IKEA just launched their first interactive seasonal catalog, including video clips and integration with the brand’s social media presence on Facebook and Pinterest. The catalog – called “Celebrate Brilliantly” – can be both read and watched on the IKEA website.
The effort is geared for the Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping season, and has multiple interactive elements. Not only can consumers watch video and share images or items they want on Facebook or Pinterest, they can also scroll through multiple decorating solutions (ex: for small, medium and big spaces) and check out tips for lighting, decorating, recipes, energy conservation and more. Some product images are even animated, including a pair of dancing cookie cutters.
IKEA even incorporates some holiday goodwill into the catalog, donating $1 for child education (to UNICEF/Save the Children) for every soft toy purchased during the holiday season.
“Over the last several years, we’ve continued to try to see which space our consumers are in,” Christine Whitehawk, communications manager at Ikea U.S. in Conshohocken, Pa.told The New York Times. And the brand has realized that their consumers are “more and more involved in digital.”
The interactive catalog is a huge step up from the previous online catalog, which was basically just a PDF of the print version. The brand plans to monitor how consumers respond, including which aspects of the catalog they engage with and what they choose to share. Three additional seasonal catalogs are planned for next year.
“Celebrate Brilliantly” is being promoted through customer emails and an online banner ad campaign, reports The New York Times. And at the end of the new catalog, customers are given the option to sign up for email notification of the next seasonal offering. The brand is spending about 11% of an approximately $100 million yearly advertising budget on the interactive catalog initiative.
