SHOP LIKE A QUEEN.

Short List
TitleSHOP LIKE A QUEEN.
BrandKLARNA
Product/ServiceKLARNA US PAYMENT AND SHOPPING APP
Category E01. Social Business & Commerce
Entrant RIVER Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation RIVER Stockholm, SWEDEN
PR HL GROUP New York, USA
Production LINK PRODUCTION Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production 2 VOSS EVENTS New York, USA
Credits
Name Company Position
Zeke Tastas River Creative Director
David Sandström Klarna CMO
Julia Grönstedt Klarna Marketing Specialist
Leo Holte Klarna Marketing Specialist
Pontus Gustavsson Klarna Designer
Camilla Birkström Klarna Art Director
Elin Svahn Klarna Marketing Specialist
Pelle Westerback River Project Manager
Tomas Bäcklund River Account Director
Joakim Falk River Creative
Joakim Millqvist River Creative
Mats Bax River Creative concept lead
Emelie Toregaard River Social media manager
Zuzana Gajdošová River Digital analysr
Henrik Ringdahl River Art Director
Sebastien Ravier Bollard Rivr Art Director
Eija Skarsgård River Production assistant
Filippa Smeds River Social media expert
Miss Inga River Cultural expert
Eric Broms Link Production Photo/direction
Billie Jansson Link Production Producer
Julian Gillström Link Production Production coordinator
Maximilian Wallér Zandén Link Production Producer
Anton Olin Link Production DoP
Brandon Voss Voss Events Manager
Jon Norris Voss Events Producer
Shepherd Flashman Lowrey Creative Cactus Group Live stream
Andrea Cellerini Link Production Set designer

Background

The shopping service Klarna, Europe’s leading fintech brand, knew that it had to go off the beaten track when launching to the US consumers. It just couldn’t afford following the bank category norm or being bland or boring. Ever.

Describe the strategy

In a society where business owners reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, Klarna proudly reserves the right to grant it. In any store, anywhere. You do you. We don’t judge. Shop like a Queen. Cue the queens. The American drag queen culture, centered around RuPaul’s Drag Race, is an explosive pop cultural movement where shopping and consumption hold a pivotal role and is celebrated rather than shunned. Perfect for Klarna, isn’t it? Also, Klarna’s distinct tonality and looks synced seamlessly with the drag queen expression, sharing a colorful and quirky playfulness. Our target audience was young, loved shopping and progressive - an exact match to the drag queen pop cultural context.

Describe the execution

The campaign was built around five key figures from the RuPaul universe. Aquaria, Asia O’Hara, Kim Chi, Naomi Smalls and Violet Chachki. It was built around joy, creativity and playfulness and visually we used a “backstage theme”, a romantic glimpse into the queens’ world behind the scenes. In the first stage of the campaign, a month long, the five and our other collaborating queens used the Klarna app to create their own outfits, a central theme of the RuPaul Drag Race mechanics, demonstrating the app’s features and benefits. Pay in four, price drop notifications, wish lists, easy returns et c. A process that peaked in New York during World Pride where they revealed their creations on stage, sparking the second phase of the campaign – now more focused on paid ad space - with photos and films featuring the queens flaunting their creations in a dramatized backstage world.

List the results

In the end, Klarna became more than a mere bank with a commercial message, it became a current topic, a meme, a pop cultural phenomenon extensively praised from both within and outside the drag community. / >387k impressions / <0,01$ CPI / >573k app downloads / >100k active users / +8% brand awareness / +8% consideration / +7% purchase intent / +487% organic search / * All metrics reflect the 60 days campaign’s performance in the US, not the overall Klarna market performance.