Ikea’s U.S. creative review comes months after it switched U.S. media agencies.
Ikea is conducting a review for its U.S. creative business, Ad Age has learned.
The review is in the early stages and is being handled internally by the Swedish home goods retailer, multiple people familiar with the matter told Ad Age. Ikea confirmed the review is ongoing.
“Ikea periodically evaluates all marketing service suppliers to ensure we maintain the best working relationships with the best agency partners,” the company said in a statement.
Ogilvy currently handles Ikea’s U.S. creative account. The WPP agency also works with Ikea in other regions, including the Middle East. Through boutiques Ingo Hamburg and David Madrid, Ogilvy created the company’s “Proudly Second Best” effort, which was named Campaign of the Year at Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Awards.
Ogilvy declined to comment.
The creative review comes shortly after a U.S. media agency change. In September, the company started working with Dentsu’s Carat, moving on from Wavemaker, part of WPP’s GroupM, after more than six years.
The pitch will not impact any of Ikea’s global agency relationships, including McCann, which in September 2023 was hired to handle global brand marketing, according to an Ikea spokesperson.
McCann’s appointment came as Ikea sought to streamline its messaging, marking a departure from the retailer’s previous approach, when it worked with multiple agencies across regions. An Ikea spokesman said at the time that the chain would still work with other agencies on local campaigns.
McCann, which handles the account through its Madrid office, declined to comment. A person close to the situation told Ad Age in 2023 that the Interpublic Group of Cos. agency would cover the lion’s share of Ikea’s global business, including 379 stores in more than 30 markets.
Ikea also works with a few indie agencies, including Mother in the U.K. and Rethink in Canada.
Ikea’s U.S. measured media spending totaled $171 million during the first three quarters of 2024, according to data from MediaRadar. Ikea spent $193 million on U.S. measured media for 2023 as a whole.
