The Power of Purpose-Driven Marketing: How IKEA Is Tackling the Canadian Sleep Poverty Problem

When’s the last time somebody asked how well you slept, completely unprompted? Being tired is a popular topic of discussion – and complaint – in a world of stress and late nights. But among adults, it’s not something that gets checked on overly frequently.

With kids however, it’s a different story. Parents regularly check on children’s nightly shut-eye for good reason; it’s crucial for their development. And when that doesn’t happen, the long-term effects can be significant.

This is something that IKEA is keenly aware of. A longtime believer that sleep is not a privilege, but a necessity, the realisation that millions of people struggle with it daily recently prompted its global team to conduct extensive research into the topic. Seeking to understand how different factors impact sleep quality, the brand amalgamated consumer surveys and expert insights about sleep patterns, barriers to quality rest, and the role of home environments to subsequently create the Sleep Report 2025 – a guide which its regional variants can now use to inform local marketing strategies.

So, what did the brand’s Canadian edition take away from the report, and what are the implications for the country? According to Tanya Bevington, head of communications at IKEA Canada, some of the most striking findings included the facts that one in three Canadians feel tired almost every day, financial insecurity leads to a 15% reduction in sleep quality, and that about 500,000 Canadian children go to sleep every night without a proper bed.

This latter point, in particular, is troubling. Not only do children in this situation see a 75% reduction in sleep efficiency compared to those with proper beds, but the report’s research also found that ‘sleep poverty’ – this chronic lack of good sleep – in youth has long-term effects, including a 38% increase in feelings of sadness for every hour of sleep lost, and the fact that 24% of adolescents in sleep poverty report lower grades.

“What was particularly surprising was the scale of sleep poverty’s impact, not just on rest, but on children’s emotional well-being, education, and long-term health,” Tanya continues. “However, this insight reinforced our commitment to raising awareness and providing support, and we saw an opportunity to use our expertise in home furnishings and well-being to drive awareness and action.”

Specifically, the head of communications is referring to the launch of the brand’s recent initiative, the ‘Sleepless Lamp’. Headlined by a giant lamp at Scarborough Town Centre – created in partnership with Edelman Canada – the installation, programmed to flicker up to 20 times per hour, was designed to highlight the average number of disruptions a child experiencing sleep poverty experiences every night.

“Our goal was to create an installation that wasn’t just symbolic, but scientifically grounded,” she explains. “So, we collaborated with sleep experts to ensure the flickering pattern authentically reflected disrupted sleep cycles. The result was a powerful visual and experiential representation of a widespread but often invisible issue​.”

However, the work didn’t just stop there. To ensure maximum reach, IKEA Canada took great care with its media strategy, deploying out-of-home at IKEA Downtown Toronto to spark curiosity, a dedicated webpage for visitors to engage online and from which they could sign a pledge against sleep poverty, creator content to add diverse voices to the conversation, and even digital storytelling on Instagram and YouTube to encourage discussion. That is combined with its own commitment to invest $300,000 CAD over three years in partnership with Furniture Bank, in which it will provide 1,200 ‘Sleep Well Kits’ (which include beds, mattresses, and essential sleep items for children in need), and continued donations of similar furnishings for families facing furniture poverty. It is clear that the brand wanted to make sure it had all its bases covered when undertaking this large-scale endeavour, and with good reason.

“We knew that traditional awareness campaigns might not fully capture the emotional and physical toll of sleep poverty,” Tanya notes. “By creating an immersive experience, combined with strong digital amplification, however, we could engage people on a deeper level and inspire action. Bringing the ‘Sleepless Lamp’ to one of the Greater Toronto Area’s most-visited shopping centres gave us an opportunity to truly bring the issue out of the dark and into public consciousness, and ensure that the conversation around sleep poverty continues to grow.”

It seems that this has been a winning strategy for the brand. Citing an overwhelmingly positive response and strong engagement, Tanya points to this ability to create value for both business and the local community as the by-product of integrating brand purpose with action. However, it’s also not the first time IKEA Canada has taken this approach.

As it turns out, purpose-driven storytelling has been at the heart of its marketing and communications for some time now. In a period when consumers – especially younger audiences – expect brands to take meaningful action, campaigns like this one have proven their merit, strengthening brand loyalty, driving deeper engagement, enhancing long-term brand equity, and even going so far as to influence policy change – in this case, advocating for government recognition of sleep poverty and that they increase funding for furniture banks.

“These campaigns are about more than marketing – they align with our values and strengthen our relationship with consumers who care about social impact,” the head of marketing says. “But, more than that, knowing we are driving real change, supporting families, and inspiring Canadians to take action is incredibly rewarding.”

With this knowledge front of mind, the brand is already working on the next phase of its fight against poor rest. Resolute in its commitment to tackling sleep poverty and ensuring that no child in Canada has to sleep without a proper bed, Tanya emphasises that for IKEA Canada, truly, this is just the beginning.

“The ‘Sleepless Lamp’ has been deeply meaningful for IKEA Canada,” she finishes. “We are committed to creating a better everyday life for many people, and seeing the impact of our work, from awareness to direct support, reinforces why we do what we do. Sleep is a fundamental human need, and every child deserves a safe, comfortable place to rest.”