As Klarna matures in our core markets, it's not enough for a global audience to simply be aware of our brand. Consumers need to understand what we offer and why it's valuable to them.

As a result, the brief was to create a culturally impactful, global campaign that drives brand awareness and consideration.

Our objective was to highlight what Klarna is known for, and position our product offering as the smooothest shopping experience. We wanted to leverage organic social to engage and deepen the audience’s understanding of our products through native content, and ensure paid social moved consumers to consideration with our hero assets.

In order to reach global audiences we tapped into the current resurgence of early 2000s fashion and style, and partnered with the ultimate Y2K shopping icon, Paris Hilton. Through the partnership we showcased Klarna’s top product features with a three-phase approach:

1. Teased the paid media campaign ahead of its launch via PR, coinciding with the Super Bowl to ensure we were part of the Super Bowl ad hype.

2. The launch of an experiential Y2K-themed pop-up, bringing Klarna’s diverse and unique product features (such as collections) to life through tangible touchpoints in the space. This also served as a strong photo and consumer press moment.

3. The release of a Y2K Trend Report (inc. shopping data) to drive further product education.

Paris Hilton was an icon of the 2000s. As Y2K fashion, tech and beauty experienced a resurgence, we leaned into the Y2K theme. Congruently, Klarna has been transforming the shopping experience since 2005 and today, shopping is smooother thanks to Klarna. The evolution of trends over the last two decades, explained through Paris, against the backdrop of the evolution of shopping thanks to Klarna, provided us with a rich story that came through in all our comms.

We partnered with Paris to look back at how far trends and shopping have come, targeting global Millennials with a mix of assets:

BTS video/stills distributed to trade/consumer media for exclusive stories.

External report into consumers' attitudes towards Y2K complemented by Klarna’s internal data.

Spokespeople interviews including Paris Hilton, Bretman Rock, Paris’s beauty team, Klarna’s CMO, campaign video director Tanu Muino.

Exxclusive velour tracksuit with sales going to charity.

Showcase of Paris’ memorabilia.

Social activity was phased to coincide with PR and paid media efforts. To tease the global campaign Paris posted a BTS video of herself practicing “That’s smoooth” to reveal her latest catchphrase.

A VIP party was hosted with Paris in Los Angeles to officially launch the campaign. Influencers were invited alongside media to generate social conversation about Klarna celebrating the resurgence of Y2K.

We strategically orchestrated the distribution of social content. And produced native, bespoke content based on that distribution plan to ensure Klarna resonated with audiences, both organically and across paid. Pulsing Klarna owned, Paris, Bretman, and influencer content to sustain momentum and fuel engagement.

To capitalize on organic reach, we leveraged Instagram's collab feature and amplified content that inspired co-creation. To drive consideration lift, we then rolled out lower-funnel assets that showcased the Klarna app user experience via Paris’ socials and retargeted audiences across dark paid.

Reach: 42,776,650

Engagement: 1,496,697

Ad recall: 6.10% lift

Awareness: 3% lift

Consideration: 2% lift

Sentiment: 97.8% positive

Exceeded engagement rate benchmarks by +1000%