Innovative IKEA Taiwan campaigns take the spotlight: DFI Retail Group wins at Retail Asia Awards 2024

The IKEA Taiwan Couchella music festival transformed the store into a concert venue, whilst the CRM Meatball Coin campaign leveraged the iconic meatball to boost customer loyalty.

DFI Retail Group, the retail giant behind IKEA in Taiwan and Hong Kong, secured impressive wins at the prestigious Retail Asia Awards 2024. Their innovative campaigns in Taiwan's market shone a light on DFI's ability to not only understand customer preferences but also leverage them to create engaging and successful retail experiences.

The IKEA Taiwan Couchella campaign challenged the notion of a traditional IKEA visit, winning the O2O Customer Experience of the Year - Taiwan accolade. Recognising the shift towards online shopping during the pandemic, IKEA Taiwan aimed to reignite excitement for the physical store experience.

Their solution was Couchella@IKEA – a one-night music festival where the iconic blue box transformed into a stage. Customers could rock out to popular Taiwanese artists like Jia Jia and AccuseFive in various themed showrooms, from bedrooms to kitchens. The event offered a complete experience, with exclusive merchandise and special discounts for attendees.

“In a true festive spirit, IKEA Taiwan turned the store into a soul-soothing music fest. Here’s the kicker: our fans came for the music but they stayed for the furniture. They left not only with the chairs that they sat on during the unforgettable performances but also other products that they fell for during the festival,” the company stated.

The campaign proved to be a massive success. Over 40,000 people registered for the event, with 150 lucky individuals securing coveted seats within the concert showrooms. Beyond the music, the festival fueled a surge in sales, with a 15% boost in home decoration purchases, a 200% increase in weekday foot traffic, and a remarkable 104 sofas and chairs sold during the concerts themselves.

Meanwhile, DFI Retail Group's understanding of its customer base was further evident in the IKEA Taiwan Meatball campaign, which earned them the award for Store Retail Initiative of the Year -Taiwan. The company first implemented the IKEA Family loyalty programme with over 4 million members. Whilst the campaign enjoyed initial success, leading to 75% of customers coming from the said programme, it also gave rise to sleeper customers or inactive users.

Thus came the IKEA Taiwan Meatball campaign, which cleverly leveraged the iconic IKEA meatball and the popularity of the brand's plush animal characters to incentivise customer engagement with the IKEA Family loyalty programme.

The campaign offered limited-edition, reversible meatball plushies featuring beloved IKEA characters like the Blåhaj (shark), Fabler (teddy bear), and Djungelskog (orangutan). To receive all three meatballs, members had to bind their LINE account with the IKEA Family programme and spend a minimum of NT$4,470 at IKEA Taiwan across two months. Customers could redeem these plushies with points earned through in-store purchases, but with a twist: the type of meatball plushie was randomly distributed. This encouraged repeat visits to complete the collection.

The campaign was a resounding success, particularly amongst the valuable target audience within the 18-40 age demographic. It not only reactivated over 3,000 “sleeper members” within the loyalty programme but also generated a 40% increase in average purchase value and a 67% increase in total sales.

DFI Retail Group's double win at the Retail Asia Awards underscores its commitment to innovation and customer engagement. Both the Couchella@IKEA and CRM Meatball Coin campaigns demonstrate a deep understanding of their target audience and a willingness to experiment with creative new approaches to the retail experience.

By prioritising customer needs and leveraging the power of popular culture and loyalty programmes, DFI Retail Group is positioning itself as a leader in the ever-evolving world of retail.

The Retail Asia Awards is presented by Retail Asia Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2025 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's exceptional products or initiatives in the Retail industry, please contact Jane Patiag at [email protected].