The Name Catalogue is relevant for Brand Experience & Activation because it engages the target group with the brand in a unique way. By creating a physical and digital name catalogue, individuals can explore all of the human names (and connecting historical products) used by IKEA and experience the brand's history throughout the decades. Everyone is invited to find their own name, their father's name, their grandmother's name, or a baby name.

The Name Catalogue takes you on a fascinating historical journey through IKEA's rich history, showcasing the brand's evolution through the decades with hidden gems, designs and clever puns.

Situation:

In the aftermath of the pandemic, IKEA has seen both a lack of raw materials and challenges with delivery times, which made it harder to advertise the products.

Brief:

Show that IKEA is still relevant despite the ongoing challenge with "out of stock products".

Objectives:

Prove that IKEA knows "life at home" for the many people.

Norway experienced a baby boom in 2021, with almost 3,000 more children born than the previous year, representing a 5.5% increase. This insight gave birth to the creation of a new service aimed at helping soon-to-be parents find a unique baby name.

Drawing on more than 70 years of experience in naming products, we looked through over 15,000 pages of old catalogues to gather more than 800 distinctive baby names.

The result is The Name Catalogue, a comprehensive physical and digital name bank.

Families with young children represent one of the most desirable target groups in Norway, but competition for their attention is fierce. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, IKEA must remain top-of-mind as a go-to shopping destination for soon-to-be parents.

The Name Catalogue was launched on ikea.no, combining timely insight with creativity and the rich history of IKEA as a furniture manufacturer. This campaign provided an opportunity for the target group to engage with the brand, allowing us to communicate about IKEA in a refreshing way through both paid and earned media.

The campaign initially launched as a service on ikea.no, and we promoted it through a variety of channels, including traditional TV ads, social media, digital and print media, newsletters for IKEA Family members, physical catalogs in hospitals specializing in pregnancies, and name tags attached to children's furniture in warehouses. Additionally, our PR department sent out press releases both nationally and internationally.

The response to the campaign exceeded our expectations, generating widespread interest and engagement.

The campaign attracted over 70,000 unique visitors to ikea.no, with an average time spent of 1 minute and 18 seconds. That's a total of 1,330,000 minutes or 22,167 hours spent searching for the perfect name for a child (source: IKEA Norway).

The click-through rate on IKEA's newsletter was more than 85%, surpassing the performance of previous campaigns in Norway.

The campaign generated over 50 million media impressions, a number ten times larger than the population of Norway. It garnered attention from major news outlets and publications around the world, as well as popular talk shows.

In addition to positive feedback, the campaign sparked a debate on how to choose the right name, with multiple radio stations and podcasts discussing the topic. The program Ukeslutt on NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Cooperation) even invited a name researcher for an exclusive interview."