Every July 1st weekend, a cultural phenomenon happens. The people of Montreal, Canada – about 225,000 of them – move all at once. They call it “Moving Day” and it leads to all kinds of chaos. Despite the chaos, IKEA, like any retailer, remains under pressure to increase traffic and sales during the key summer months.

However, getting the attention of young urbanites during a time when the priority is to reduce furniture, not add…is challenging. Movers are on the lookout for scarce rental trucks, moving companies and moving boxes. Regardless, IKEA set objectives in 2014 to drive greater a) Top-Of-Mind awareness, b) Brand Preference / Affinity, c) Visitation, and d) Sales.

To fulfill these objectives, Inspiration Boxes were born: a purposefully designed series of targeted distribution flat boxes that opened into actual true-to-size-and-colour 3D replicas of IKEA furniture. Labeled and priced for easy online or in-store identification and pickup.

Given the need for people to rethink décor and optimize their space, IKEA transformed the original functional moving boxes into boxes of inspired utility – boxes that would become actual-sized replicas of IKEA furnishings.

For the first time, Montrealers were given a way to test drive IKEA products at home, while helping them move at the same time. IKEA products – including the MALM nightstand, STUVA storage combination, and MICKE drawer unit – were printed onto moving boxes that matched the exact size and colour of the real thing.

To reach people on the move on June 28th, a street level pop-up board was constructed in a targeted, high turnover downtown location where the greatest number of Montrealers could claim their Boxes Of Inspiration. To promote the pop-up geo-targeted Facebook and Twitter posts were sent out to our fans before and during the event to let them know the moving help they needed was nearby.

IKEA successfully disrupted the ‘fear of textiles’ through a tangible experience that showed them you can completely change the look of a room by simply adding textiles.

- +11% sales increase in Textiles vs same period YAGO

- +10% increase in total store visitors vs same period YAGO

- Average basket increased +5% vs YAGO

- Over 8,900 textile samples made their way into Canadian homes through our street-level board

- Nearly 1MM impressions of our campaign content on Twitter and Facebook