Ikea hands Lowe creative, media goes to Universal

By Amy White, Media Asia, 15 July 2005, 09:59AM

Home furniture retailer Ikea has appointed Lowe & Partners to handle its creative account in Malaysia, with sister agency Universal McCann winning media.

The account, estimated by ACNielsen to be worth RM 4.4 million (US$1.1 million), was won after a three-way creative pitch in May, involving Lowe, Naga DDB and local agency KKB. The incumbent on the account, TBWA/ISC, declined to participate.

Khairudin Rahim, MD of Lowe Malaysia, attributed the win to the quality of the ideas spread over different media channels which were presented during the pitch. The agency presented a total of 10 campaigns to meet the brand's annual marketing calendar.

"Ikea took great pains to explain to each competing agency the Ikea positioning objectives, which are part of the mandatory framework of the globally-successful Ikea concept for the Ikea retailer. The strategy was crystal clear," said Rahim. "The pitch was indeed a creative one, but built upon Lowe's acute understanding of what makes Malaysians tick and, in particular, Malays tick."

Rahim said the first Lowe work for the brand would roll out at the end of July.

Ikea positions itself as a retailer with a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products.

This article was first published on Media Asia