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Finding new and human ways to connect and empower the next generation to play is one of the ways that Ikea says it hopes to change the world, and bringing extra life to cardboard that would otherwise end up in the recycling bins is part of that push. It’s an idea that came about quickly, and was revealed at a panel at Cannes today (20 June).
Wunderman, Kantar Consulting and Mini Mad Things decided to put the pedal to the metal and workshop an idea in just five weeks. The catch? The idea had to be ‘prototypeable’ as the final would be presented on stage at Cannes Lions, alongside Ikea’s chief marketing officer. Ultimately, the brief was to come up with an idea that shows how Ikea inspires and facilitates child’s play, all while helping to improve home life for parents, whole families and even communities.
After evaluating 17 years-worth of online conversation with parents and analyzing 15m rows of dialogue data, the team realized that behavior and development is the most talked about topic within childcare, second only to pregnancy. Pressing further in the research, the team learned that 50% of parents surveyed struggle to find ideas to encourage creative play amongst their children.
Ikea, which has been one of the largest distributors of cardboard packaging, and team were able to flip their script so the brand could see the world through a child’s eyes and create an interactive mobile app that brings cardboard waste to life. By following simple instructions any piece of cardboard can be transformed into something new. The Ikea Toybox app gives cardboard waste a new lease on life and, as play doesn’t require a price tag, families will see big results with small means.
