COLOGNE: Better homes create a better society, according to IKEA’s chief marketing officer, and it is this belief that helps the home furnishings brand focus on a long-term vision in a sector that is changing along with every other.

Speaking at the dmexco conference, Claudia Willvonseder explained that concentrating on the value of “life at home” enables IKEA to cross borders, sell across a spectrum of age groups – and pursue a vast range of communications activities that all tie back to this central theme.

“We have a unique understanding of life at home,” she said. “I would assume there’s no other company that knows so much about life at home as IKEA does.” (For more read WARC’s report: How IKEA’s brand purpose keeps it fresh.)

“Life at home differs quite a lot in many countries,” she added. For example, factors such as attitudes, behaviour and culture are more important than crude segmentations like age.

“If you follow a 21-year-old woman in Portugal, in Chicago and Tokyo, maybe they’ll all want to have the same cool trenchcoat from Zara or from H&M; they might have the same style in the way they dress,” Willvonseder noted.

“But then if you follow them home, the way they live at home – not only the layout but many other dimensions – is very different.

“If we understand life at home for them, then we can get closer to the individual consumer.”

It’s a unifying theme for an international business, whose marketers are given the freedom to create content that’s relevant to their own territories.

“You really need to be convinced of why you do what you do,” said Willvonseder. “At IKEA, with our purpose of creating a better life for many people, this is a very easy thing.”

Sourced from WARC