LONDON: IKEA will be named advertiser of the year at the upcoming Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

The Swedish homeware firm's "decentralised" marketing strategy, which involves co-ordinating branded communications across multiple agencies in multiple countries, came in for praise from the judges.

By using "unconventional and humorous" creative, and by showing sensitivity to regional norms, the company has been able to "localise its global target market," Cannes Lions added.

In all, IKEA has won 50 Lions, having picked up its first of the awards in 1991.

This includes a Titanium Lion in 2010 for 'Facebook Showroom', in which Forsman & Bodenfors built buzz around the opening of a new IKEA store in Malmo, Sweden via the Facebook profile of the store's manager.

Other award-winning IKEA campaigns include Deutsch's Effie-winning 'Embrace Change', which hitched the brand to "inauguration fever" in Washington DC, and a zig/Mindshare effort for the company's PAX line, which won silver at the 2010 CASSIES.

Philip Thomas, ceo of Cannes Lions, said: "The company's superb track record at Cannes reveals a clarity of vision and an enviable willingness to allow its agencies to truly flex their creative muscles."

The 58th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity takes place from June 18th-25th. Lions in various awards categories will be handed out throughout the week.

New for 2011 are the Creative Effectiveness Lions, for which entrants must prove the lasting business effects of their campaigns.

Only winners of 2010 Lions are eligible to enter this category.

Warc will publish winning Creative Effectiveness cases after the awards are announced.

Data sourced from Cannes Lions; additional content by Warc staff