Dive Brief:

• Ikea U.S. launched an online marketing push for its bedroom furniture that includes interactive content playing off the well-known ancient Indian text on intimate positions, the Kåma Sutra, while also being shoppable, according to a press release.
• "The IKEA Kåma Sutra: The Ultimate Guide to Bedroom Satisfaction" is an illustrated shoppable online catalog offering inspiration for bedroom furniture and décor. It features 20 different bedroom furniture "positions" that include furniture layout suggestions, design ideas and product recommendations. Featured positions include "The Lotus Flower" for people who want to connect with nature and "The Doggy Style" for those who sleep with their pets nearby.
• Ikea also released a 90-second YouTube video exploring the different Kåma Sutra positions. Consumers can join the social media conversation using hashtag #IkeaKamaSutra.

Dive Insight:

The online catalog is one of Ikea's first big digital campaigns since announcing last year that it would send out fewer paper catalogs and redirect the savings to new marketing efforts. The retailer mailed 50% fewer catalogs in 2018 and planned to unveil large 10-foot-by-10-foot catalogs in high-profile locations, like New York City's Times Square. To celebrate its 75th anniversary, Ikea also recently held Ikea Inspiration Experience events in New York and Chicago, where visitors could step inside room setups from the retailer's 2019 catalog.

Ikea is using its "Kåma Sutra" catalog to offer a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek approach to helping consumers achieve "satisfaction in the bedroom" and showcasing real-life applications of its products. Ikea says the campaign was inspired by scholars' suggestions that the ancient intimate positions text had a larger theme: "the art of living," which is part of the retailer's mission, according to the news release.

In general, consumers enjoy interactive shopping experiences and ways to try out or visualize products before making a purchase. The "Ikea Kåma Sutra" catalog offers that capability, along with the unique experience of figuring out which "position" best suits their bedroom style. The novelty factor of the campaign and the ability to shop directly from the pages of the catalog could help the retailer boost sales and memorability.

Ikea is known for its innovative and quirky marketing approach. In 2017, the Swedish retailer released a 25-minute ASMR video showing a woman smoothing sheets and fluffing pillows in a college dorm room, according to Adweek. The retailer recently collaborated with Los Angeles designer Chris Stamp on a limited-edition line of furniture, accessories and streetwear-style clothing, called Spanst.