Ikea Animates Its Print Catalog with Digital Technology [VIDEO]

Ikea’s 211 million catalog fans will be notice something different in the upcoming 2013 edition: a tie-in with digital marketing efforts such as augmented reality, videos, and X-ray vision.

The Ikea catalog, which was developed by McCann Erickson, uses “image recognition software from Metaio and not QR codes, which makes it convenient to add further content to other pages in the future,” according to AdAge.

Readers will be able to use an X-ray function that allows them to see behind cabinet doors using an app. The catalog will also contain videos and designer stories available for viewing on the app.

In an interview with AdAge, Vice Chairman/Global Deputy Chief Creative Officer of McCann Andreas Dahlqvist said that the integration with digital will expand the amount of time the catalog spends in homes. The catalog’s content can be ever-changing and evolving.

Instead of participating in outbound marketing practices, Ikea has shifted to inbound marketing with the 2013 catalog. The brand is now focusing on engagement and creating two-way conversations.

IMedia Connections Shawn Rorick says that augmented reality (AR), like the type Ikea is using, is an effective way to heighten engagement.

“Engaging with animation and AR will lend itself to instant opt-in,” he says. “This is another area where offline will merge with online and we can then make more direct comparisons of metrics for each tactic or campaign. At the same time, it will also represent a new world of standards, formats, best practices and everything else we’ve come to expect with true emerging media.”