Smoooth is more than an ad concept for a bank. It’s an idea that portrays what Klarna is, aims to be and the feeling you get using Klarna’s services. It’s a fully integrated concept that influences everything from outdoor ads and commercials to the smallest icon in the app, the store checkout, newsletters and invoices. It guides how the CEO does PR, how customer service replies to your questions, how the HQ offices looks like, communication visuals, tone of voice and names of products… It’s an idea that moves the Klarna brand to the opposite end of how other banks and financial services corporations usually behave and act.

Smoooth had a soft launch with a series of films with one single minded message – Smoooth – but had its hard launch in September 2017, when the full concept was rolled out across touchpoints, departments and markets. During the remainder of the year, a holistic way of looking at integrated advertising was implemented, where the design, with all its parts played as big of a part as the ads, copy tonality and how customer service answers the phone. Klarna became smoooth across nine markets, in seven languages.

The 2017 campaign had an earned reach of 148 932 910, and while the market for payments is growing, other big actors are decreasing in numbers in terms of brand when Klarna is increasing. Numbers below from first week 2017 to first week 2018, Sweden only.

Brand awareness top of mind

Klarna +21%

VISA/Mastercard -20%

Paypal -43%

Consideration

Klarna +5%

VISA/Mastercard -4%

Paypal -14%

Loyal users (prefer Klarna)

Klarna +41%

VISA Mastercard -4%

Paypal -16%

Brand attribute

Status

Klarna +10%

VISA Mastercard -3%

Paypal 0%

Brand attribute

A brand I tell others I use

Klarna +2%

VISA Mastercard -9%

Paypal -3%