strategy.

We at Due North SEO were so impressed by this “cheeky SEO play” that we decided to share it with you, our readers, wherever you are.

Here’s what they did:

They created a website where their products were renamed to match common Google search phrases in Sweden, in a campaign called “Retail Therapy.” Each of these phrases related to a common relationship problem, and the product associated with it was meant to act as a solution.

So when people searched for something like “kids every other week,” a sleeper sofa from IKEA’s Retail Therapy website would show up in the search results, the name being literally “KIDS EVERY OTHER WEEK.” Or when “how to say I’m not interested” is searched, a silver garlic press shows up (our personal favorite).

Check out the AdWeek article and video about the campaign.

A smart marketing plan starts with realizing the consumer’s problem. In design school you learn that good design always starts with a problem and ends with a product or design that fixes it. In marketing, which includes SEO, it’s much the same. You must first think about what your target audience wants, then tailor your marketing to say “here’s how we can fix that problem you’re dealing with.” What IKEA did is an excellent example of this.

What IKEA did wasn’t only a consumer-problem-fixing strategy, it was also a way to reach out and relate to their audience in a light-hearted manner. They aren’t asking us to take Retail Therapy too seriously, they’re asking us to smile. They’re telling us that our problems and our relationships matter. By being clever and humorous, they bring their brand down to earth so people feel more comfortable, and thus more likely to buy from them.

Both of these things can be incredibly important for your own marketing strategy. Consumer first. Find the problem that relates to your product or service, and convince them that you can fix it.