The One Show
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Category
Digital & Online
Annual ID
OS23_PR041M
About the Work
How do you promote a destination where there’s nothing to see? In a category defined by sight-seeing and Instagram moments, it was hard for Sweden to compete as a nature destination. To attract the modern seen-it-all done-it-all traveler, we needed to find a layer that could out-drama the Norwegian fjords, Icelandic volcanoes, and other epic nature destinations.
While Swedish nature might not look exciting, there’s unseen drama hidden in the woods. It echoes with stories of mythological creatures and supernatural experiences – stories with a cultural moment. Astrology apps. TikTok witches. Fantasy blockbusters. Horror TV. The culturally explosive nature of anything mysterious offered an unexpected PR opportunity.
The strategy was to ride on the dark wave and turn every rule of destination marketing upside down: from sight-seeing to feeling, from Trip Advisor to Trippy, from nature to supernatural.
Together with renowned horror writer John Ajvide Lindqvist, we created a haunting audio-experience based on Swedish folklore – a modern horror-themed folk-saga that was uploaded on Spotify. By geo-locking it to the Swedish forests, we lured visitors onto an eerie journey, deeper and deeper into the woods.
Halloween was the perfect launch moment. A short teaser became a media hook and got some of the world’s biggest outlets to amplify our message (Forbes, CNN, Thrillist and more). Some sent their reporters to Sweden and dared them to get the full experience.
On Visit Sweden’s website, tourists could discover the best spots to experience the audio-adventure and learn about the myths and mystery of the Swedish woods.
Fear attracts. The campaign spread beyond travel media and broke into lifestyle, entertainment, and news media globally – showing up in contexts most destination brands don’t. It was picked up by +500 outlets with a ~150M reach, reaching 80% of the target and increasing their awareness substantially (+16%).
Campaign
Podcast (Spotify)
https://open.spotify.com/show/7b...
Spellbound by Sweden
https://visitsweden.com/spellbou...
2023 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Agency
Prime Weber Shandwick / Stockholm
Weber Shandwick / New York
Client / Brand
Visit Sweden / Stockholm
Art Director
Felix Holfve
Chief Creative Officer
Angela Mears
Chief Marketing Officer
Nils Persson
Creative Director
Hanna Belander
Petter Lublin
Director
Marcus Svanberg
Motion Designer
Alex Zeeman
Photographer
Johan Wennerström
Social Media Manager
Anna Hjerdin
Chief Executive Officer
Jennie Missuna
Global Chief Creative Officer
Tom Beckman
Project Manager
Cecilia von Beetzen
Elisabeth Avrotin
Helena Salomonson
Lisa Voltaire
Senior Designer
Kalle Mattsson
Activation Specialist
Maja Ekman
Brand manager
Robert Hedlund
Chief strategy Officer
Amanda Engström
Client Lead
Malin Severin
Digital & Content Specialist
Fredrick Lewandowski
Director Platform Strategy
Kareya Saleh
Executive Vice President Influence
Mananya Komorowski
Executive Vice President Media Relations
Meaghan Jones Koppel
Film producer
Samuel Hahn
Head of Insight
Edward Boëthius
Head of PR
Viveca Burkhardt
Head of Web/SoME
Malin Careliusen
Junior Associate Influence
Matthew Keith
Manager Media Relations
Hannah Jones
PR Coordinator
Ella Stork
PR Specialist
Daniel Wahlström
Elin Dahlstedt
Production Manager
Johan Falkman
Maja Lobas
Site Manager
Helena Lundberg
Vice President Production
Kirsten Slotten
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