Ikea Sleepover

I am seeing a lot of videos of people sleeping, playing, and generally behaving like children inside IKEA.

IKEA is already designed like a home you can walk through. There are beds to lie on, sofas to sink into, kitchens to inspect, and rooms that make you think, “Maybe I should completely redesign my life.”

But did you know IKEA once hosted an actual sleepover?

Yes, a real sleepover.

Back in 2011, when experiential marketing wasn’t yet the phrase everyone was putting into

presentations, IKEA invited 100 people to spend the night inside one of its UK stores.

Yes, people slept in the beds inside the store.

It all started with a Facebook group called “I wanna have a sleepover in IKEA.”

Someone created the group because, presumably, sleeping in IKEA sounded like a fun idea.

IKEA saw it and liked it. And instead of replying with a polite “Thanks for your interest,” the brand decided to actually make it happen.

That is the part I love.

Most brands would have noticed the conversation, taken a screenshot, and perhaps posted something like, “We love our passionate community!”

IKEA looked at the desire and said, “Fine. Come over.”

They invited the 100 people from the group and turned the store into a giant pyjama party.

The Sleepover went viral online, partly because it was unexpected and partly because it was so perfectly IKEA.

What do you need for a sleepover?

A bed?

IKEA had beds.

A pillow?

IKEA had pillows.

Food?

IKEA had meatballs.

The brand didn’t need to build an elaborate temporary experience somewhere else. The store already contained everything required for the idea.

That’s what made it clever.

And for everyone who wasn’t invited, the campaign created a very specific kind of FOMO.

The kind that makes you think, “Wait, other people got to sleep in IKEA, and I didn’t?”

That is powerful marketing.

A little organic buzz and a lot of brand love.

The campaign worked because it didn’t try too hard to be a campaign.

Sometimes a brand needs to listen closely enough to notice what people are already saying.

And then be brave enough to say:

“Sure. You can sleep over.”