Promotional and Advertising Strategies 2Compare and Contrast Two (2) CompaniesThe two promotional strategies that will be compared are from IKEA and Pottery Barn. IKEA is a Swedish company that sells a wide range of ready-to-assemble furniture, appliances, and home accessories. IKEA’s home furnishings are of good design and functionality offered at aprice low enough to be affordable to most people (IKEA, 2014). Pottery Barn is a specialty upscale American-based home furnishing store that was acquired by Williams-Sonoma in 1986. Pottery Barn was built on the idea that home design should be exceptional in comfort, quality, style, and value (Pottery Barn, 2014).IKEA’s promotional strategy includes a mix of television advertising, sponsorship, newspaper and magazine advertising. The concept of “democratic design” is portrayed in all of these methods, especially in the iconic IKEA catalog. This design features three elements: form, functionality, and low price (IKEA, 2014). With respect to low price, IKEA customers play an important role by driving to the store, selecting the flat-packed product from warehouse, transporting the product home, and finishing by assembling the product themselves. Having the customer complete this labor is all what helps contribute to the low pricing commitment. IKEA has targeted young married couples and first time home owners by marketing a contemporary lifestyle of enthusiasm (Douglas & Craig, 2011). The image branding has become a household signal of arrival, that the new owners have good taste and recognize value (Capell, Sains, Lindblad, Palmer, Bush, Roberts, & Hall, 2005).In addition to marketing an affordable contemporary design, IKEA creates an experience for the customer when they enter a store. The stores are large with a maze-like tour of the all the visual merchandising to help inspire the customer with creative home decor ideas. The store encourages a family atmosphere by including child daycare for parents while they shop. When
