Sometimes the entry barrier for new customers seems insurmountable. For instance when you make liquorice, and half the world happens to hate liquorice.

To activate a relatively unknown brand and make customers experience a product they believe, they don’t like, we launched Share It With A Hater, being both the creative platform and activation strategy. We offer anyone free liquorice if they promise to share it with someone who hates it.

Through SoMe, and PR, consumers are led to a sign-up-page for free samples, to retargeting films with tastings from around the world, and to stores.

Lakrids by Bülow is a small Danish gourmet liquorice factory with immense local success and a lot of self-esteem. While liquorice is an esteemed national candy, the entry barrier for new customers abroad is considerable. In most parts of the world, liquorice is not considered a treat. In fact, more than half the world hates liquorice. But the thing is, that when they taste ours, they tend to change their minds.

So, how do we activate the brand outside of Denmark and have people experience a product, half of them believe to hate? With a low brand recognition in foreign markets, we needed new customers to engage with the brand and even more importantly; to break down the barrier and have them taste our liquorice.

Half the world hates liquorice, but when people taste Lakrids by Bülow, most change their minds. So, we set out on an absurd mission – we want to make the world love liquorice. Biggest problem - besides how big the world is - we need people who think they hate our product to taste it. Hard sell.

But if half the world is against you, the other half is on your side. So, we decided to activate the liquorice lovers with the campaign “Share It With A Hater”.

We simply offer anyone a free sample of our liquorice, if they promise to share it with someone who hates it. We have calculated it will take 412 years to make 84% of the world love liquorice this way - so it’s not the perfect plan, but it’s the best one we have. And it’s the biggest sampling campaign in history.

Go big or go home. We targeted Germany, UK, and the US. With a very limited budget, we focused on key consumer demographics and send liquorice to newspapers and media, that fit the profile. We focused on media with reach in big cities where Lakrids by Bülow has a flagship store or resellers. But with a large part of our revenue coming from the Lakrids by Bülow online shop, the hope was for the campaign to spread further.

Share It With A Hater is both the creative platform and the PR strategy. The costumer journey started in the press or on social media, and the campaign ecosystem led consumers to the sign-up page for free samples, to retargeting films with people from around the world tasting the product, and to stores; both online and physical.

A film shot in the actual factory with a cast of factory workers only kickstarted the campaign on social media. A PR push was directed at media in Denmark, the US, UK, and Germany to get the campaign going, and the “Share-it-with-a-hater-approach” made all press good press. As one German publication wrote. “The fan base for the slightly cardboard-like candy with the peculiar taste is – let’s say – manageable”. But they actually admitted to liking our liquorice.

The customer journey started in press and SoMe, and led consumers to the sign-up page for free samples, to retargeting films with people from around the world tasting the product, and to stores; both online and physical.

The campaign has been a single burst (fourth quarter 2021) but is designed to keep going. And going. A new burst is starting soon.

The campaign is still running, obviously, since it will take approximately 412 years to make the world love liquorice. But as The Guardian wrote: ”They try to convince people, that liquorice isn’t disgusting”, and yes, we are, and we are doing pretty good.

1st day:?Sample sign-ups from 76 countries

1st week: ?Sample sign-ups from 106 countries

1st month: Sample sign-ups from 120 countries

Key hater-markets first month:?US: +23.000 sample sign-ups?UK: +21.000 sample sign-ups

Awareness rose by 20 % within 4 months (DK) and almost doubled in Germany.

Hero film views: 7.5 million.

PR reach:?131 million potential haters

High-end confectionary is a category dominated by chocolate, the aesthetics of airport tax-free shops, availability, and huge, worldwide advertising budgets. Lakrids by Bülow is not only a challenger brand because of the product – gourmet liquorice – and the size of their operation: A small factory in Denmark with handmade products coming from the world’s smallest liquorice machine. The go-to-market strategy is also unique: Only flagship stores, own online shop, and high-end resellers. So, this, their first global campaign, had to disrupt the market. Because the product is “out of sight” compared to competitors, the customer journey had to start on social media and in the press. We needed people to engage in a story about liquorice on other channels, before we could get them to our own campaign landing page, online store, or physical shops.