God Bless Ikea

There are many reasons to be thankful for Ikea: the Billy Bookcase, the resurgence of Swedish meatballs, and a complete kitchen that doesn’t require a second mortgage. And now a new reason to love them … advertising. Metro stations have been papered with the “Change is Coming” campaign, which was already cleaver. But our Swedish friends took it up a notch when I walked into Union Station yesterday and saw an Oval office, complete with secret service, decked out in Ikea finery.

I normally detest ads. Why? Because they’re either boring or the advertiser assumes I’m dumb. Ikea’s approach to retailing is different, and it shows in their advertising choices. Their model is built on experiential marketing — with the entire store set up as rooms, you get to settle in and see what its like to spend a little time on the Ektorp sofa in the glow of your Horup floor lamp. What they’ve done in Union Station is to take that idea and have fun with it. Hey, the Oval is a room like any other and it has needs too — a stylish rug, some zen accessories, affordable window treatments and some comfy throw pillows. But it isn’t just that they brought a room out of the store and put it in the train station, and it also isn’t just that the room happens to be the most important one in the whole country.

Fostering Innovation in the Obama White House

I was listening to a recent Diane Rehm show. It was a Friday news round-up discussing the upcoming Obama administration with Washington-based guests from The Washington Times, Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal. The topic of recently announced candidates for key positions was discussed and Jerry Seib from WSJ brought up the popularity of “czars” in the Obama organizational structure. Eleanor Clift from Newsweek bemoaned the fuzzy lines of authority, called them niche positions and worried that it would result in Obama being out of touch. Deborah Clift from The Washington Times was even more distressed, concerned that the media wouldn’t know who to call, afraid they’d get different answers from various people and called it a big mistake.

If it makes the insiders uncomfortable, then you know you are on the right track.

What the panelists failed to recognize is that this is a classic management technique for placing innovators in positions where they will have the most impact.

Aren’t you supposed to ride OUT of town on a rail?

Santa Claus may be coming to town in a sled, but President-elect Obama has chosen more conventional means for making his big entrance: Amtrak. In today’s special, extended version of Whose Idea Was That??, we’ll consider whether this is the best way to prepare for that Really Big First Meeting.

Gather your team before the meeting. Run through the talking points one last time, double check all your materials and make sure nobody has the jitters. For this, Amtrak is a good idea. Obama gets on first, so he’ll have time to find everyone a seat. The hour and fifteen from Wilmington to DC is perfect for settling in for some face-to-face prep while en route to the big meeting. That is, assuming, the weary traveller asleep in the table-top four seater with her luggage piled up next to her will kindly move for the Obamas and Bidens. Privacy isn’t exactly at a premium, but hey, everyone else is too busy talking on the phone or listening to an iPod jacked up way too loud to pay attention anyway.

Make sure your image is consistent with your message.