When faced with the task of raising awareness of IKEA bedroom solutions, we partnered with Airbnb and transformed an IKEA store into a fully functioning bed & breakfast, inviting people to trial the new IKEA bedroom range.

Airbnb’s popular platform became our campaign hub and we created three authentic Airbnb listings that had the look, feel and functionality of a regular Airbnb listing. Collaborating with Airbnb gave us instant standout and reach, and the partnership elevated the campaign from being a retail stunt to the store becoming a genuine accommodation destination.

With a total media spend of AU$0 and all activity being run through Airbnb, the whole campaign was activation orientated. Whilst only three families actually got the chance to spend a night in IKEA, 800m people worldwide got to hear about it through PR.

IKEA is world famous for its smart home furnishing solutions. Democratic design and clever storage solutions have become the staple of the IKEA offering. In Australia however, it’s still most famous for storage. Research showed that storage was top of mind when people thought of IKEA, and that despite previous advertising campaigns, the awareness of the IKEA bedroom and bathroom offering was still relatively low. As telling people wasn’t working, the objective was to get people to experience IKEA bedrooms in order to help them to see the brand differently.

- The campaign reached nearly 800 million consumers worldwide and was featured on over 250 global news outlets

- Coverage ranged from TV, radio, print and online across Fairfax and News Corp Networks, News.com, Time Magazine, Courier Mail, The Daily Mail Online and Mashable, Gizmodo, USA Today and The Huffington Post

- Within the first 24 hours alone the campaign had received 16,000 individual tweets and 73 pieces of individual coverage, like @mashable: One Ikea store is letting you sleep there for the night -- by listing itself on Airbnb. On.mash.to/1vod9kl

- Store visits increased 22.75% during the campaign period, including the highest number of visits on a single day for the year

- Sales across bedroom ranges increased 17.75%.

- With a total media spend of AU$0 and a production spend of AU$30,000, all this was achieved for a cost per touch ROI of just AU$0.00004

The execution focused on giving people the chance to sleep at an IKEA store, reinforcing the idea that IKEA sold bedroom furniture.

With the help of experienced local Airbnb hosts, we create three very different living solutions within the store - rustic, modern elegance and inner-city living - ensuring that the Airbnb listings and any PR coverage showcased the breadth of the IKEA bedroom range.

The listings went live on 21st August for 6 days and Aussie families interested in staying were invited to tell IKEA why they should be chosen to spend a night in the big blue box, with three lucky families picked to stay over at Sydney’s most unique accommodation on 31st August. On the morning of their stay, a string quartet, three adorable puppies and a gourmet breakfast-in-bed greeted our families to create a memorable experience as well as a great content opportunity.