Tim Ning

Introduction to Media Advertising

Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

Home Furnishing as a Target Group for IKEA

Client Description
Company Overview
The company IKEA started back in the 1920s with founder, Ingvar Kamprad at the
early age of five years old. As a child, Ingvar began by selling boxes of matches to people
in his neighborhood. By seven, he had expanded further out with the use of a bicycle.
Ingvar realized later that he could buy small household products such as pens, Christmas
cards, and flower seeds in bulk and sell them at a slightly higher price and make a decent
profit. In the beginning of the 1940s, Ingvars father awarded him with a sum of money
that he used to start up his own business that became known as IKEA. The I and K are
the initials of Ingvar Kamprad, the E stands for Elmtaryd, the farm he grew up in, and the
A stands for Agunnaryd, the village he grew up in. Since that time, IKEA has expanded
their product line to include furniture, and foods, at which they have opened up their own
IKEA in-store restaurant. They have also expanded to many countries such as: Norway,
Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, and the United States (About).
One of IKEAs general objectives is to provide high quality, modernized products for
lower and affordable prices. In relation to its Swedish roots, IKEA formed under a downtrotted economy, which drove the company to create a system of prices that created the
most opportunity for customers with not as much to work with financially (Secret). In
relation to its retail prices, the company is constantly trying to find better ways to cut
down the costs of production, transportation, and marketing which in turn, lower the
retail costs of its products. The company has seen improvements of 2 to 3% decrease in
retail price from their efforts (Tuttle). With its sofas, for example, the company has
formed new methods to try and fit more products into its shipping containers to try and

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

cut down the transportation and energy costs. They have also taken to the same methods
on smaller products as well, utilizing as much cubic space to maximize transportation
efficiency. The company has also switched from using wooden pallets, to thin cardboard
mats, which allows the product to be shipped directly to the retailers, rather than first
being transported to distribution centers. They have also cut down costs simply by
swapping assembly materials and other logistical changes (Chasan). These smaller
procedural changes collaboratively lower the retail cost of IKEAs products making them
more cost-friendly to customers.
Another aspect to IKEAs foundation is its attention to resource use and wastes.
Because IKEA works to improve their methods of preparing more products per shipment,
they are able to reduce energy costs, which help environmentally as well (Secret). By
2016, a goal of the company is to sell only LED light bulbs and LED lighting products.
These products have an average life of around 20 years and will cut down electricity use
by about 85% (Environmental). IKEA has decreased its energy costs by practically
owning its own energy, rather than renting it. The company has installed 550,000 solar
panels, as well as, 157 wind turbines, used as energy sources for their stores and
distribution centers. (Kelly-Detwiler).
Still under its hundred year mark as a growing business, IKEA continues to become a
growing force in the retail business. As of 2012, IKEA has 301 stores in 41 countries with
522 million visitors. They have 120,000 workers globally with 11,000 of those members
in the U.S alone (IKEA). Despite a tough year in 2012, IKEA managed to pull off a
successful year in the UK and Ireland with revenues of about 1.23 billion pounds. With
revisions made in store and in online appearance, along with improvements in price and

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

shipping cost reduction, the company brought down costs from 35 million pounds, to a
range between 15 and 25 million pounds (Hurley).
Client Offerings
IKEA offers a wide range of sharp and modernized home furnishing and decorating
products, as well as, their own line of Swedish food products, and an IKEA restaurant that
can be located in stores. They offer large selections of furniture and furnishings for most
rooms of a household including: living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom.
The living room department includes furniture items such as sofas, arm chairs, coffee
tables, and TV media furniture. There is an assortment of secondary storage items such as
DVD, and CD cases, as well as, shelving units and wall shelves for book storage. IKEA also
offers a selection bed sheets, rugs, and curtains for bedrooms and bathrooms. Their lighting
selection includes: floor, table, and wall lamps, as well as, ceiling and chandelier lighting.
There is also a selection of environmentally friendly LED lighting.
Their bedroom department allows the customer to choose from selections of mattresses
and beds, storage units such as, chests, clothing storage systems, and organizers. There is also
a large selection of lighting options for the bedroom as well. The options include floor,
ceiling, table, and wall lamps, as well as, integrated and LED lighting. IKEA also offers a
childrens bedroom section that offers many of the same types of products from the previous
bedroom section. They have categorized selections from infants, to child ages 3-7, and 8-12.
The business section of IKEA offers products that relate to work and business
professional themes. The section has its own array of computer desks, storage units, lighting,
and furniture options for the professional consumer.

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

The kitchen department displays an array of customizable options that include different
cabinet styles and countertops, wall storage options, as well as, an assortment of options in
appliances ranging from: ovens, microwave ovens, cooktops, microwaves, dishwashers,
fridges, freezers, sinks, and faucets.
IKEA also offers a variety of food options at the customers disposal. Items such as
Swedish bread, dairy, meat, and condiments are available for customers to purchase
individually or in bulk. Customers can also enjoy many of these items inside the IKEA store
bistro. Products include: an assortment of cheese, rye, salmon, shrimp, Swedish meatballs,
sausage, and an assortment of jams and sauces. Customers can also enjoy an array of
Swedish desserts and candy treats like cinnamon rolls, tartes, cakes, and cookies.

My Target Audience of Choice: Home Decorators

Introduction
My target audience of choice for IKEA has been narrowed down to Home Decorators.

This target audience is majority females that are residing in homes, rather than renting. They are
also making more adjustments and updates to their households, rather than building or
renovating houses. Their age range is between 35 and 45 and they are making an average income
of $50,000 to $75,000 a year. They are residing in more populated urban areas with higher costs
of living. This type of location brings a sharper more modernized theme to their households.
This target audience puts a great amount of care and effort into the look of their living
environment. They enjoy reading magazines and catalogs to keep up with the latest household
fashion and trends. This audience enjoys spending time on the internet and often conducts most
product research online. While they may receive product info through print, the research is taken

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

to the internet, and sometimes, purchases can be made just as easily from an online sale as instore.

Psychographic Elements of Home Decorators

According to a survey conducted in 2007, out of 1,360 consumers, 53% of them desired to
make changes to their home, and 42% of them wanted to redecorate their home; only 11%
wanted to make adjustments that included adding onto, buying an existing home, or building a
new home (Home)that. Another source shows that about 32 million individuals in the U.S. are
homeowners, making up about 76% of the entire population (SRDS). These results show that a
lot of the targeted audience individuals are living in homes for longer periods of time, rather than
temporary living spaces. Many of the targeted audience are living in more urban areas, which
gears them towards more of a modernized set up when decorating their homes. There have also
been trends of more sleek furniture designs and euro-influenced styles. They are also looking for
more eco-friendly solutions to their home furnishings including different woods and natural
elements, as well as, reverting to stainless steel rather than using metals like bronze and nickel
(Scott). A lot of the targeted audience members receive a lot of their information via print
resources such as magazines, catalogs and co-op envelopes. Magazines such as Better Home &
Garden are circulating an average of 7,454,600 issues a month across the United States while
catalogs like Ballard Designs circulate an average of 4,757,083 issues per month. Money Mailer,
a program working with co-op envelopes, distributes over 13 million advertisement envelopes a
month, that are accurately directed towards certain targeted audiences making certain income
amounts (Marketing). Home decorators are also using the internet as a major resource in their
product purchase and research endeavors. It has been confirmed that 74% of home consumers

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

are using the internet as a tool of research in home decorating and 3 in 4 consumers will use the
internet to do extensive research on a product that they encountered offline. About a third of
consumers are spending more time purchasing their home furnishings online (Furniture).

Demographic Elements of Home Decorators

The majority of individuals involved in home decorating are classified as females

between the age of 35 and 45 with an income range of $50,000 to $75,000 (Marketing).
SRDS shows that about 16 million households in the U.S. are interested in home decorating,
which represents about 38% of the total American population. There are also about 23
million married households interested in home decorating, representing 54% of the
population (SRDS). The magazines, catalogs, and co-op envelopes from the source above,
issued the majority of its circulation out towards females with the above qualifications.
Homedecorating.com also reported that the majority of user activity on its website came from
females with a college education (Homedecorators.com).

How Target Aligns with IKEAs Offerings

IKEA presents many product options that align well with the home decorator audience.
An article by Betsy Scott discusses the trend of metropolitan homes taking on a more
modern staging along with the increasing popularity of clean lined furniture as a fresh
look. She also stresses the eco-concerns of consumers referring to products, as well as,
the financial concern that comes with home decoration (Scott). IKEA has worked hard
over the years at refining its procedures in manufacturing and shipping to ultimately
bring the lowest possible prices for quality home furnishings to its consumers. A lot of

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

IKEAs home furnishing products present modern designer-like qualities that are
fashion-friendly to the targeted audience of home decorators. The company also presents
eco-friendly aspects in appliances and lighting that have energy saving benefits. A very
user-friendly online shopping interface allows consumers to make their purchases online
and delivered directly to their doorsteps.

Geographic Choice Explanation

Metro area priority No 1: New York, NY
According to the Standard Rate and Data Service, New York, NY leads the home
furnishings/decorating population charts with 2,876,770 households of home decorators,
which sits at 38% of the citys total population of 7,570,447 (SRDS). The metro area
contains four IKEA store locations that can be found in Brooklyn, Elizabeth and
Paramus, NJ, and Long Island (Store). This specific city is the highest priority of the
three cities because of its high population and store volume. The stores are evenly spread
with an average of 52 minutes in between each location (Google). This allows a fairly
even distribution of customer traffic between all four locations. The New Jersey
customers will also most likely be receiving New York media which makes New York a
huge geographical target as far as the number of people able to be reached and the
amount of area covered.

Metro area priority No 2: Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia, PA also holds a high population count of 1,124, 386 home decorator
households which is also at 38% on a whole city population of 2,958, 910 (SRDS). The IKEA
store locator shows two stores located in South Philadelphia and Conshohocken. Both locations

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

are split up in a 31 minute drive time, according to Google Maps (SRDS, Google). This city is an
interesting prospect because a third of the population is still composed of people with home
decorating interests. The advantage to this city is that there is a high population that is split
amongst two reasonable store locations. This could result in higher traffic amongst both stores,
without risking loss of business between them.

Atlanta, GA

According to the SRDS document, Atlanta, GA has a home decorating population of

859,079, which stands at 40% of the citys total population of 2,147, 698(SRDS). IKEAs store
locator posts only one location in the entire city (Store). I see a lot of potential in this city for a
number of reasons. First, the amount of individuals interested in home decorating represents
almost half of the entire citys population and has one of the highest percentages of the
designated marketing areas. While it does not have the highest amount of individuals associated
with home decorating, it holds 40% of the entire population sitting at almost one million people.
This is a good move for IKEA because the message will reach almost half of the total population
of the designated marketing area, and the group that IKEA is intending on reaching is still a very
high amount. Along with this, IKEA holds only one store for the entire city of Atlanta, which will
create very good business opportunities in traffic for that certain store. Overall, this move shows
a little more risk up front, but its a good business move when referencing the numbers.

Targeted Bullet-List Summary

Targets Psychographic Summary
Home Decorating
Targets looking to improve homes

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

Targets read magazines, catalogs, receive co-op envelopes

Targets conduct research/ make purchases via internet
Targets Demographic Summary
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Single/Married
Age Range: 35-45
HH Income: $50,000-$75,000
Targets Geographic Summary
Metro Priority No. 1: New York, NY
Metro Priority No. 2: Philadelphia, PA
Metro Priority No. 3: Atlanta, GA

IKEA Media Plan

Introduction:
This media plan covers an advertising campaign for the company, IKEA, using six
different types of media vehicles over the span of four months; vehicles included are: magazines,
internet, radio, television, newspapers, and Google. I have been given a $2,000,000 budget and
successfully used $1,999,770 on a total of 3,067,764 insertions. I have used more than 25
different types of media vehicles in this advertising campaign.
Media Type Priorities:

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

My top media type priority in this plan is magazines. I chose this type because my target
audience enjoys reading magazines. They receive a lot of their ideas in the home decorating
themed magazines they read, so that is the most reliable vehicle in this plan. My second media
type priority is Internet. Aside from reading magazines, my target audience spends a lot of time a
great amount of time on the internet. They use this tool to not only purchase their items online,
but also in researching products that they may find online or offline. The internet also provides
websites offering ideas and layouts of different homes that contribute to the themes and styles
that IKEA has to offer. Google has the ability to draw my target audience to IKEAs products via
keywords and AdWords. This means that my messages will draw my target audience at the exact
time, place, and circumstance of when they are looking for the products IKEA is offering.
MEDIA VEHICLES:

MAGAZINE: Domino

This magazine is interesting because it is directed towards fashion-sensed women looking for
modern day designs and trends. It provides a large amount of information and product research
for readers to rely on when looking a purchasing new home decorating products, as well as,
home decorating tips. It is also one of the more recognized home decorating magazines making it
a decent approach of my target audience. I have three insertions to use for this whole four month
campaign so I am running ads in December, January, and March issues.

MAGAZINE: Home

The magazine Home is directed towards homeowners making remodeling, projects, and
also includes price points for products as well. The publisher statement also notes that the readers
of this magazine search for higher quality product and ideas sprouting from current trends. I
would run this ad three times mostly running in the earlier months, because the magazine focuses
a lot on ideas for remodeling and decorating, making it a considerable TPC for customers to look
into IKEA. I have three insertions to use for this whole four month campaign so I am running ads
in December, January, and March issues.

MAGAZINE: New York Spaces

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

This is a specialized magazine directed towards homeowners in the area of New York. I
chose this magazine because of its geographical targeting which also coincides with my highest
priority target. The magazine covers some of the best looking homes in the New York area and
appeals to both homeowners and decorators. The lower ad rates allow me to buy better ad slots in
this magazine which will make for a higher quality message. I have been able to buy 10
insertions for this magazine; therefore, I will put three insertions in the first month, two in the
second, two in the third, and three in the fourth.

MAGAZINE: Todays Creative Home Arts

I chose this magazine because of its direct target at female home enthusiasts. The magazine
focuses on the subjects of home decorating and home improvement, which align with a lot of
psychographic characteristics seen in my target audience. The lower cost in ads allows me to
print a larger quantity of higher quality ads than major-name magazines offer. I will use this
magazine specifically to run my ads while the others are not running to continue running my
message during the lower parts of the campaign I have bought six ads for this magazine and I
plan to run two ads in the December issue, one in the January issue, one in the February issue,
and 2 in the march issue.

MAGAZINE: Natural Home & Garden

The Natural Home and Garden magazine has the same home decorating approaches as the
magazines above with layouts and product research that reach out to the modern home decorator,
while satisfying their specific eco-friendly needs. While, I am only putting out 7 insertions for
this specific magazine, this vehicle helps contribute to one of the flagships of my ad campaign
and hits one of the psychographic qualities of my target audience. I will run two ads in the
December issue, one in the January issue, one in the February issue, and three in the March
issue.

MAGAZINE: Greater Philadelphia House & Home

This magazine offers new interior styles and trends geared towards home decorators in the
Philadelphia metro area. The vehicle satisfies my second priority city and allows me to run a
higher amount of insertions. The ads will be run as a whole page and run ten times through the
four month campaign, most likely in the beginning and ending portions of the campaign. I have
been able to buy 10 insertions for this magazine; therefore, I will put three insertions in the first
month, two in the second, two in the third, and three in the fourth.

MAGAZINE: Women's Day SIP Budget Decorating Idea

This magazine is designated specifically towards female home decorators. Another big factor
is that it is also geared towards decorators on a budget. The advertisement rates in this particular

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

are the third highest of all my choices, so I am only able to run 4 total insertion. They will run at
one ad per issue.

INTERNET: www.bhg.com

I chose this website because of its appeal to my target audience and modern home
decorating. This website is one of the most popular sites of all my choices and has a unique
visitor count of 70,940 people. With that, I have decided to run 600,000 impressions over the
span of the 4 month campaign to fuel the high visitor count. I will run 300,000 impressions
in the first and fourth month of the campaign to maximize the amount of impressions I have.

INTERNET: www.elledecor.com

Elle Dcor is one of the more popular home decorating magazines brands. Since the price
of the advertisement spots in the magazine were too highly priced, I have decided to traffic
more of the advertisements on the magazines website. I am also running about 600,000
impressions on that website because it is running the second highest count of unique visitors
at 42,271 people. I will run 300,000 impressions in the first and fourth month of the
campaign to maximize the amount of impressions I have.

INTERNET: www.atlantahomesmag.com

The atlantahomesmag.com website is directly geared towards home decorators in the

Atlanta metropolitan area, which is my third priority city. This site offers ideas to home
decorating and remodeling, with a modern look. I am planning on running 400,000
impressions on this particular website because of its center of attention to the Atlanta area. I
will run these impressions in the middle months of the campaign since this is a more
idealistic resource for my target audience

INTERNET: www.styleathome.com

The website styleathome.com offers design and decorating tips for viewers, as well as,
How To guides in DIY projects, and style creations. The site also provides its own blog and a
number of videos for the audience to view as visual aids. This website is important because it
is a place where my audience would go to do research on products they find or new styles
and trends they would like to try out. There will be 800,000 impressions for a two month
span. They will most likely run in the middle months because it is an idea based website. My
target audience can receive my message from the more popular websites above and continue
to have that message recycled repeatedly on these idea websites where they will be doing
their research.

INTERNET: www.home-designing.com

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

Home-designing.com is another idea-based website for home decorators. The site offers
tours of the luxurious modern-style home interiors. This website shares a lot of the same
ideas and qualities as some of my other choice sites. I am running a total of 600,000
impressions over a two month span. They will most likely run in the middle months because
it is an idea based website. My target audience can receive my message from the more
popular websites above and continue to have that message recycled repeatedly on these idea
websites where they will be doing their research.

INTERNET: www.myhomeideas.com

Homedsgn.com is mostly a photo gallery website that shows the interior and exterior
models of fashion savvy homes. Most of these galleries display the top modern present day
trends of home design and decorating and present fashionable modern style layouts that site
visitors can use as themes for their own homes as well. This is a good site to use as a vehicle
because my audience uses this website to find ideas for homes that they would like to use
themselves. I am running 100,000 impressions total on this website because of its lower
visitor count. They will run in the ending months of the campaign so that the message is
displayed at its fullest during those last months.

GOOGLE KEYWORDS: home decorating

I chose this key phrase because its the most directed phrase towards my target audience
since they are home decorators. Google predicts that the key phrase will generate around 303
clicks per day and almost 16 million impressions. I am running 45,000 total clicks on the
phrase for 3 months. They will run on the first, second, and fourth month of the campaign to
keep the message most relevant.

GOOGLE KEYWORDS: modern furniture

The phrase modern furniture is important to me because it relates to the type of product
that my target looks for. Google predicts that this phrase will generate about 1,800 clicks per
day with a total of about 80,000 impressions. I am running 30,000 total clicks on the phrase
for 3 months. They will run on the first, second, and fourth month of the campaign.

GOOGLE KEYWORD: home furnishings

The phrase home furnishings is important because it is referring to products that my

target audience is looking for to put into their homes. Since most of IKEAs products lie in the
home furnishing department, this phrase has a lot of weight in my target audience, and IKEA.
I am running 30,000 total clicks on the phrase for 3 months. They will run on the first,
second, and fourth month of the campaign.

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

GOOGLE KEYWORD: modern interior decorating

I chose the phrase modern interior decorating because of its relevance to what my
target audience looks for in home decorating. My audience is searching for modern styled
furnishings and IKEA satisfies those needs, therefore, the decision to use this is justified.
Googles predictions on clicks and impressions are not as high, but I am working to reach my
specific group of people, so those I am okay with lower numbers. I am running 20,000 clicks
over a span of two months. They will most likely be running in the middle months to satisfy
the first three key phrases.

GOOGLE KEYWORD: home decorating trends

The phrase home decorating trends is relevant to my target audience because the
current home decorating trends for metropolitan areas are becoming more modern. When my
audience is searching for home decorating trends, they are looking for what is new and
current. Modern style homes are the current trend and IKEA satisfies those needs. I am
running 22,000 clicks over a span of two months. They will most likely be running in the
middle months to satisfy the first three key phrases.

GOOGLE KEYWORD: modern home

The phrase modern home is relevant to my target audience because it is the type of
home that my target audience resides in my three priority cities. IKEA possesses the products
that help my target audience attain that style of home that they are searching for. I am
running 20,000 clicks over a span of two months. They will most likely be running in the
middle months to satisfy the first three key phrases.

RADIO: Atlanta, WSB-FM

I chose this radio station because it is the top rated station in Atlanta, Georgia. I have also
chosen to use the Adult Contemporary format because I feel that it matches the kind of
station that my targeted audience would be listening to. I chose to use the afternoon drive as
my day part because I think that the best time to reach my target audience is while they are
on their way home from work. I think that if I tried to use the morning drive, then the
majority of my target audience would lose the message on their way to work. The CCP is
moderately high with a low cost per ad; however, I am only choosing to run nine ads through
the four month span because I have chosen to devote more of my budget towards other
vehicles. I am running nine total insertions in this vehicle, so I will be running ads on the first
and fourth week of the first three months.

RADIO: New York, WLTW-FM

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

This radio station is located in my top priority city. It is the top rated station with a 6.5%
rating. Its format also matches with the Adult Contemporary format I have chosen to use.
This station reaches the highest amount of people amongst all three stations and cities so I
have chosen to run 16 ads on this station. The CCP, however, is the steepest of all 3 stations
and cities, so I have decided to run the AM day-part in this city. This choice makes sense to
me because I feel like the message would be most effective on a weekend morning drive slot
where the targeted audience has the most opportune moment to receive the message and act
on it at once. Ads will appear on this vehicle at least once every week for the entire
campaign.

RADIO: Philadelphia, WBEB-FM

This radio station is located in my second priority city. It has a rating of 8.8%
which is the highest of all three stations I am using. The CCP on this station has the
lowest in both AM and PM day-parts, so I have decided to run both time slots because of
the lower CCP and cost per ad. I will run both parts 16 times airing the AMs on Saturdays
and the PMs on Fridays. I feel that the weekend time is the most effective time for home
decoration to be done and the PM slots air after many are getting off work that Friday
night, and the AM slots will air the following day during the morning to repeat the
message in a short span of time, making it a more effective approach per week. Ads will
appear on this vehicle at least once every week for the entire campaign.

TELEVISION: Room Service

The show, Room Service, is specifically geared towards the home decorating
audience. The show is headed by designer/ decorator Sarah Richardson. Sarah brings a lot
of innovation to the show with her clean and fresh approach to home and fashion. She
aims for a modern theme in her style of decorating, which is a big psychographic trait of
my target audience. The products IKEA has to offer would fall in line nicely with the
style and approach to home decoration that this specific show takes. I plan to run 90 total
ad insertions for the show in which 20 will appear in New York, 30 in Philadelphia, and
40 in Atlanta. All ads are in the prime day-part.

TELEVISION: Design Inc.

Design Inc. is a show also headed by designer Sarah Richardson. The show puts
Sarah and her design team into situations with their clients in which they must fulfill
interior decorating projects to the wishes of their client. This show is a good spot for the
IKEA ads to run because it presents new and fresh decorating ideas to my target
audience. With the show being headed by Sarah Richardson, it means that the audience
will be getting the same fresh modern style that is desired from my other choice show

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

Room Service. With IKEAs fresh modern style and designs, this allows me to utilize
ads to their fullest potential in television. I plan to run 90 total ad insertions for the show
in which 20 will appear in New York, 30 in Philadelphia, and 40 in Atlanta. All ads are in
the prime day-part.

TELEVISION: Decorating For Less

The show Decorating for less is a home decorating show that displays modern
furnishings and linens for homes. While I do not know a ton of information about the
television show, the title, Decorating for less, implies that the show is geared towards
home decoration on a lower budget scale which is another major quality in my target
audience. This television show is a lower priority for this portion of the campaign so I am
running 10 ads in New York, 20 in Philadelphia, and 30 in Atlanta.

NEWSPAPERS: The New York Times

The New York Times is the largest published newspaper in the New York
metropolitan area distributing over millions of issues daily. It is the most widely read
amongst the entire population already making it a valid media vehicle for my priority
city. I am running ads in the House/Home portion of the newspaper that runs every
Thursday during the week. The ads are 15 column inches with 7 insertions for the entire
campaign. They will run the first and third week of December, none during January, the
first and third week of February, and the first and fourth week of March. This spreads my
insertions out far enough through the campaign and keeps my message relevant to my
audience.

NESPAPERS: The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia inquirer is one of the main publications of the Philadelphia metro area. I
am running my ads in the Home Dcor portion of the newspaper which runs every Friday
during the week. I am running a 12 column inch ad, which is the medium of all three of my
cities and the ad will run 10 times through the entire campaign, which gives me a lot of time
to work with. I have ten total insertions for this four month campaign. I will run my ads in
the first three weeks of the campaign, and take one and two week breaks between
advertisements to keep my message relevant.

NEWSPAPERS: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the newspaper media vehicle I will be using for the
city of Atlanta. I am running ads in the HomeStyle section of the newspaper that also runs
every Thursday during the week. I am running a 10 column inch ads with only 8 insertions.
My decision to run only 8 insertions allowed me run 2 more insertions in the New York

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

Times, which is my priority city; however, the change allowed me to still run the second
most newspaper ads in the entire newspaper portion of the campaign. I will run ads on the
first two weeks of every month.

Media Plan Schedule

I have planned to use the four consecutive months from December until March for the
IKEA advertising campaign. I have chosen these four because of the time it takes to sink the
message into my target audience for purchasing furniture for home decorating and remodeling. I
think most families use the spring, summer, and fall seasons to decorate and remodel their homes
because of the tempered weather during those periods of time. Starting the campaign in the
month of December gives the target audience a chance to hear the message early, making
December an early purchase month. The following months after, the audience is repeatedly
hearing the message, which follows up to the spring season, the start of the home decorating and
remodeling season.
Justification of Money Spent
I spent a total of $1,999,973 on a $2,000,000 budget. About $1.3 million was spent
amongst the magazine, internet, and google keyword vehicles. The rest of the budget was divided
up amongst newspapers, television, and radio. This move was the most justifiable because of my
audiences reliance on magazines and the internet source to research and buy their products.
While I used most of the budget on these sources, I did not completely neglect the other vehicles;
I simply used the same approaches in narrowing down the vehicles I chose to use that would suit
my target audience the best, even though those three media vehicle types were not amongst my
priorities.

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

Works Cited
"About IKEA." History. Inter IKEA Systems B.V., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_SG/about_ikea/the_ikea_way/history/index.html>.
Chasan, Emily. "How IKEA Protects the Environment and Sofa Margins." The CFO Report RSS. Drew
Jones & Company Inc., 28 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
<http://blogs.wsj.com/cfo/2014/01/28/how-ikea-protects-the-environment-and-sofa-margins/>.
"Environmental Leader." Environmental Leader RSS. Environmental Leader, 23 Oct. 2012. Web. 12 Feb.
2014. <http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/10/23/ikea-targets-energy-and-resourceindependence-by-2020/>.

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

"Furniture & Home Decor | ChoiceStream." ChoiceStream. ChoiceStream Inc., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
<http://choicestream.com/solutions/industry-solutions/furniture-home-decor-2/>.
"Google Maps." Google Maps. Google, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
<https://www.google.com/maps/preview>.
"Home Decorating Retail Marketing Plan." Mplans.com. Palo Alto Software, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.mplans.com/home_decorating_retail_marketing_plan/situation_analysis_fc.php>.
Home Furnishings & Decor Market. Stevens: Unity Marketing, 2008. PDF.
"Homedecorators.com." Homedecorators.com Site Info. Alexa Internet Inc., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/homedecorators.com>.
Hurley, James. "Ikea Returns to Growth after Price Cuts." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 23
July 2002. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9652401/Ikea-returns-togrowth-after-price-cuts.html>.
"IKEA Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. Statistic Brain RSS, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.statisticbrain.com/ikea-statistics/>.
Kelly-Detwiler, Peter. "IKEA's Aggressive Approach To Sustainability Creates Enormous Business
Opportunities." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 07 Feb. 2014. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterdetwiler/2014/02/07/ikeas-aggressive-approach-tosustainability-creates-enormous-business-opportunities/>.
"Marketing to Home Decorators." Red Rhino. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
<http://redrhinomg.com/marketing-to-home-decorators>.
Scott, Betsy. "News." Progress 2013: Home Decorating Trends Run the Gamut (with Video). The NewsHerald, 16 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. <http://www.news-herald.com/generalnews/20130316/progress-2013-home-decorating-trends-run-the-gamut-with-video>.
"The Secret of IKEA's Success." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 24 Feb. 2011. Web. 12
Feb. 2014. <http://www.economist.com/node/18229400>.

Tim Ning
Introduction to Media Advertising
Researching a Product and Choosing an Appropriate Target Audience

SRDS, Lifestyle Market Analyst, 2007

"Store Locator." IKEA. Inter IKEA Systems B.V., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. <http://info.ikeausa.com/StoreLocator/StoreLocator.aspx>.
Tuttle, Brad. "Business & Money." Business Money Everything at IKEA Is Getting Cheaper Comments.
Time Inc., 06 July 2011. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. <http://business.time.com/2011/07/06/everythingat-ikea-is-getting-cheaper/>.
SRDS, Lifestyle Market Analyst, 2007