IKEA "BAG THE PLASTIC BAG"

Communicating U.S. Environmental Leadership with a Landmark Campaign

 

IKEA was so committed to helping reduce the 100 billion plastic bags used annually in the United States that they decided to discontinue the distribution of free plastic bags at check out in every U.S. IKEA store. If this was not blasphemous enough, IKEA was then going to actually charge shoppers 5 cents per bag. The good news? Every nickel was to be donated to American Forestry. To further discourage the use of plastic bags, IKEA slashed the price of the brand's large, durable, reusable and multipurpose blue shopping bag from $.99 to just $.59.

 

Clearly our challenge was to manage consumers' response to this aggressive initiative, the first of its kind in the U.S., while generating positive coverage of IKEA's leadership role in environmental citizenship.

 

Our strategy was to position the IKEA blue bag as an iconic symbol of the plastic bag reduction program. We educated media and consumers by supplying ample facts, figures and statistics to convey the breadth and impact of the waste generated by billions of plastic bags. Additionally, we partnered with reputable environmental NGOS, to drive credibility and buy-ins from blogs and key opinion leaders. Lastly, we extended the news beyond general, retail and environmental coverage, to lifestyle, fashion and entertainment outlets.

 

The campaign succeeded in communicating the IKEA blue bag as the green solution, and reinforced IKEA as an environmental leader. The announcement secured over 281 million positive impressions, from The Wall Street Journal, CNN Headline News, and Good Morning America, to being positively featured in The Tonight Show and The Late Show monologues.