Ikea's new catalogue ~ a disappointing experience

Who doesn't love browsing through Ikea catalogues; dreaming of the day you have a home to furnish with Swedish design (with the house prices in Vancouver, you'll certainly be dreaming for a long time!). It was with great interest that I read an article on Marketing Mag about Ikea's new interactive catalogue. 

With the new catalogue, users can download an app on their smart phone or tablet. In the top right corner of certain pages in the catalogue is a mobile symbol. By activating the app and holding it over the catalogue users see additional content, such as different furniture designs, different paint colours, and so on.

The Ikea Catalogue App in action ~ Image courtesy of Gadget Lab

On the day I read the article, I receive the new Ikea catalogue in the mail. I downloaded the app, held it over the page, and waited. Nothing happened! Hmm.... read instructions, tried again... nothing. Tried another page. I watched the choppy image as I slowly scanned the page, and suddenly a new image appeared. I had to hold the phone still over a very small section of page to see anything. Deflated, I gave up.

The challenge for companies is to come up with ways to use technology to interact with the customer in unique ways. Ikea came up with the idea, but the execution was poor. In 2012, consumers expect nearly flawless technology, and have little patience when things don't work as advertised. If your execution is poor, and consumers disappointed, your idea becomes a waste of money. 

Although I will still shop there in the future, I am disappointed with Ikea's execution of this app. I doubt the poor execution will result in lower sales, but it's unlikely to produce any surge. What could Ikea have done differently? They could have used QR codes to unlock extra content, or trialed the app on their specialty catalogues, such as the mattress catalogue, first. 

Did you try the new Ikea catalogue app? What was your experience? Has it changed your perceptions of Ikea? What do you think Ikea could have done differently?

Social Media and Tourism

An industry I've always been interested in is tourism, especially in beautiful BC! The tourism industry is using social media to promote themselves across the world. Tourism BC, for example, has a website, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube accounts. Tourism Vancouver utilizes Blogger, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Whatever the channels a company chooses to use, they must have exciting and enticing content that connects with their target audience. There are a variety of campaigns that tourism groups use to attention; one time larger events to grab attention and pull people in to the social media sites, then ongoing campaigns to keep people coming back.

An example of a one time event to grab attention is the 'smart' mob at YVR on behalf of the "This is Great Britian" campaign. The dancers are dressed in costumes to resemble some of the most famous British acts; the Spice Girls, the Beatles, and Elton John, to name a few. The dancing is great, and the video is fun to watch. The link in the information section of the YouTube video takes viewers to the "This is GREAT Britain" Facebook page, where you can choose to interact and follow the campaign.

An example of a great ongoing campaign is Tourism BC's "Fan Photo of the Week". Fans post their photos to Facebook, and Tourism BC selects the best ones in for the "Fan Photos of the month" album, then selects one per week to be displayed as Fan Photo of the Week. I think this is a great use of social media, as Tourism BC gets a fantastic collection of photos from across the province, and fans get the excitement of having their photo shortlisted, and possibly displayed as photo of the week.

Makes me want to jump in my car and go find a lake and mountains! Photo Credit: Tourism BC Facebook page

Are there any tourism social media campaigns that caught your eye? It's not just about being clever, it's also about being memorable!

Welcome! A little about me!

Hello world! Welcome to my blog. My name is Alison and I'm a Scot who currently resides in Vancouver, BC. I came to Canada in 2005, living first in Victoria, then Vancouver.

I have just completed my Associate Certificate in Marketing Communications from BCIT, and am now looking for a job in Marketing Strategy. Through my love of organization, I really enjoy getting in to the nitty gritty set up that any successful marketing campaign should start out with. It all comes back to strategy!

Those hobbies I talked about. I run, I bike, I do yoga, I love walking everywhere, but my main sport is orienteering. Don't know what orienteering is? Like us on Facebook :)  I do the marketing and promotions for our local orienteering club. I also am the communications assistant for Team Canada Orienteering! 

Please feel free to comment, disagree, or challenge any of the ideas I post on my blog. I love a good argument debate!

Myself and my boyfriend Pascal