DUBAI: Ikea Alsulaiman, the Saudi franchise of the Swedish furniture giant, has launched a new marketing campaign to mark World Health Day.
Developed with advertising agency FP7 McCann, the Step Buy Step campaign taps into the fact that visitors often get lost in Ikea stores. Rather than pushing back on the long-running joke, the brand chose to turn it into an opportunity for visitors to increase their step count and get rewards.
Under the scheme, which is open only to members of the Ikea Family loyalty scheme, people are given a step-counting bracelet to wear during their visit. Anyone who records 4,000 steps by the time they get to the checkout is given a 10 percent discount on their purchase.
Saudi Arabians rank among the worst in the world for their average daily step count, recording just 3,800, according to a 2017 study by Stanford University.
Ikea Alsulaiman said this presented an “opportunity to reframe its in-store footprint as more than a retail environment.”
“We’re always looking for meaningful ways to be part of people’s daily lives,” Rami Rihani, chief marketing and communications officer of Alsulaiman Group, told Arab News.
The campaign added a new purpose to something customers already associated with Ikea stores, he said.
The company said the promotional campaign was also in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 Quality of Life program, which invests in building active communities.
The campaign is running at stores in Riyadh, Jeddah, Madina and Dhahran.
World Health Day falls annually on April 7.
