Communicating stories of furniture that add to festivities ft. IKEA’s Anna Ohlin

The home and interior market in India is experiencing significant growth, reaching approximately INR 2.4 trillion (US$ 29.5 billion) in 2023. Indoor living product segments lead the market, holding around 41% of the total market share. In this scenario, consumers are increasingly seeing home interiors as an ‘expression’ and ‘reflection of self’ while they prioritise quality over quantity when choosing décor items, according to the Praxis Global Alliance report. 

The report notes that brand communication has also evolved with a shift towards sustainable materials, smart home technologies, and personalised design solutions, reflecting changing consumer preferences and lifestyle demands. The brand communication increasingly focuses on comfort, expression of feelings and love since 2020. 

However, approximately 79% to 81% of people say that media and communication don’t reflect their homes, according to Anna Ohlin, Country Marketing Manager, IKEA India. She continues that it’s an interesting insight to make note of while crafting brand messaging that gets those 81% to feel like, “Ah, this could be me.”

Keeping Indian consumer behaviour in mind, IKEA’s communication is centred around making people feel at home. The Swedish home furnishing company, which launched in India in 2018, has been crafting its storytelling to raise awareness about its products in the initial years. 

“Now, we see it's time to move into a new phase where we actually focus on enabling a better everyday life for people in their homes. We're moving away from just focusing on the store and shifting into the homes now, where we can inspire in a way that feels relevant to the individual,” Ohlin comments. 

Key focus on storytelling

To ensure that its advertisements resonate with Indian consumers, the brand’s festive ad ‘Let's celebrate together. Ghar aajao. Come home to IKEA’, focused on making celebrations personal. 

The ad features a couple shopping at IKEA, where they imagine how a sofa could transform their home with festive decorations. By showcasing this vision, the ad emphasizes that IKEA allows customers to personalise their living spaces, enabling them to celebrate festivals in their own unique style.

Ohlin notes that the brand is highly active during Diwali since consumer spending is higher during this period than at any other time. Consumers are inundated with offers and she considers IKEA to not be an ‘offer-driven company’.

The brand aims to be the everyday low-priced choice and doesn’t want to tempt people only with discounts. This year, the brand wants to speak to consumers as an enabler to making a home feel truly alive. 

Ohlin shares, “There's so much more behind our products than just low prices. We talk a lot about democratic design at IKEA, and that's something we try to communicate to the public - the benefits and stories behind the products.”

The brand aims to enable the feeling of spontaneity that comes with celebrations this year.

“What we're doing this year for Diwali is based on an interesting insight. When people plan a party or any gathering at home, they imagine how nice it will be in certain corners, where they'll chat or play cards. But when the event begins, it rarely turns out the way they imagined, especially in India, where socialising is so warm and fun,” she divulges.

While Indians love socialising during festivals, their homes are mostly cluttered with memories attached to furniture. 

“India ranks high in our Life at Home report, particularly when it comes to clutter. You buy a lot of new things, but you also love holding on to nostalgic memories. People here keep old things, use them for as long as possible, make small changes, and then use them again. Or they add something new and continue using it. It’s beautiful in a way.”

The consumer behaviour of keeping old furnitures while buying newer decor to spruce up their homes can be seen in the brand’s ads. IKEA’s festive ad last year focused on adding new decor in Indian homes while keeping elements of your home with yourself. 

The campaign, ‘A Little IKEA Makes Everything New,’ brings a twist to home decor with its musical tune, "We Feel New." The ad features existing home elements celebrating the arrival of new IKEA additions.

By playfully personifying the surrounding decor, the ad captures its reactions as it dances and grooves to the upbeat music. This approach aimed to infuse a sense of freshness and vibrancy into the living space.

The brand also tends to add a touch of relatability to its communication. Its previous festive ad campaign promoting its containers added a humorous touch to the tradition of gifting in the country, cleverly tapping into a familiar experience shared by many Indian households during the festive season. 

Festivals equate to a shared love for food and desserts in our country, and people love gifting sweets when visiting someone. Taking this insight, it looked to promote its PRUTA food containers. The campaign titled, ‘A gift for all your festive gifts’, showed people exchanging sweets as gifts and amongst them was the product that helped store these sweets. 

“Our target, as in most markets, is families with children because we can cater to all those fantastic life stages that come with having a family. It's not that we don't want to speak to other groups, but the core is definitely families with children.

Additionally, the brand’s current focus is Tier I cities, considering the stores are present in the locations.

“With our e-commerce expansion, we can reach Tier II. We're gradually expanding while keeping the focus on Tier I. Tier III is still a bit far for us, but we can reach Tier II. With e-commerce, we can definitely broaden our reach, and that's the approach we'll stick with for the next few years,” Ohlin continues. 

Media mix for the festive season

Reports indicate Indian consumers are indulging in their home makeovers faster than before, driving the home renovation market to an estimated US$ 14.3B by 2027. Moreover, social media and e-commerce platforms are replacing traditional discovery channels, offering consumers direct access to a wide array of home interior products and personalised shopping experiences.

For IKEA, the media planning is ‘quite intense’ albeit exciting, according to Ohlin, since the brand needs to plan for three different regions within one country. This festive season, Ohlin states, “We can't go into specific details, but a full 360-degree marketing plan is crucial. We need to focus on both attracting and activating customers. Our goal is to trigger new people to consider us while ensuring that those who already love us continue to do so, or even more.”

The brand approaches marketing channels with the intention to attract consumers first, which is followed by activation and supported by films, social media, digital efforts and more.

Talking about the media mix for the season, Ohlin shares, “Digital is a key focus, but it's interesting how traditional media still plays a significant role. We're making a concerted effort to connect with OTT platforms. We've done extensive collaborations with The Viral Fever (TVF), YouTube, Google, and are bringing in another partner to help us be present in Indian homes with our messages, almost like a home visit without physically being there. We’re integrating seamlessly into people’s lives, which is something we really value.”

She notes that India is one of the few countries where the brand considers OTT, stating that the industry here is ‘so vivid and beautifully connected.’

In 2023, TVF’s Girliyapa teamed up with IKEA for a new web series called ‘Sisters.’ Starring Namita Dubey and Ahsaas Channa, the comedy show was about two very different sisters, Antara and Mahi, who become flatmates and navigate their contrasting personalities and living situations.

The series has a humorous take on sibling dynamics but also features the brand’s products as a key part of the story. The story revolves around the sisters figuring out organisation challenges in their apartment, showcasing how its furniture fits their needs.

Additionally, the brand takes an omnichannel approach to shopping while focusing on providing a seamless experience, combining both online and offline experiences.  

“Many people start by browsing online, comparing products, and gathering information. Many consumers in India are great at researching before making a decision. For those who can't visit the store, we offer services through the app or online, like how-tos, services, specific offers, and special guarantees.”

Personalisation & trends in furniture marketing 

A survey highlights that 78% of Indian consumers prefer personalised ads, and CXOs take this factor into consideration for festive marketing strategies. The global brand also personalises communication to suit individual and relatable narratives to craft messages to meet Indian standards.

“It's interesting because we don't even need to ‘Indianise’ it; we just need to talk about it, and that's the crux, I think. Another aspect of personalisation is making products truly yours, giving them that personal touch that says, ‘This is Anna’,” comments Ohlin. 

Allowing users to visualise their homes and personalise it, IKEA launched its AI-powered mixed-reality tool, KREATIV. With this tool, consumers are given a chance to be their own designers, get creative, and visualise how furnishings will look and function in their homes. 

Ohlin mentions, “We’ve observed that the interest in home furnishing is not particularly high, which means knowledge, competence, and most importantly, confidence in decorating are also not as strong. Kreativ helps trigger inspiration by allowing users to visualise how IKEA products can transform their spaces. Once you’ve designed the area, you can easily map out the products and proceed to purchase exactly what you need.”

The furniture sector is also witnessing several interesting consumer trends as brands prepare for the festive season.

Anna Ohlin observes a shift in focus toward the bedroom during the period, stating that the bedroom is becoming more significant. The brand’s messaging has also centred around sleep this year.

“With guests, cousins, uncles, and other family members visiting, there's a growing need for space, and the bedroom is a key area people are focusing on. We’re seeing an increase in activities like refreshing the bedroom, cleaning it up, organising wardrobes, and decluttering.” 

This includes updating essentials like sheets and towels to accommodate guests, reflecting a broader trend of the bedroom becoming a crucial part of festive preparations.

This highlights the growing emphasis on creating a comfortable and restful environment. As the home and interior market in India continues its rapid growth, IKEA is positioning itself as a lively addition to consumer homes by crafting humorous and personalised brand messaging in its advertising and marketing efforts. By tapping into emotional connections and local culture, the brand is able to create relatable and meaningful campaigns that resonate with Indian consumers, helping them visualise how the brand's products can enhance their living spaces while celebrating traditions and special moments.