Each IKEA Grand Opening is an event in and of itself, with attendees camping out before doors open, a local media coverage blitz, and numerous giveaways and diversions during the opening weekend.
My task was to build online buzz and interest in the IKEA Brooklyn (NYC) Grand Opening by creating a microsite that would answer questions about who/what IKEA is, how to get there, and ultimately drive these customers to the store during the Grand Opening.
I started with a “Virtual Tour” that let users preview the store, check out special offers, and learn about “The Ikea Idea.”
It also featured an innovative mobile game/sweepstakes: by zooming into a map of Brooklyn, users could find hidden Ikea boxes that contained mobile shortcodes. Texting to these shortcodes gave users multiple entries into the sweepstakes, driving a record number of mobile opt ins.
The site received more than 1,600 mobile entries in the first 24 hours. Over the next four weeks, as our traffic and opt-in lists continued to grow. We received a total of 18,442 registrations for the microsite itself—impressive for a short, targeted, localized campaign—as well as favorable mentions on industry blogs. 14,494 users opted into the mobile game (an incredible 78.5% of registrants). And they stayed engaged: over 70% of game participants found all five shortcodes.