IKEA Wants Facebook Fans to Bring Friends to Stores

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Facebook marketers this year figured out how to combine like-gating with philanthropy, and now IKEA plans to add foot traffic to the mix in early 2012. The Swedish retailer is trying to get consumers to bring themselves and their Facebook friends to its locations for a freebies-and-discounts event on Jan. 14.

To get information on the "Bring Your Own Friend" event, visitors to IKEA's Facebook page need to click on a tab app on the left-hand side. Then they need to "like" the brand in order to see that the retailer is offering complimentary meals on Jan. 14, as well as reduced prices and the chance to win a shopping spree.

Using a fairly elaborate friends invite module, Facebook users are encouraged to select their cronies on the social site according to their personal attributes. For instance, clicking on "The Sweetest Ride" allows Facebook users to call out one of their friends who has a nice car or truck to drive their shopping posse to the IKEA in their area. They can also invite people who fit the following types: "The Accountant"; "The Muscle"; and "My Personal Shoppers." The invites will appear as wall posts.

Viewers can peek in on what specials are running at their local IKEA by clicking through to a dedicated Facebook page for the store. On the page, they can RVSP for the event at their nearby store, get directions, plan a schedule around Jan. 14, and create a shopping list. They are encouraged to enter their email address and name to receive a reminder for the upcoming event, which is dubbed "BYOF" for short.

For every friend invited on Facebook, IKEA has pledged to donate $1 to the Save the Children foundation. It has capped the goodwill initiative at $50,000.

While IKEA wasn't available today to give more details on the campaign, based on brands' ad-buying activity in recent months, the retailer will likely buy Facebook ads to support the layered effort on the social site. AllFacebook.com first reported about the campaign.