ML+
Summer of 26
One market. Thirty-nine days. One summer.
For thirty-nine days, the world felt a little closer to home. At American Dream, people came together to watch. To celebrate. To be part of something bigger.
I saw an opportunity for IKEA’s New York Market to become part of that experience—and give people a reason to bring a little of it home.
A place in the crowd.
A summer of football created a new setting for a familiar idea: making people feel at home.
The New York Market could bring comfort to the moments between matches. A seat to settle into. A place to gather. Somewhere to stay a little longer.
The ambition was to connect those moments to something lasting: IKEA Family membership, store visitation, and measurable shopping behavior.
From an idea to the everyday details.
I led the partnership for IKEA’s New York Market, connecting the commercial strategy with the work required to bring it to life.
That meant aligning stakeholders, coordinating resources, shaping the customer journey, and carrying the activation through execution and measurement.
Across VIP lounges, shared seating, watch zones, and a dedicated pop-up, IKEA products became part of the experience. Visitors could sit, gather, and discover them in use.
A moment worth coming back for.
The experience needed a path beyond American Dream.
IKEA Family enrollment, match-day incentives, QR touchpoints, and a store offer connected the activation to the next visit.
Each touchpoint had a purpose: turn a passing encounter into an ongoing relationship.
After the final whistle.
The matches ended. The measurement continued.
Coupon redemption and downstream shopping reports helped trace what happened after visitors left the event—connecting the summer experience to purchases in store.
Coupon-associated spend and downstream tracked spend showed how the story continued beyond match day.
What stayed with me.
This project brought partnership development, experiential marketing, customer acquisition, and commercial measurement into one connected effort for the New York Market.
It started with a question.
What if we became part of it?
One market. Thirty-nine days. A place in a summer people would remember.
This is the Summer of 26.