How IKEA's approach to content helped them ‘Win at Sleeping’

These days, brands have their own unique ecosystems and numerous touch points. And thanks to technology and search it’s easier than ever to watch a product film, see a demo, read a review, chat to a bot and search for the lowest price all before you even step inside in-store or order online.

As a result the customer journey is constantly evolving. And to help clients we need to fully understand the role content plays at each stage of the journey. From entertainment to experience, through to ecommerce.

To do this we need to look at content through the eyes of the audience and the value it can bring them. Not just what we want to communicate.

Or as Craig Davis, the former chief creative officer at J Walter Thompson would say:

“We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in. And be what people are interested in.”

The good news is a brand doesn’t have to be absolutely everywhere to grow. It doesn’t have to spread its budget so thinly that the content has no value. A brand just needs to show up in the places where it can have the biggest impact in people’s lives.

So, what role does content play at each stage of the customer journey from awareness through to consideration and eventually purchase?

Awareness stage - Inspire & Entertain

At the awareness stage of the journey, brands still have a fantastic opportunity to convey a brands values and vision through storytelling. Using distinctive visuals and sound to capture our imagination in ways that would be impossible in any other medium.

Brands should be looking to Inspire & Entertain people at this stage without overloading them with too much information.?Using Brand TV, Cinema and VOD to create an emotional reward.

And it doesn't just stop there, some brands are becoming excellent storytellers and producing longer form Branded Content to engage audiences, creating something that is real, new and valuable. I think we will see a lot more of this in the future as audiences actively avoid advertising.

'Going the Distance' Long form content

Consideration stage - Help & Educate

Having gained a lot attention, the consideration stage is all about nurturing the relationship. And giving people a reason to choose your product over another.

This could be through pre-roll, product films, how to videos, educational content, podcasts, customer reviews and influencer led campaigns. But that doesn't mean it has to be any less creative. It can still be helpful and educational as well as being thoroughly entertaining.

A good example of this is Dollar Shave Club's VOD campaign which had 4.74 million views in 3 months and 12,000 orders in just 48 hours. Through brilliant script writing, its approach to product films created a cult following.

Purchase - Invite & Incentivise

At this stage of the journey potential customers have hopefully been inspired or entertained, and know a fair bit about the product.

Brands just need to create the right content that pushes the product to the top of the consideration list. Lots of brands use product demos, FAQ’s, personalised video as well as using an incentive at this stage. The key thing is understanding what the final barrier might be and being ready to overcome it with the right content. Usually though more targeted channels like ECRM.

Now all that sounds good in theory and we can probably list a number of brands that have excelled in one of these stages of the customer journey. But there are some brands that have managed to create a strong brand platform and really think about the role content plays at each stage.

And one of those brands is IKEA.

How IKEA won at sleeping?

Ikea discovered that 63% of people in the UK were unhappy about the amount of sleep they were getting. So, to encourage the nation to enjoy a better nights sleep and reclaim the bedroom as a place of rest. They created the theme ‘Win at sleeping’ with an integrated campaign that worked all the way through the journey.?Using content in different ways to nudge people towards their beds.

Inspiring & entertaining people

At a broadcast level the TV and Cinema spot inspired and entertained people, encouraging them to raise their sleeping game by treating the bedtime routine like an athlete preparing for a big match. So they can ‘Win at Sleeping’ Narrated by American Football coach Derrick Moore.

Helping & Educating customers

For the consideration stage they created ‘The IKEA Sleep Hub’ on their ecomerce site. Partnering with Dr Guy Meadows, co-founder of The Sleep School. Creating content that helped and educated people about how to get a good nights sleep. Building trust for the brand in the process.

Through social campaign they created the A to Zzzzzz of sleeping giving people 26 ways to get a better nights sleep and helping more people to 'Win at sleeping' as their bedtime approached.

And in Australia they even took it a stage further, by creating a Podcast that actually sent you to sleep by reading out every IKEA product in a dulcet Swedish voice.

Inviting & Incentivising shoppers

At the purchase stage IKEA created a series of in-store workshops and events, that focused on the individual and their sleeping habits and needs.

Using highly personalised ECRM to invite people to find out more in-store or online and discover a range of products that would help them to get a good night sleep. Learning about their individual needs at the same time.

By thinking about content and the different role it needed to play at each stage of the journey. They positioned themselves as experts in sleep, making IKEA the place to go if you wanted to 'Win at sleeping'

And they did it, by placing the brand at the sweet spot of a conversation that was already happening, ('How to get a good nights Sleep' was already a top 10 Google Search) solving a real problem in peoples lives.

Now with all that talk of sleep, I'm off to bed. zZZ