Singapore IKEA: Brand Analysis, IMC Strategies, and Response Models

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of IKEA's marketing management, specifically focusing on its brand presence and strategies in Singapore. The report begins with an overview of the IKEA brand, its values, and its establishment in Singapore, highlighting its focus on affordability, utility, design, quality, innovation, and sustainability. It then delves into the application of Keller's brand equity model, assessing how consumers perceive the brand. The report further explores IKEA's brand identity and the meaning it conveys to consumers, emphasizing its association with price, quality, and design. The study analyzes customer responses and brand resonance, acknowledging the importance of affordability in consumer loyalty. The report then examines IKEA's integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategies, including advertising, email marketing, social media, and message delivery, and the communication process model. Additionally, it discusses the response hierarchy model, comparing various models and emphasizing the cognitive, affective, and behavioral stages. Finally, the report addresses the importance of choosing the right communication channel for effective message delivery. References are provided to support the analysis.

Running head: MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Marketing Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

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Branding
The brand is established by the name IKEA, it is a furniture company whose headquarters is in
Netherlands. The company was established in the year 1943. The brand has the iconic logo
which is designed in two colors and this logo is prevalent since 1983. The brand opened its first
store in Singapore during 1978 at Sixth Avenue (Ikea.com, 2018).
Some of the values that the brands have that adds to the image of the company are:
 Affordability
 Utility and design
 Quality and innovation
 Sustainability
The company is aware of the target market in Singapore and designs the furniture in a way to
suite the modern requirement of the people the company on the other hand focuses on the
affordability as the prime building block of brand image (Ikea.com, 2018).
Brand equity Model
According to the model proposed by Kelvin Keller, the authority of a brand lies in what
the consumer has perceived of the brand with the help of the available information regarding the
same over a certain period of time. In Singapore the organisation was set up in the early days of
expansion and the company has an image of affordability and utility among the people. The
design and the features are contemporary and innovative which is also another reason for the
popularity of the brand (Buil et al. 2015).
Brand identity

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Ready to assemble furniture
Brand Meaning
The meaning of the brand is established with the help of imagery-related or performance-
related association this not only establishes the functional and utilitarian need and requirement of
the customers from social as well as psychological perspective of the customers in Singapore.
The brand is known for its price, quality and design apart form that the company has established
itself as an innovative, contemporary as well as cultured brand. This helps in creating the image
and establishing the perspective among the target market (Buil et al. 2015).
Responses
The response of the customers of the brand is in terms of affordable quality and innovations are
positive in nature.
Resonance
The loyalty of the consumers of IKEA is based on the affordability of the products. There
is a chance that the target market will move to other brands if they have a bigger budget or if
other brands lower their price more than IKEA (Buil et al. 2015).
Integrated Marketing Communication Strategies
Communication is an integral part of a company’s marketing process it is the medium
with the help of which the organisation can reach out to the target market. IKEA in Singapore
uses extensive IMC tools in order to establish valuable relation with the consumer (Percy 2014).

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Advertising: Ikea has used this platform in Singapore extensively and hence it should now focus
on advertising in the social media platforms such as Facebook ads, YouTube banner ads and also
banner ads in Instagram.
Using e-mail: The Company can use the information in the data base to send personal e-mail to
people who have previously purchased form the company in order to increase the value of
relationship among the people (Luxton et al. 2015).
Using social media platform: Ikea Singapore already have a YouTube channel what the company
can further do is provide feedback videos from the customers the videos can capture the essence
of the level of satisfaction they have by using the furniture.
OOH: The Company can use billboards in popular areas in Singapore to promote their new
collection or announce the launch of the collection (Luxton et al. 2015).
Figure: Communication process model
(Source: McQuail and Windahl 2015)
Message

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Communication process model
This model explains the way communication takes place there is a message that is sent by
the source which follows a medium or a channel in order to get to the person or the group of
people it is intended towards. A company uses the above mentioned IMC tools in order to reach
out to the target audience who in turn uses various means to provide feedback. It is a cycle that
continues. IKEA uses various medium to reach out to the target market in Singapore; there are
well maintained social media platforms by the company like print advertising, sales promotion,
digital marketing etc (McQuail and Windahl 2015).
Response hierarchy model
There are four message response models that are compared in this concept, AIDA model,
hierarchy-of-effects model, innovation adoption model, communication model. These models are
further divided in three stages, cognitive stage, affective stage and behavior stage. In the first
stage the process is in the initiation point and then it moves to a stage where the impact of the
communication starts and then further ahead it goes on to make impact on the behavior for the

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initiation (Wijaya 2015).

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Figure: Response hierarchy model
(Source: Wijaya 2015)
Channel power
Choosing the right channel for communicating is essential for the receiver of the message
to decode the message properly. For example: if the company has chosen social media as the
channel but if the target market is unaware of social media then the channel and the message is
incorrect.

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Reference list:
Buil, I., De Chernatony, L. and Martínez, E., 2013. Examining the role of advertising and sales
promotions in brand equity creation. Journal of Business Research, 66(1), pp.115-122.
Ikea.com (2018). Home Page. [online] ikea.com. Available at: http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/
[Accessed 8 Mar. 2018].
Luxton, S., Reid, M. and Mavondo, F., 2015. Integrated marketing communication capability
and brand performance. Journal of Advertising, 44(1), pp.37-46.
McQuail, D. and Windahl, S., 2015. Communication models for the study of mass
communications. Routledge.
Percy, L., 2014. Strategic integrated marketing communications. Routledge.
Wijaya, B.S., 2015. The development of hierarchy of effects model in advertising. International
Research Journal of Business Studies, 5(1).