Ikea pays recruits to serve virtual meatballs in Mother’s new campaign

Mother’s latest work for Ikea is a campaign with a difference. Its mission is to encourage applications from a new generation of employees by inviting them to get some experience working in a virtual Ikea store on Roblox.

Ten winning candidates (aged 18+) will be paid £13.50 an hour on a “fully remote and flexible” limited contract. The Roblox game lets them move between departments – including serving meatballs – to gain experience and earn promotions.

Kemi Anthony, marketing communications manager at IKEA UK and Ireland said: “When we say careers done different, we do mean it. To bring career progression at IKEA to life, it made sense to demonstrate the co-worker journey in a less traditional way, by ‘recruiting’ people to try it out for themselves at IKEA on Roblox.”

Kelly O’Callaghan, recruitment & sourcing manager at IKEA UK & Ireland said: “At IKEA, co-workers can grow their careers in any direction they want – by reskilling and moving into a new department or by taking on more responsibilities and growing in leadership roles. ‘The Co-Worker’ game aims to help more people experience what a career at IKEA could be like.”

Ikea wants its employer brand to be as strong as its consumer brand, and is running this recruitment drive online and in-store, where pixelated furniture installations will get the message across.

Mother is working with PR company Weber Shandwick on the novel campaign, which should get plenty of attention.

MAA creative scale: 7.5