How IKEA’s Marketing Team Capitalized on Punch the Monkey

Move over, Moo Deng.

The internet has a new impossibly cute baby animal to adore.

Punch the monkey gained online fame after videos of the baby macaque went viral. Punch was abandoned by his mother, so employees at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan began caring for him.

Zoo caretakers gave Punch an IKEA Djungelskog orangutan plushie.

Social media can’t get enough videos of Punch and his efforts to integrate himself with other macaques – always with the IKEA plushie in tow.

Lots of brands from Google to Motorola joined in on the trend.

But it was IKEA that saw the biggest opportunity with the monkey mania, and the brand has been quick to capitalize on the moment in a smart way.

Monkey Business

IKEA used its country-specific social media accounts to join the conversation, posting various photos of Punch and its plushies.

But it didn’t stop at social posts. IKEA donated additional stuffies to the zoo, complete with a photo opp featuring IKEA Japan’s president and the Ichikawa City mayor.

The response has been praised by marketing commentary and social media commenters alike. In large part because it didn’t try too hard to push a sales message or co-opt Punch’s spotlight for its own.

Social teams responded quickly, matching the sentiment the original videos conveyed – the comfort that can come from a well-loved stuffie.

For its part, IKEA didn’t need a hard-sell to be effective. The Djungelskog plushie sold out in many countries, and were selling online second-hand for hundreds of dollars.