The creator explains the "branding lore" behind IKEA's product naming system. She provides a brief geography lesson on Scandinavia, details the specific naming conventions for different product categories, and reveals the controversial fact that rugs and doormats are named after Danish towns, implying a slight against Denmark. She concludes by mentioning the media backlash, expressing her own skepticism about it being an accident, and asking viewers to check their own IKEA rug names.
Post caption
I’ve always loved IKEA’s brand and their unique naming system. But while chatting with some Swedish locals the other week, they made a joke about how IKEA doesn’t like Denmark. I was like, wait, what are you talking about?! That’s when they filled me in on the lore behind IKEA’s naming system and some drama from the early 2000s. Do you think this naming convention was an intentional jab or just a funny coincidence?!
#branding #ikea #brandstrategy #productnaming #design
Transcript
IKEA did what? This is the kind of branding lore I live for. While I was in Sweden, I learned some hilarious tea about how IKEA names its products. First, a quick geography check. Scandinavia includes Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. They're all friends, but there is a bit of a sibling rivalry between them. I found out that when IKEA started growing rank the founder first created their naming system, he had very specific rules. Big, beautiful furniture, like dining tables and chairs, were named after places in Sweden. Beds and wardrobes were named after places in Norway. Outdoor furniture had Scandinavian island names. But doormats, rugs, and floor runners, almost all were named after towns in Denmark. Quite literally implying people should wipe their feet on Denmark every single day. In the early two thousands, journalists made this connection and called them out. And IKEA insists it was purely accidental. But be so for real. As a rank strategist, I know how much thought goes into naming things. So maybe they were throwing shade. I'm curious. If you have an IKEA rug right now, flip it over and look at the tag rank tell me what the name of it is.
