IKEA moves regional creative account from BBH to TBWA\

IKEA Southeast Asia has appointed TBWA\\Singapore as its new lead creative agency for Southeast Asia, following a four-month closed door pitch process. Appointed for three years, TBWA\\Singapore will assume responsibility for most of the brand’s creative work including integrated campaigns, store opening campaigns, digital and social communications across Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

The closed-door pitch, which was called in May this year, also saw incumbent BBH Singapore invited to participate. BBH Singapore had been the lead agency on the account for the past six years, responsible for running IKEA’s full suite of integrated communications in Singapore and Malaysia, and more recently in Thailand. The agency had also helped the brand in localising content ideas for our Southeast Asia markets. Among the list of campaigns include the opening of the IKEA Cheras store in 2015 and its Hokkien campaign for the new store in Penang this year.

Meanwhile in Thailand, IKEA also launched an eCommerce platform to meet the changing lifestyles of modern shoppers who spend a considerable amount of time online. Aimed at modern shoppers, the online Swedish furniture store will include IKEA’s furniture and home decorating items as well as countrywide delivery service. The online stores were first available in Singapore and Malaysia, launched in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Nigel Richardson, head of marketing for IKEA Southeast Asia said, holding a review of agencies is part of its normal IKEA process and it is constantly looking for fresh ideas and creative point of views that deliver inspiration through an integrated communications approach.

“TBWA\\ delivered just that in its proposal and stood out with a refreshing angle to deliver our brand promise across to customers. I look forward to a great creative partnership and to be challenged by the upcoming work. At the same time, we’d like to thank BBH for all the hard work and support across the years. BBH led some of the most memorable campaigns for IKEA Southeast Asia, including ‘IKEA Bookbook’ and the ‘IKEA Human Catalogue’,” he added.

TBWA\\ also works with several notable brands such as Singapore Airlines, Manulife, Hilton, Blackmores, PlayStation, StanChart and STB for many of its campaigns. It also ramped up its Singapore team hiring a series of brand lead appointments to support its growth.

"We are thrilled to have been awarded this opportunity by IKEA Southeast Asia, and we’re proud of the TBWA team who delivered an integrated strategic solution and showed real passion for the brand during the pitch,” said Ara Hampartsoumian, chief executive officer, TBWA\Group Singapore.  Hampartsoumian added that IKEA Southeast Asia has set the bar high and the agency shares the same vision: to deliver vibrant and creative work that connects with culture and captivates audiences.

Meanwhile, for the second year running, TBWA\Group Singapore swept Marketing's Agency of the Year awards and took home top honours winning the Agency of the Year title.