The brief consisted of three key components. The first was to attract tech talent, showing them that Husqvarna is an innovative company that stands out from the competition. The other two was to build brand awareness and increase product knowledge. Many people don’t know about Husqvarna or how to even pronounce it. And robotic lawnmowers, is an unheard-of concept for many. We knew we needed to tap into something the young tech talent cares about. Soon, it got narrowed down to one thing: Gaming.

We found a media insight online, that engineers worldwide had been installing DOOM on strange hardware to show their skill. With that in mind, the objective was clear: We wanted to attract talent through their passion for gaming, create awareness about robotic lawnmowers and their capabilities, and finally prove that Husqvarna is an entertaining and innovative company - all by installing DOOM onto mowers.

The idea is simple: To attract attention from tech-lovers, we installed the legendary game DOOM onto robotic lawnmowers - turning them into gaming consoles, releasing it to the world on the 30th anniversary of the game.

The insight comes from the phenomenon to install DOOM on different devices, which has been a test of skill for engineers. A fun trend online that never really has been pushed to the max. That is what we wanted to do, not just install it, but actually release it as an (free) update worldwide using the onboard screen as monitor. And, for the first time ever, making multiplayer playable on a non-gaming device.

All this lined up with upcoming 30th anniversary of DOOM. Both the agency and the R&D team at Husqvarna wanted the campaign to be an homage to the creators, the game and the innovative spirit it hails from.

The target audience was young tech talent – many of whom which loves gaming. They read gaming news and follow the gaming scene. Gaming media outlets often share stories if its backed by great visuals and has an unexpected hook. And to make it authentic an earned core was needed.

For DOOM’s 30th anniversary, we decided to install DOOM onto lawnmowers, turning them into gaming consoles. Beyond installing, we released it worldwide, making it playable for everyone on their lawns. To showcase even more innovative spirit, we also made multiplayer possible for the first time ever on a non-gaming device, and to meet talent IRL we created a DOOM Mower championship at Dreamhack, the world largest gaming event.

And to finally become extra interesting for media outlets to share, and to reach far and wide, we launched this hell of an update with an epic and sharable trailer.

To truly make a global technological impact, we didn't settle for installing DOOM on just one mower. We went further, scaling up the project to install it on robotic lawnmowers worldwide as a downloadable update. And we did it all in time for DOOM's anniversary.

For Dreamhack, the world's largest gaming event, we had something unique in store. The R&D team at Husqvarna took an additional idea from the agency and brought it to life. For the first time ever, DOOM multiplayer was playable on a non-gaming device, thanks to the robotic mowers' onboard WiFi, even hosting an LA(w)N party, featuring a PvP tournament on the main stage alongside the best E-sport players.

Using the onboard buttons to control the character, and the onboard screen (using the native resolution of the game) to enjoy the game, the mower really became a fully fletched console. But, getting it to run smoothly took some serious tinkering with the code, and it took a couple of months to iron out every kink. The multiplayer mode and the integration of the game onto the mower as an update was next in line. The multiplayer had never been done before and was unknown territory, but it was solved just a couple of weeks before Dreamhack. The update itself needed to feel smooth, just being able to download it with one click of a button. Making the weird process of installing Doom onto oddities a simple task for anyone.

With everything in place and in time for the anniversary, we released the trailer, informing everybody that DOOM is coming as an update for robotic lawnmowers. All improved by the right gameplay, sound and design. Without any media budget, we relied solely on the update being unexpected and newsworthy enough in its own right.

Featured in over 1,000 major outlets like Wired and IGN, the campaign touched gamers and non-gamers worldwide, with a total reach of over 3.8 billion people across 135 countries. Achieving a PR value of $105 million means the campaign paid itself back over 10,000 times the investment. The product-heavy trailer was shared in most articles, leading to an increase of brand awareness by 815%.

We saw thousands (upon thousands) of positive comments online, on websites, on Reddit, and on social media. But most importantly, after seeing the campaign, 74% of young engineers are highly interested in Husqvarna as an employee. Also, 85% of engineers now consider Husqvarna an innovative company. By installing DOOM onto mowers, we connected with tech-savvy talent worldwide but also taught regular people about an advanced product segment and a brand they didn’t even know existed – Husqvarna and their robotic lawnmowers.