IKEA Indonesia turns furniture assembly into family bonding time

In collaboration with dentsu Indonesia, IKEA Indonesia has reimagined the humble instruction manual with "Bonding Instruction," an initiative that transforms the furniture assembly process into an engaging bonding experience for urban families.

At a time when screen time increasingly replaces family time, this effort offers an opportunity to shift the dynamic. A recent study shows that 56% of Indonesian children are spending more time with digital devices than with their families, a trend that has led to a reduction in motor skills by as much as 72%, dentsu said. Yet, many of these children still quietly crave meaningful moments with their parents.

Created to support IKEA's mission of bringing people closer together at home, Bonding Instruction is more than a tweak to traditional manuals. It's a child-friendly rework of the product-building experience: each booklet is filled with illustrated storytelling, step-by-step guidance tailored to children's comprehension, and a specially designed Allen key grip suited to small hands. Together, these changes encourage cooperation between parents and children, turning a functional task into shared discovery.

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"We are converting our product building time into treasured bonding opportunities, transforming what was once a mundane assembly process into meaningful shared family experiences," said Irfansyah Kurnia Putra, head of country marketing at IKEA Indonesia. "With Bonding Instruction, dentsu has understood our strong affinity with our customers, enabling a simple modification to our instruction manual that has reimagined bonding experiences for Indonesian families."

Each purchase of IKEA's children-related products now includes the Bonding Instruction guide, offering families at least 30 minutes of quality time per build. For existing customers, a digital version is also available, broadening access to this initiative.

Defri Dwipaputra, executive creative director at dentsu Creative Indonesia, explained the thinking behind the idea. "In Indonesia, where family ties remain the most important fabric, bonding time should be a cherished shared experience to enhance family connections. Bonding Instruction was, therefore, created to combine the essence of IKEA's values of togetherness and simplicity – elevating its passion for life at home, and in turn, connecting families through quality activities, proving that even everyday moments can create lasting memories."

The campaign's roll-out has been both digital and physical, leveraging in-store promotions as well as interactive Instagram Story Highlights. Results to date have been promising: over 32 million impressions and media value exceeding US$95,000.

With this project, IKEA Indonesia and dentsu Indonesia have taken what was once a solitary, sometimes stressful task, and made it into a moment of learning and connection—one screw at a time.

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