Ikea appoints Deutsch to handle $60m US advertising account

by Staff, Brand Republic 13-Jan-06, 15:10

NEW YORK - Ikea has appointed Interpublic Group agency Deutsch to handle its estimated $60m (£33m) US advertising account, uniting it with the agency it last worked with 11 years ago.

The appointment of Deutsch, which created ad campaigns for Ikea in the early 1990s, comes more than a year after the Swedish retailer parted company with Crispin Porter & Bogusky.

The Miami agency, which won the Grand Prix at the 2003's International Advertising Festival in Cannes for its Ikea "lamp" film, resigned the Ikea account in November 2004 after three years following what it said was a difference of opinion.

Deutsch is now headed by CEO Linda Sawyer, who worked on the original Ikea account, and who described the business as one that helped define the agency.

Sawyer said: "We never stopped feeling the kinship between us and it's simply an honour and a great opportunity to work again with Ikea. We are true fans of such an iconoclastic and progressive brand and look forward to once again playing an important role in the company's continued growth and development."

Deutsch will focus on marketing strategies that support the company's existing stores and its significant growth across the US, where it now has 26 stores, with plans to open another eight in 2006 at locations across the US from Brooklyn to Round Rock, Texas, and Portland, Oregon.

Pernille Lopez, president of Ikea North America, said: "Having been apart for some time, we have both learned and developed. Now we are back together again sharing the same values. Deutsch understands Ikea and its vision to offer a better everyday life for the many people. We share a passion for innovative and clever strategies peppered with humour and surprise. Combined, we have a dynamic mix, especially as we continue our aggressive expansion in the US."

In August, Ikea split its estimated €200m (£137m) global media account between two WPP Group agencies Mediaedge:cia and MediaCom, with Omnicom's OMD losing out.

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