Challenge

In a world that’s getting more hectic than ever, Klarna brought consumers and merchants together to bring mindfulness via… knitting.

Knitting you ask? Yes. Knitting is the newest, coolest way to mindfulness and it is an activity for anyone who sets their mind to it. This is where Klarna can help by bringing the ideas and tools into everyone’s hands through the Klarna application.

But there needs to be something more to get people into knitting. We didn’t want to create yet another mass product for everyone to buy. Our goal was to spark a nationwide knitting phenomenon by creating a challenge around something unique and desirable.

Strategy & creative solution

To create this phenomenon, we first needed a product that everyone would want. Enter Teemu Muurimäki, a renowned Finnish fashion designer known for his works for major players like Dolce & Gabbana, Bottega Veneta and Giorgio Armani. Teemu got inspired immediately and designed the “must have” sweater for fall 2020.

There is a catch though. You can’t buy the sweater. You need to knit it yourself.

Through the Klarna application everyone would be able to download the knitting pattern and order the knitting kit from Novita. With this action, we also wanted to spark up appreciation of slow, self-made fashion and mindful consumption.

Next, we needed a complete media and PR plan for the launch. The sweater would be launched with the same glamour and high quality you could expect from any luxury brand, with influencer content. On top of the media plan it was clear we also needed a live experiential part to increase the overall visibility.

To complete the strategy we looked into the key message. This was researched amongst the target group. Huippumuoti on itse luotu (EN: High fashion is self made) was by far the most popular slogan, with 66% approval from the consumers.

The launch plan and the creative outcome was then built around this key message to tie it all together.

“Halusin luoda muodikkaan paidan, jonka kutominen olisi antoisaa ja täynnä oivaltamisen riemua. Neuleessa on selkeä ja tunnistettava design. Novitan langoissa on syksyn fiilistä – sellaista, joka tuo halun kietoutua neuleeseen viilenevässä kelissä.”

— Teemu Muurimäki, designer

Execution

The primary target audience of the campaign was women aged between 25–44 with online shopping interest. We built the campaign around an influencer, well-known fashion designer Teemu Muurimäki. We wanted his status to encourage people to take part in this movement. During the launch of the campaign, Teemu Muurimäki was present at a press day, where a couple of hundred journalists and influencers visited in October 2020. We also offered interviews with Teemu to Finnish media to maximize the reach of the campaign.

Along with Teemu Muurimäki, seven other well-known Finnish influencers were selected for the campaign and numerous others for a PR purpose. The main influencers were Niklas Hagman, Kia Lehmuskoski, Sara Vanninen, Jukka Hildén, Tiina Arponen, Jenni Alexandrova and Sami Kuronen.

In influencer choices, we wanted to focus on finding inspiring influencers who represent Klarna’s values, were genuinely interested in knitting, wanted to challenge themselves and maybe learn something new. The final mix of influencers was a group of well-known public figures from different fields – some expected and some very unexpected choices, bringing an element of surprise into the campaign.

As the aim was to get high reach among the target group cost efficiently, other chosen channels were programmatic video, YouTube, Instagram, digital outdoor and linear TV in order to increase affinity and efficient reach. The role for programmatic video was to reach the target group and increase the brand awareness using short video formats, when YouTube was also to increase the interest towards Klarna as a shopping solution that enables you to get what you love. Instagram was used to increase the brand awareness among the target group and it was targeted to 20-44 years old with shopping and knitting interest. Total combined reach with this channel setup was almost 90%.

To support the media and influencer campaigns, we came up with an exciting and inspiring live activation. A group of Klarna ambassadors called “The Street knitters” took over the strangest places in Helsinki to knit. These agents were far from the average joe. They were fashionable, cool and vivid. For two days, two different groups were knitting the must-have sweaters while passers-by were staring and admiring. During these days the most visible DOOH surfaces at Helsinki were playing the campaign visuals.