Brand Activations
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Pop Ups
Client Ask
Create a highly visible and culturally relevant shoppable pop-up in New York City to celebrate IKEA’s 40th U.S. anniversary and highlight their Cooking & Eating assortments.
Strategy
Home Is Where The HEMKOST Is
To forge the emotional connection between consumers and IKEA’s cooking and eating products and overall home design options, Activate transformed a high-traffic Manhattan venue into a warm, curated IKEA pop-up home that blended storytelling with hands-on discovery, creating a memorable and interactive brand journey.
Production
Glass Box To Brownstone
Activate guided the transformation of a glass box to an eye-catching brownstone from start to finish with location sourcing, design execution, logistics management and staffing. A custom vinyl overlay stopped traffic in Union Square while inside Activate converted a raw two-story space into a fully-built out home environment that included custom tilework.
Activation
Warm Welcome
The first stop for guests entering the space was ‘FIKA On The Go” where brand ambassadors greeted every guest with complimentary coffee and a warmed cinnamon bun.
Retail Experience
While enjoying their FIKA, guests immediately enter the shoppable retail area to explore IKEA’s featured cooking & eating products.
Home: Showroom
On the second floor guests could experience even more of IKEA’s home product staged beautifully in multiple contexts, including a dining room, kitchen, children’s area, pantry, and living room.
Kitchen Lab
In the Kitchen Lab guests could participate in a variety of free, live cooking demonstrations that rotated throughout the day.
40th Anniversary
Step into a throwback, the 40th anniversary room where guests could view magazine IKEA magazine covers from over the decades, customize a free FRAAKA blue bag with patches and shop the 40th anniversary merchandise.
Meatball Happy Hour
The event featured a daily (m)eatball happy hour — serving up IKEA’s iconic Swedish meatballs in a social, food-centric experience. Drawing crowds daily and sharing the delicacy of the IKEA (m)eatball.
AI PhotoBooth
Guests were transformed back to the mid 80's with an AI glam shot. adding a whimsical touch to each photo with funky outfits, voluminous hair, and flying food to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the (m)eatball and the essence of the 80's.
Street Team
High-energy brand ambassadors hit the streets on multiple dates throughout the month of October, passing out free IKEA treats and kickback coupons- spreading awareness and driving traffic into the store.
