Media Plan for IKEA

An analysis of IKEA’s target audience and selection of media vehicles in which to advertise.

Prepared By Kara Andersen

9 April 2014

Document OverviewTarget Audience Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………1

Client Description 1

Client Overview 1

Client Offerings …4

Target Audience 5

Psychographic Elements 6

Demographic Elements 7

Geographic Choices……………………………………………………………..……………................................8Media Plan…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...10

Media Type Priorities…………………………………………………………………………………………….10

Specific Media Choices…………………………………………………………………………………………..11

Media Plan Schedule……………………………………………………………………………………………..21

Justification of Money Spent………………………………………………………………………………….22Spreadsheets………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………26

1

Target Audience Bullet List Summary

o Target’s Psychographic Summary

Enjoys home decorating

Enjoys DIY projects

Reads home décor magazines

o Target’s Demographic Summary

Between 35-64

Married female

Homeowner

Median income of $41,000

o Target’s Geographic Summary

Metro Priority No. 1: New York City

Metro Priority No. 2: Philadelphia

Metro Priority No. 3: Dallas/Fort Worth

o Client Description

Company Overview: IKEA is a 71-year-old Swedish company

with stores around the world. Ingvar Kampard founded the

company in 1943 at the age of 17 and initially sold small

household items such as wallets, picture frames, pens, and

nylon stockings. He developed the name IKEA from his initials

(I.K.) and the initials of the farm and village he grew up on

(E.A.). In the beginning he made sales calls himself, but by 1945

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the business had grown so much that he was unable to continue

this. This was the first year that the Kampard placed

advertisements in the local newspaper. By 1948, IKEA was

selling furniture made by people in surrounding villages. This

was well received and the product line continued to expand.

By the early 1950s, IKEA had opened a showroom in Älmhult,

Sweden that showcased their designs and the quality of their

products. Their goal in building a showroom was to be able to

show consumers that their products were both inexpensive and

made in a quality way, and to allow customers to compare IKEA

products to a competitor’s products. In 1956, IKEA’s concept of

consumer-assembled furniture came to fruition after an IKEA

co-worker took the legs off of a table so that it would fit into a

vehicle and avoid being damaged during transit. The first IKEA

store opened in Älmhult, Sweden in 1958, and at the time it was

the largest furniture display in all of Scandinavia. The first IKEA

store outside of Sweden was opened in Norway in 1963 and

continued to expand into Denmark and Switzerland over the

following decade. (IKEA)

Fifty-five years after the first IKEA store opened, Fiscal-Year

2013 saw 345 stores located in 42 countries around the world.

In 2013 alone, 9 new stores were opened on 3 continents; North

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America, Europe, and Asia. The store distribution worldwide

breaks down in this way:

72%

14%

9%3% 2% >1%

Store Distribution

Europe

North America

Asia

Middle East

Australia

Central Amer-ica

Europe continues to boast the highest number of stores. However, IKEA is

making strides to open more stores in a

variety of countries. Fiscal-Year 2013 alone

saw the opening of first-ever stores in Qatar and

Lithuania. IKEA Vilnius, the Lithuanian

location, was the first IKEA store within the

Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania).

IKEA has 38 franchise locations in the United

States, spread across 21 different states.

California has the most, with 8 stores, and

most of the stores in the United States are located on either coast.

(Inter IKEA Systems)

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AreaStore

Count

Europe 248

North America 50

Asia 30

Middle East 9

Australia 7

Central America 1

U.S.

Area

Store

Count

Northeast 12

Southwes

t

10

South 8

Midwest 6

Northwes

t

2

IKEA’s annual revenue in the United States is $2.9 billion, which

accounts for approximately 10% of IKEA’s worldwide annual

revenue. (Statistics Brain)

IKEA began as a company that was dedicated to providing a way

for people, even with limited means, to purchase quality

furniture and accents for their home. (The Economist) Over

9,500 different pieces of home furnishing articles are carried by

IKEA, with prices beginning at 29 cents for a dog dish.

(Statistics Brain) They are able to offer these lower prices

because of three key business strategies. First, they do not

focus on having salespeople constantly interacting with the

customers at their stores. Instead, they focus on creating clear

displays that speak for themselves and allow for a more “self-

service” approach. Second, IKEA does not rely on third party

companies to create the furniture in IKEA stores. They design

all of their furniture in a way that keeps costs low. Finally,

furniture that is sold at an IKEA store is packaged in a “flat-

pack,” which reduces costs because it is easier to ship and store

and costs are also reduced because the consumer assembles the

product in their own home. (Supply Chain Management)

Client Offerings: Each IKEA store carries a wide variety of home

furnishings, ranging from beds and bookcases, to full kitchen

cabinet sets, to home accents and decorations. Products are

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divided into the following designations: Living Room, Bedroom,

Kitchen & Appliances, Children’s IKEA, Textiles & Rugs, and For

Business. Some examples of products offered in each category are

as follows: (IKEA-US)

Category Product offerings

Living RoomCouches, chairs, end tables, coffee tables, lighting, throw

pillows, cushions, curtains, storage units, TV furniture

BedroomBed frames, mattresses, lamps, light fixtures, bedding,

pillows, dressers, wardrobes, night stands, hangers, hooks

Kitchen &

Appliances

Cabinets, islands, ovens, cooktops, refrigerators,

microwaves, countertops, faucets, sinks, storage, knobs

Children’s

IKEA

Cribs, bed frames, mattresses, small furniture, storage,

toys, lamps, desks, highchairs, mirrors, tableware

Textiles &

Rugs

Rugs, bedding, linens, curtains, cushions, pillows, curtain

rods, fabric, blankets, towels, shower curtains, aprons

For Business Desks, storage cabinets, chairs, lamps, tables, bookcases,

stands, lighting, filing cabinets.

Along with the wide array of products that IKEA sells in

their stores, the store also offers services to customers

such as home delivery of products, assembly of products

and installation of kitchen cabinets, design software, and

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home furnishing advice. Many of these services come at a

cost. Home delivery begins at $59 while home delivery

and installation costs $79 and up. Advice about home

design and furnishing is free, along with kitchen planning

advice. (IKEA Services)

My Target Audience Choice: Home Designers and Furnishers

o Introduction: Home designers are a varied group of

people. Tastes and trends vary from classic to modern,

vintage to country, and cottage to industrial. Oftentimes the

location of a person’s house, along with their own personal

style, can dictate the overall appearance and aesthetic that

they focus on when decorating. People from rural areas

tend to decorate in a more traditional style while those from

larger, more metropolitan areas lean toward styles that

would be considered more modern or contemporary

As a group, home decorators became more active in 2013,

when compared to previous years. Many people who would

normally have purchased home furnishings were not making

these purchases because of the economy and their own

personal budget constraints. In 2013, there began to be an

increase in the number of people searching for home

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furnishings and decorations for their home, in part because

the economy has been on an upswing and people are more

open to making more purchases of non-necessity goods for

their home. (Scott)

Psychographic Elements of Home Decorators: As a whole,

consumers who enjoy furnishing their home also enjoy doing do-it-

yourself projects. These projects could range from sewing new

curtains, making throw pillows for the living room, or refinishing

floors or even rooms. Do-it-yourselfers appreciate saving money by

doing things themselves instead of having to pay for the same

service. They also enjoy the creativity involved with each project.

(Bosari) Home decorators are also interested in following trends by

reading magazines related to home furnishings, decorating, and

renovations. Magazines allow home decorators to see what options

are around for room design, and they can also see color and item

trends from around the country or just in the particular style they

are interested in, depending on the magazines to which they

subscribe. (Marketing to Home Decorators) Home decorators are

also using subtle colors in their decorating, such as blues and

grays. This allows them the ability to coordinate many items of

different colors and styles. (Today)

Demographic Elements of Home Decorators: Single females

account for approximately 38 % of home decorators, but the

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majority of home decorators are married (55%). The average age of

a person interested in home decorating is 57, however, interest in

home decorating peaks in those who are between the ages of35

and 64. Over 75% of people who are interested in home decorating

are homeowners. The median household income of home

decorators is $41,000, but about 23% of home decorators have an

income of less than $20,000 and 20.5% have an income of $50,000-

$74,999. Seventy-nine percent of people who are interested in

home decorating have an average household income that is less

than $74,999. (SRDS)

How Target Aligns with IKEA’s offerings: IKEA offers an array

of products for any room of the home. The products offered would

most appeal to a person who is interested in the Scandinavian

style. IKEA also sells products that are reasonably priced and

would fit within the target audience’s budget. The lower prices and

option to avoid assembly cost by putting things together yourself

allows the IKEA customer to save money but not sacrifice style.

oGeographic Choice Explanation

I chose to focus my advertising on the metropolitan areas of

Philadelphia, New York, and Dallas. All three of these areas have

high concentrations of people who are interested in home

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decorating, and Philadelphia and New York both have multiple

stores within the same metropolitan area, which allows advertisers

to maximize the impact of the ads that they run because they are

able to reach people within the publication radius who, while not a

resident of the target city, still receive the intended messages and

can act on them.

Metro Area priority No. 1: New York City, New York

New York boasts the highest number of people interested

in home decorating, according to the Standard Rate and

Data Service. Over 2,876,000 people had this interest in

2007 alone, accounting for just over 38% of the

population. IKEA boasts four stores in what could be

considered the New York metropolitan area. There are

two stores on Long Island, in Brooklyn and Hicksville,

which are 30 miles apart. There are also two stores across

the river in New Jersey, in Elizabeth and Paramus, which

are 20 and 24 miles from the Brooklyn location,

respectively. Many consumers in this area that are

reading media from New York will have an IKEA store that

is located somewhere near them, so IKEA can benefit from

the home decorators around the New York metro area

who are reading the advertisements and going to one of

the four IKEA stores in the area.

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Metro Area Priority No. 2: Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania

According to the Standard Rate and Data Service,

Philadelphia boasts over 1,124,000 who have an interest

in home decorating. This number accounts for 38% of the

population. There are two stores in the greater

Philadelphia area, one in Philadelphia and one in

Conshohocken, 20 miles away. Placing advertisements in

various media in the area will not only reach those in

Philadelphia who are interested in home decorating, but

also those in the metro area surrounding the city. IKEA

can benefit from ads here because they will be seen by

people who live in and near Philadelphia, and with 2

stores within 20 miles of each other, there is more of a

chance that the people who see the ads will also have an

IKEA within a reasonable distance.

Metro Area Priority No. 3: Dallas, Texas

Although Dallas does not boast nearly the number of

consumers who are interested in house decorating as

Philadelphia or New York, the 929,709 people who are

interested in home décor does account for nearly 40% of

the population of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.

IKEA has one store in this area, and it is located on the

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north side of the metro area, in Frisco. Its location is ideal

because it allows people from the city to easily travel to

IKEA, and is also accessible by people in the suburbs and

nearby towns. Consumers will likely see media from

Dallas, even if they live near the city, and the advertising

could draw them to IKEA, because it is located

conveniently.

IKEA Media Plan

Introduction: The following is a media plan for IKEA. It consists of

25 different media vehicles within six different types of media. The

media vehicles break down in the following way; four magazines,

three newspapers, three radio stations, three television programs,

eleven web sites, and Google AdWords. A total of $1,999,880 was

spent on this campaign, with an emphasis on purchasing website and

magazine advertisements. The campaign runs April through July, with

most advertisements running in a bursting or flighting pattern

throughout. The highest media priority was websites, followed by

magazines.

Media Type Priorities: My top media priority is websites. Prior

research into the interests of home decorators showed that they enjoy

doing research online about home design. By placing advertisements

on the eleven selected websites, they will be reaching consumers who

are interested in modern design, interior decorating, and do-it-

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yourself projects, all characteristics of members of IKEA’s target

audience. Placing advertisements on websites allows for the potential

for them to be viewed multiple times, if a consumer frequents the site.

Unlike radio and television placements, which operate by inserting

advertisements that are heard or seen once, until they are played

again, and rely on the fact that the consumer heard or saw what was

played, placing advertisements on websites allows for a better chance

that the advertisement will be seen because it is on the page for as

long as the consumer is viewing the material on the page.

My secondary media choice was magazines because members of

IKEA’s target audience are interested in home décor, modern style,

and do-it-yourself projects, and there are specific magazines that

focus on those interests. The selected magazines each focus on at

least one interest of IKEA’s target audience, which means that the

consumer will be in ideal place, while reading the magazine, to

correlate their interests and the offerings of IKEA as they relate to

each other.

Specific Media Choices:

Magazine Choices:

Metropolitan Home: I chose to advertise in Metropolitan

Home magazine because it focuses on the latest trends in

decorating, as well as home design and home furnishings. This

magazine is also has a high number of subscribers on the East

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Coast, with a high circulation concentration in New England and

the Mid-Atlantic States, which would allow it to reach

consumers in the New York metropolitan area who are close to

the IKEA stores nearby.

Dwell: Dwell is a good choice to advertise in because it

focuses on people who are interested in “open, adaptable

characteristics often found in modern design.” IKEA’s design

style is very sleek and modern, and would be of interest to

people reading this magazine. The circulation in New England

and the Mid-Atlantic is high, so it has the potential to reach

many people in the New York metro area who are near an IKEA

store.

Dallas Home and Heritage- Dallas Home and Heritage

is a publication that reaches Dallas, Fort Worth, and nearby

suburbs. Even though it has a smaller readership and higher

CPM than any other magazine, it is a worthwhile purchase

because it directly reaches those persons in the Dallas/Fort

Worth metropolitan area that have a vested interest in home

design. Dallas Home and Heritage is dedicated to providing

home design inspiration that is current and modern, which fits

the target audience.

Better Homes and Gardens (New York, New Jersey,

Pennsylvania, Texas): Advertising in Better Homes and Gardens is

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an effective choice because it is a magazine that is dedicated to

“helping people make their lives better through . . . home design

and decorating” among other topics (SRDS). This aligns with the

audience that IKEA targets because their target audience is

interested in interior decorating and stylish design. Because

Better Homes and Gardens is such a widely published magazine,

it was important to focus the advertisements to the areas that

were relevant to IKEA’s target audience. Only advertising in the

magazines that are distributed in Pennsylvania, Texas, New

Jersey, and New York state directly reach the top target metro

areas. Even though the CPM is the highest of any magazine, it is

a worthwhile purchase because it is very pointed and directed

toward the exact metropolitan areas that IKEA wants to target.

The ad is a 1/3 page ad that runs on the inside of the magazine

to reach readers as they are thumbing through.

Newspaper Choices:

Fort Worth Star-Telegram- Advertising in the Star-

Telegram is beneficial to IKEA because it will effectively reach

the audience that would be interested in IKEA’s offerings and

lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area. Placing ads in the

Sunday art section will reach the best audience, because

compared to the other special sections that the Star-Telegram

offers, the Arts section would be most appealing to the target

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audience that IKEA is trying to reach. Running ads the first two

weeks of each month of the four-month advertising cycle will

allow consumers to see the ads for two consecutive weeks, not

realize that they aren’t seeing it for two weeks, and then see it

again during the first two weeks of the next month.

Norristown Times Herald-Although advertising in the

Norristown Times Herald does not seem like a wise choice, it

will actually reach a very distinct audience. Norristown is only

three miles from the IKEA store in Conshohocken, Pa. This

paper will reach consumers in the suburbs who are very close to

the IKEA store there. Advertising in the Welcome Home Real

Estate section will target consumers very directly because most

of IKEA’s target audience is new home buyers. An ad here will

reach those consumers who are thinking about buying and

furnishing a new house. The 12 advertisements will be spread

between 4 months. They will run for three consecutive

Saturdays, not run for one week, and then run again for three

Saturdays.

New York Times (NY Regional Edition) - Placing

advertisements in the regional edition of the New York Times is

the best way to reach the audience that is in the area of any of

four IKEA stores within the New York metropolitan area.

Running the ad in the House and Home section, which runs on

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Thursdays, will reach home decorators more directly. Those

interested in home decorating are most likely to be looking in

the section labeled House and Home. The ad will run on the first

Thursday of each month.

Radio Choices:

WHTZ-FM (New York)- I chose to run ads on this Pop

Contemporary Hits radio station because some brief research

revealed that the age range of the people who are interesting in

IKEA’s offerings are more likely to listen to this type of radio.

WHTZ also has the highest ratings of any Pop Contemporary

Hits station in the New York area. I chose to run the ad 10 times

each Friday evening of the campaign. I chose to run the ads on

Friday evenings because people are out and about and when

they hear the ad, they may be more likely to have an opportunity

to go to an IKEA store over the weekend.

WIOQ-FM (Philadelphia)-WIOQ is a good choice for

radio advertisements in the Philadelphia metro area because

their format aligns with the interests of the target audience.

They also have the highest ratings of any of the Pop

Contemporary Hits stations in the area. Advertising on Friday

nights throughout the campaign will reach those people who

turn on the radio at their Friday night parties and get-togethers.

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It would also allow people to have a chance to go to an IKEA

store over the weekend.

KHKS-FM (Dallas) - Choosing to advertise on KHKS is a

good idea because it will reach the consumers in the Dallas

metro area who are the target for the items and style that IKEA

has. Placing advertisements in Friday evening spots will allow

them to reach consumers who tune in to the station on Friday

nights while relaxing or enjoying a party.

Television Choices:

House Hunters Renovation: House Hunters Renovation

is an excellent television choice for advertisements because it is

a show dedicated to home buyers who look for a home that they

ultimately purchase, renovate and update. This aligns with

IKEA’s target because they have an interest in home renovation

and are typically newer home buyers. I chose to put more

insertions in Philadelphia because, of the three metro priorities,

it is the one with the most potential for home buyers. The New

York metropolitan area does not have the available homes for

purchase. Rather, it has many apartments, so I put fewer

insertions there and in Dallas. The advertisements will appear

during the Prime advance time of the day, which is 5-7 in the

Central time zone and 6-8 in the Eastern time zone. This will

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reach people who are watching television after work or while

preparing dinner.

Renovation Realities: Advertising during the show

Renovation Realities will reach those members of the target

audience that have an interest in do-it-yourself projects for the

home. The show focuses on the ups and downs of working on

projects yourself as well as the struggles that come with do-it-

yourself projects. Advertisements would run during the Prime

advance day-part, which would those people who are home from

work, relaxing and watching television in the evening. I decided

on 40 insertions in each of the three cities because whether the

target audience lives in apartments or houses, they are still

interested in do-it-yourself projects and would watch this show.

Sarah’s House: The program Sarah’s House follows a

woman as she renovates an outdated house with a more modern

and stylish décor style. She does the work herself, which is what

makes this show appealing to IKEA’s target audience because

they have an interest in modern style and renovations as well as

do-it-yourself projects. I chose to place advertisements in the

prime advance day-part because it will reach those members of

the target audience that are home in the evening, relaxing and

watching television. This show would appeal to target audience

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members in any of the three metro areas, which is the reason

for equal insertions in each city.

Website Choices:

Design-milk.com- Design-milk.com is a website that is

devoted to modern design, and much of their design is centered

on sleek, modern, Scandinavian designs, similar to the products

offered by IKEA. Their average monthly traffic is about 40,000

unique visitors a month, and even though that is lower than

many other websites, design-milk has a devoted following,

meaning that their visitors return monthly to investigate new

content. This is what makes it a good purchase choice.

Realsimple.com/home-organizing: Placing

advertisements on the part of the Real Simple magazine devoted

to home and organizing will reach people who have an interest

in keeping up-to-date on modern trends and design ideas for

their house. Some of their top articles include, “Living Room

Decorating Ideas” and “23 Decorating Tricks for your

Bedroom.” These and other articles will appeal to the target

audience because they have an interest in home decorating.

IKEA has furniture for many different rooms of a house, so

placing advertisements on Real Simple’s website will reach

people, even if each of them is interested in decorating different

rooms of their house. With a CPM of only 19 cents, advertising

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on the Real Simple website is also cost effective, reaching many

people at a lower price than most of the other websites on

which advertisements are being placed.

HGTV.com/decorating: Placing advertisements on the

HGTV website is an effective choice because it will reach those

people who turn to the website for tip, inspiration, and further

ideas from shows that they may have seen on television. The

decorating section of the website is devoted not only to home

décor and design, but also to remodeling, which is an activity of

interest to the target audience. With a CPM of 8 cents,

advertising on the HGTV website is a cost-effective option, and

the most affordable of all of the advertising placements on

websites, in terms of CPM.

Dwell.com: Advertising on the dwell.com site in

conjunction with placing advertisements in the Dwell magazine

has the potential to reach target audience members multiple

times, thus helping to keep the IKEA name fresh in their

memory. The Dwell website provides modern design ideas,

which align with the target audience. Because dwell.com has a

smaller readership than other larger websites, I only chose to

place 90,000 advertisements over the course of the three month

campaign.

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BHG.com/…remodeling: While the Better Homes and

Gardens website has a variety of sections that might appeal to

the target audience for IKEA, focusing advertising on the

remodeling section will reach those members of the greater

target audience that are specifically interested in remodeling

their homes. Better Homes and Gardens website does not

specifically focus their design section on modern design, which

is why it is a better choice to only place advertisements in the

remodeling section of the site. They will reach the people they

are meant to reach, and who have an interest in IKEA’s

products. I placed a greater number of advertisements on this

site over the course of the campaign because it has a greater

viewership than some smaller websites, and it also has an

affordable 39 cent CPM.

DIYnetwork.com/decorating: Advertisements on the

decorating section of the DIY network website will reach those

members of the target audience who are either coming to the

website because of a show they have seen on television, or

because they are looking for do-it-yourself decorating ideas.

Either of these types of people would be interested in IKEA’s

offerings, which is what makes this website an excellent choice

for advertisements. Members of the target audience are

interested in both modern interior design and do-it-yourself

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projects. Because this website has a higher number of unique

visitors each month, running 135,000 advertisements over the

course of the campaign will help to reach more of the website’s

viewers.

Thisoldhouse.com: Placing advertisements on the This

Old House website will reach those members of the target

audience who are interested in remodeling and do-it-yourself

projects. A large portion of the website is devoted to projects for

the home and do-it-yourself ideas, which fits the interests of

IKEA’s target audience. Because the advertisements will be

placed in a sub-page of the website as opposed to a main page

or the front page, only 90,000 advertisements will be run, since

the viewership is lower that the larger portions of the site.

Freshome.com: Freshome.com is a website that is

dedicated to modern designs and especially interior decorating.

It features sections about design for many different rooms of a

house and also lets readers submit their projects. This aligns

with IKEA’s target audience because it is known that they have

an interest in modern interior design as well as do-it-yourself

projects. Even though the CPM is higher than most of the other

websites, freshome.com is still a cost-effective purchase because

it reaches a distinct audience of creative people who do projects

for the home and are interested in interior design.

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Houzz.com: Houzz.com is a unique yet cost-effective

choice for advertisement placement. The website is dedicated to

helping inspire modern interior design. It lets users search

through rooms that others have designed and projects that

others have done to gather inspiration for their own projects.

IKEA’s advertisements would align well with the audience of

this site because they would be reaching people who are

interested in both interior design and projects for the home.

Housebeautiful.com: Housebeautiful.com offers a

variety of modern design tips, inspiration, and designer tips.

Users of this site would have an interest in modern furniture

and design, which would align with IKEA’s target audience.

IKEA’s furnishing options would be of interest to consumers

who are interested in the advice and inspiration that

housebeautiful.com offers.

Home-designing.com: Home-designing.com offers home

and interior design ideas for a modern style. Their website is

devoted to ideas for every room of the house, so IKEA’s modern

furnishings would appeal to visitors to this site. IKEA offers

sleek, modern furniture that aligns with the designs and

interiors featured on home-designing.com. Since the website

has a smaller viewership than many of the other website

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choices, I decided to run fewer advertisements during the

course of the campaign.

Google Keywords:

Inexpensive modern furniture: Since IKEA’s furniture

and décor is marketed as both inexpensive and modern, it would

fit what people who are using these key words would be looking

for.

Modern furniture design: Displaying advertisements for

IKEA when consumers use these key words would be effective

because the modern designs that IKEA offers would be of

interest to them. Because IKEA offers lower prices that some

other modern furniture retailers, consumers could discover

IKEA’s affordability when compared to other advertisements

that might also appear.

Modern interior design: IKEA offers furniture that

would be of interest to someone who was searching for modern

interior design. IKEA’s products align with a modern style and

because they offer products for all rooms in a house, no matter

what room a person was particularly interested in applying

modern design styles to, IKEA’s products would align with what

they are looking for.

Scandinavian furniture design: Because IKEA’s

furniture is distinctly Scandinavian; a person who was searching

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for Scandinavian furniture design would be interested in the

furniture selection that IKEA offers.

Scandinavian interior design: If someone was

interested in decorating their house in a Scandinavian style,

IKEA’s offerings would align with that consumer’s interests

because their furniture has a distinctly Scandinavian style.

Simple modern design: The furniture that IKEA offers

features simple lines and basic colors and styles. A person

interested in a simple, modern design style would be interested

in IKEA’s furniture because it would have features that would

align with their interest in simplicity and modernity.

Media Plan Schedule: The four consecutive months in which I chose

to run the IKEA media plan are April, May, June, and July. These four

months were chosen because of the seasonal change and the idea that

as the weather warms, many people take the opportunity to clean or

update their house. This allows for the opportunity to reach people

who may have, over the colder months, become tired of their furniture

or are looking for a change. Advertisements can be run during this

time that emphasize that a person who might want to change or

update their furniture could do so with clean, simple, modern

furniture from IKEA at a less expensive price than a consumer might

find at another retailer.

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The magazine advertisements run in each magazine four times,

once each month of the campaign. The advertisements in the

newspapers run at differing times. Advertisements in the Fort Worth

Star run once a week for eight weeks; four in April and four in June. In

the Norristown Times Herald, the advertisements run once weekly

from April to June, with twelve total insertions.

Advertisements in the New York Times run once a week for the

month of April. This creates a bursting type of newspaper campaign,

with heavier advertising presence in the months of April and June.

Radio advertisements are scheduled to run during all of the months of

the campaign, with a total of 208 insertions on each radio station. This

breaks down to 13 insertions each week on each station.

Television advertisements are run as follows: Advertisements

will appear during each show 10 times each month, except for

insertions during the broadcasting of House Hunters Renovation in

the New York metropolitan area.

There are between 50,000 and 70,000 impressions on internet sites

during each month of the campaign. Internet advertisements will run

for all four months of the campaign, and the number of impressions is

based on the number of unique visitors a site receives each month,

and in that regard, their popularity as well.

Justification of Money Spent: The budget for IKEA’s advertising

campaign was $2 million. A total of $1,999,880 was actually spent on

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this campaign, and the breakdown of spending breaks down in this

way:

$838,316

$94,601

$698,443

$305,558

$18,953$44,008

IKEA Media Type Spending Analysis

MagazinesNewspaperRadioTelevisionInternetGoogle AdWords

The most money was spent to purchase magazine advertising space,

with $838,316 or approximately 42% of the budget devoted to

purchasing advertising space in four magazines. Because

advertisements are more costly to advertise in than some other media

types, and because magazines are the second most important media

type in this campaign, spending this amount on them is beneficial

because it allows for the purchase of quality magazines that relate to

the target audience and will reach them in effective ways.

The second largest amount of money was spent purchasing radio

advertising space. Approximately 35% of the budget, or $698,443 was

put into the purchase of advertisements in radio. Because radio is also

more costly than many other media types, this spending is reasonable

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and effective for the campaign, even though radio is not one of the

highest priorities. The money purchased advertisements on three

different radio stations for sixteen consecutive weeks.

Even though less than 1% of the budget was spent on internet

placements, advertising space on eleven different websites was

purchased. Because internet is the highest media priority, purchasing

advertising space on eleven websites is an effective use of money and

will reach more people.

Since television, Google AdWords, and newspapers were not high

priorities, only 22 % of the budget was devoted to purchases. These

were not the most effective ways to reach consumers who would be

interested in IKEA’s products and services, which is the reason for

less spending in each category.

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