🚀 Steal this idea:"SHT happens - 192 % jump in sales - IKEA Campaign"

IKEA’s bold SH*T stunt sent second‑hand sales in Canada up 192 %, pulled in 32 000 anti‑tax signatures, lifted store visits 16 %, and pushed “I’d buy” intent to 81 %. The noise got Ontario’s enviro and finance chiefs—and even the Prime Minister—to say they’d rethink the tax.

The problem

HST is a 13 % sales tax (like VAT) charged in parts of Canada. You pay it on new stuff and again on the same item when it’s resold. One product, two taxes.

IKEA’s fix

They swapped the letters: HST → “SHT – Second‑Hand Tax.” Then they gave a –13 % discount on everything in the As‑Is corner.

Why it worked?

SH*T wordplay is daring and sticks in your head.
It shows shoppers a hidden pain—and removes it.
13 % off = real cash.
Tiny production cost, huge PR buzz.
Matches IKEA’s “green and affordable” story.

What I learned?

No guts, no impact.
Hunt for customer pains and fix them.
Skip vague “awareness.” Solve the thing.
Use hard numbers, not fluff.

Try this?

Talk to 10 customers this week. Find 2 real pains.
Build one social‑impact idea they’ll act on.
Send this note to three friends who’d like it 😊

—Burak

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