Klarna’s Dog and Dog Owner Interactive Campaign
178,407
Avg weekly impressions among adults over 18
713,628
Avg weekly impressions (18+) over 4 weeks
82%
Of those who saw the mural were dog owners
KLARNA
The Client
About the Client
Klarna is a shopping payment app popular with Millennials that was founded in Sweden in 2005. It wanted to raise brand awareness of its product among a group it thought would be natural users.
Attracting the Attention of Dog Owners
Internal research by Klarna found that many of its customers are dog owners. The company wanted to conduct a “dog- and dog owner-first campaign” by engaging the dogs initially and, as a result, attracting the attention of dog owners.
Cutting Through the Clutter
Klarna wanted to stand out and cut through the outdoor clutter in New York City by appealing to dogs as well as their owners. It hoped owners would then shop for their dogs using the Klarna app. The company also wished to reach dog owners outside the city via social media sharing.
A Bright Pink Mural Outside a Dog Park in Brooklyn
The answer? A bright pink mural located outside a dog park in Brooklyn, at Kent Avenue and Grand Street.
It wasn’t just the color that drew attention. It was also what was attached to the mural: hundreds of dog toys.
The mural featured cartoon-style depictions of dogs of all sizes frolicking, jumping and chasing each other. These dogs, rendered in black, all faced the right side of the mural — where 910 dog toys were fastened to the 90-foot long, 13-foot high installation.
The mural was drawn to look as though someone had knocked over a box of these toys, and the happy dogs coming to and from the dog park delighted in discovering them. They chewed on the toys, pulled on the ropes, and even tried to pull the balls off the walls so they could bring them home. (To the dogs’ dismay, all the toys stayed firmly attached.)
The mural included a QR code, which passersby could scan with their smartphones to either install the Klarna app or, if they already had the app, browse a curated wish list of items for dog owners put together by The Dogist, an online destination for dog lovers.
The campaign launched during the holiday season. As the dogs played, they showed their owners which toys they wanted for the holidays — and in a smart tie-in, owners could shop for them right away using the Klarna app.
Global Reach
Klarna posted about the campaign across its social channels, where it has almost 600,000 followers on Instagram, more than 230,000 followers on Facebook, and more than 315,000 followers on LinkedIn.
Additionally, a paid partnership post on the Dogist IG account earned almost 18,000 likes and garnered three dozen comments.
Dash Two worked with 72andSunny, Overall Murals, and Atomic Props on the campaign.
Dash Two vetted OOH locations, sourced and bought the media, and vetted fabrication vendors in order to bring 72’s idea to life.
- 72andSunny: Came up with the creative idea and illustration
- Overall Murals: Painted and installed the mural
- Atomic Props: Worked on the sourcing and fabrication of the 3-D buildout
We purchased more than 2,000 pink dog toys from Pet Smart and PetCo to outfit the mural. (The cashiers thought we were nuts as we brought cart after cart of toys to their checkouts.
Some of the pink toys came in packets with other-colored toys that weren’t needed for the mural — so we did a little good and donated all the extras to dog foster organizations and humane societies.
Placement of the mural outside a dog park led to exceptional outcomes.
Of course, every dog walking by stopped to nuzzle, sniff and bite the toys — leading every owner to spend many minutes in front of the mural. They absorbed the Klarna message, posed with the pink mural for pictures they posted on social media, and used the mural’s QR code to download the app. This fulfilled Klarna’s objective of engaging with and marketing to dog owners.
Working with Dogist, we caught the attention of Instagram influencers, such as Topher Brophy (@topherbrophy), carrying Klarna’s message far beyond NYC.
avg weekly impressions among adults over 18*
avg weekly impressions (18+) over 4 weeks*
of those who saw the mural were dog owners*
Unique, Fun, Successful
We know something will succeed when we have this much fun pulling it together! This campaign combined two of the things we do really well — outdoor advertising and collaborating with other teams to make something happen. Months after the campaign finished, it was still getting mentioned on advertising blogs, earning the attention of outlets like AdWeek, and receiving OBIE honors because the idea was so unique.
“This campaign offered the perfect balance between style and substance. It combined eye-catching creative with a QR code that generated action. And watching all those dogs explore and sample all the toys was hilarious. They were in heaven!”
-Gino Sesto, Founder, DASH TWO
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