IKEA Design and Branding

Study Notes

IKEA focuses on minimalist and functional design with a Scandinavian aesthetic.
The brand emphasizes affordability, sustainability, and DIY assembly, resonating with their target audience.

Core product: problem-solving benefits that consumers seek.
Actual product: characteristics include quality level, product and service features, styling, brand name, and packaging.
Augmented product: additional consumer services and benefits.

Convenience products: inexpensive products that require minimal effort from consumers (e.g., bread, soft drinks, pain relievers).
Specialty products: unique characteristics or loyalty to a specific brand.

Competition-based pricing: setting prices based on competitors' strategies, costs, prices, and market offerings.
Market-skimming pricing: initially setting high prices and then reducing them over time (e.g., Apple iPhone).
Market-penetration pricing: initially setting low prices to enter the market and build a reputation (e.g., Toyota Lexus).

A company's total promotion mix consists of advertising, public relations, personal selling, sales promotion, and direct marketing tools.
Advertising: paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services.
Public relations: building good relations with the company's publics by obtaining favorable publicity.
Personal selling: personal customer interactions by the firm's sales force for the purpose of engaging customers, making sales, and building customer relationships.
Sales promotion: short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service.
Direct and digital marketing: targeted marketing efforts to attract customers.

Product: the core service offered (e.g., hotel rooms, university courses).
Price: varies according to the value perceived by the customer.
Place: the location of the service (e.g., hotel location, university campus).
Promotion: marketing efforts to attract customers (e.g., social media campaigns, open houses).

Value-Based Pricing focuses on capturing a premium price based on the perceived value of the product.
Skimming Pricing involves setting an initially high price and gradually reducing it over time.
Penetration Pricing involves setting a low initial price to gain market share quickly.
Sales promotion is short-term incentives to encourage purchase or sales of a product or service.
Personal selling is the personal presentation by the firm's sales force for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships.
Push strategy is usually followed by B2B companies with respect to promotion strategy.