Who Ate the Orange Fish?
Courtesy Thetorpedodog and Wikimedia Commons.
Community decoration sounds like a return to dorm life which might not be such a good memory for some of us. But IKEA is taking a chance with the concept and sweetening the deal with discounts. Here is how it works. Every week, IKEA lets online shoppers "Like" items on the website. The "Like" votes are counted and the most popular items are placed into a virtual showroom. Based on the number of "Likes," IKEA will offer discounts to shoppers.
Seems like an extraordinarily easy way for marketresearchers to get feedback on product design, utility, and overall appeal. IKEA designers -- take heed! Let's keep our eye on IKEA and see if they actually offer consumers the opportunity to "Like" items that are not yet in the catalog: Designer prototypes, product re-designs, color and fabric selection. This could be a whole new type of focus group. Lisom. That's Swedish for "Like."
Did you know that IKEA calls itself "The Life Improvement Store?" I didn't. But now I see where the IKEA folks might be coming from as they have launched Share Space which is a new community photo-sharing website. A new blog called Design by IKEA will have tips, trends, and design ideas - all geared toward life and home improvement -- from IKEA designers and design experts. If you want to connect and share more, IKEA also Tweets. Follow them @DesignByIKEA
Just when you thought IKEA couldn't do more to improve your life, the offer this for the design enthusiasm or the dorm-room-decor ruined. One room will be selected as the Pick of the Week as determined by innovative ideas for room functionality, great decor on a small budget, furniture arrangement, and use of color and fabric. The winning rooms can be found each week in the Share Space home page. And for those who participate and contribute photos on Share Space can accumulate "Kudos."
I'm not sure just what the Kudos do other than act like badges in a check-in application, but I'm hoping they can be traded in for Swedish meatballs in the cafe. Better decorating improves one's life experience, with or without a bag of the Swedish Fish gummy candy
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