Yesterday was Sunday and I went to church; my marketing church. Ikea. If by church you mean a place you go to reflect and be reminded of all the things you aspire to.
This sign in the Ikea cafe caught my attention. Take a moment to read it.
How do you communicate your positioning, your brand, your story? Lots of ways. One way is to create a sign like this that ties a huge part of who you are to an experience people are about to have, or that they just had.
A 8-page brochure couldn’t present who Ikea is any better than this sign.
Addendum-
Have you ever eaten at Ikea? The first time my wife, Sharon, suggested it I thought she was crazy. Until she told me about the food and how busy the cafe was.
I believe the only reason they serve food at Ikea is because it’s an easy way to demonstrate the Ikea value proposition. The food is surprisingly good. And CHEAP. We had lunch for $11.00. Maybe the fourth or fifth time we’ve had lunch there. Every time it’s as busy as any popular restaurant. We experienced quality at a surprisingly low price, created with efficiency. Including the ingenious way you put the trays away.
And by the way, the parking lot loading dock was full of pick-ups and SUVs with entire dorm rooms and apartments full of furniture. No recession at Ikea. Maybe their congruency of message and brand is part of the reason.
There are enough people in the world to support a chain of just under 300 Ikea stores. What about you? Are there enough people out there to support a company like yours. . .maybe five or ten or 50 times your current size? Maybe if your message and brand were more congruent you’d be easier to recognize by those people.
