We created a tool that got Solos core target group to seek out Solo advertising: Based on the insight that young Norwegians loved the merchandise, and the fact that Norwegian TV-channels - like most linear TV-channels - are losing youngsters fast, we made an app that connected linear TV with young people. The Solo Goodiebag-app made it possible to win Solo merchandise by means of a custom made sound recognizing program. We laced our ads with sound codes, and when people watched the ads with the app open, they had a chance to win the merchandise advertised.

By getting young people to watch linear TV in search of Solo ads, we got more media then our budget could buy us. Being able to demonstrate how youngsters tuned in to their channels, we where able to negotiate a lot of free media – in fact we increased our original budget by 30%.

The app made the core target group produce most of the content for social media. This strategy turned out to be so successful that a third of them was exposed to the campaign on Instagram –free of cost.

With a huge interest from an attractive target group, and the media deals we where able to negotiate as a result of this, Solo got a loud and distinct share of voice in Norwegian media throughout 2015.

The idea was to drive youngsters to traditional media channels by means our own digital ones, and the interconnectivity between own, paid and earned media was decisive. We turned the relationship between media and brand upside down, by ”advertising” TV-channels in OUR channels, as ads on linear TV was the only way for the target group to get their hands on Solo merchandise.

We achieved the highest level of engagement among Solo-fans ever!

The app was downloaded 160.000 times - in a population of 5 million people.

More than 20.000 photos were shared on Facebook/ Instagram/Snapchat directly from the app.

Our following on Snapchat increased from 600 to more than 8000.

Thousands of fans wanted to know when the next ad was aired – and youngsters sat their alarm clocks on to remember!

The campaign got the attention of 57% of the total population (15-74) - and a record breaking 84% of the core group.

Solo saw a significant increase in all core brand parameters (young, charming, fresh). On average, brand values increased from 42 to 59%

Increased sale of Solo: The brand was up 2% in a category that fell 4% on average.

This is how a small Norwegian soda took its marked shares back from international soft drink giants, by means of a mobile app, an unexpected media strategy and the popularity of its merchandise.

The campaign increased Solos marked share, the brands popularity with its core audience and its media budget by 30% - without extra cost!

Traditionally, a situation like this would demand an expensive mix of media Solo could not afford. We had to find a different way of thinking about how we used and bought media.

The number of minutes an average Norwegian 15-24 year old watches TV, has sunk by almost 20% in a couple of years. This age group is also Solo's core target group, and the same people who had showed an almost inexplicable demand for Solo merchandise. Our strategy was to connect these two dots to create a win-win situation for both brand and TV-channels.

So what if we used Solo's social media channels and a Solo app to lead youngsters back to TV in exchange for free media? In other words: Using the core group's interest in Solo merchandise to achieve the media our brand needed but couldn’t afford?

Norwegians are more health concerned than ever, and the soft drink category its in strong decline.

At the same time, competition is harder than ever. Companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi are investing huge amounts to keep their share of marked, leaving little Solo with a share of voice of only 8%.

With a category in negative development, and an insignificant share of voice, standing out and increasing sales was ostensibly an impossible task for Solo.

But as much as Norwegian youngsters are buying other soft drink brands – they love Solo Merchandise.

Being one of Norway's’ oldest lifestyle brands, Solo hit a nerve with its retro-inspired merchandise. Up until this year's campaign, Solo merchandise was rare and hard to get. When we realized youngsters were selling Solo merchandise online, we decided to make this demand the point of departure for Solo's 2015 campaign.