Promotional and Advertising Strategies - Promotional and...

Promotional and Advertising Strategies
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Promotional and Advertising Strategies
Maya Davis
BUS 001- Contemporary Business
Dr. Jean Fonkoua
June 6, 2015

Promotional and Advertising Strategies
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The 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 a
price 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).

Promotional and Advertising Strategies
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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
the customer gets hungry there is a cafe to fuel the body to encourage a longer shopping day. All
of these offerings encourage customers to want to spend their day in the stores, like an
amusement park.
Pottery Barn advertises a more upscale home decorating experience. Pottery Barn wants
to assist you in beautifully decorating each room by offering complimentary design services and