Cover Sweden

Challenge

Visit Sweden wanted to encourage Swedes to continue vacationing at home – and convey this on the YouTube audience’s terms. YouTube as the main channel was chosen to attract a broad target group, because the platform is widely used to seek inspiration and because the channel is unbeatable for consuming long video formats.

Solution

The series Cover Sweden shines the spotlight on new places to explore with the help of classic album covers representing different locations around the country. The hosts Erik Ekstrand and Ayan Jamal revealed the locations with the help of music journalist Fredrik Strage. Once there, they would explore the local area and unearth the hidden gems in each location – with the help of the real expertise: the locals.

Cover Sweden challenges the way that Visit Sweden normally appeals to its target group, but also how the entire tourism industry usually communicates. In stead of neat but arranged landscape images and aerial footage in slow motion, a curious, witty and entertaining format was created that made room for different personalities.

Each episode is created according to YouTube’s golden rules: grab attention quickly with a fun premise and a question that requires an answer that doesn’t come until the end (find the location!), add some banter, and keep the viewer’s attention throughout the video using additional storylines (can you find a person from Skåne in Kiruna?). The audience simply shouldn’t be given any excuse to leave just one bit into the episode.

Strategy

Visit Sweden’s mission and goal was to highlight new travel destinations and experiences for Swedes in their home country. They would be spread across the country and preferably not just consist of the most obvious destinations and tips.

With a limited budget and a broad target audience, all Swedes aged 25-54, a clear introduction was required to create interest. Since the target group of culturally interested Sweden tourists unknowingly look at images from hidden holiday gems on a daily basis – in their music apps and record collections – the inspiration was taken from these. Many of Sweden’s most classic album covers are photographed in more or less well-known locations around the country. They are like musical postcards from places that have not been considered tourist destinations – until now.

The Cover Sweden format was developed and tailored for its main channel: YouTube. By adding socially adapted trailers, ads and highlights, the universe of content was also built that attracted viewers from other platforms, mainly social channels.

Results

Cover Sweden reached out to people who usually don’t care about destination marketing.

The response shows that the target group got a more personal commitment to their holiday planning than usual – regardless of whether they like diabolical rock, Swedish pop or cloud rap or are hungry for Lapland, Norrbotten or Halland.

6 million impressions, an average completion rate of over 80% and an average CTR of 245% above benchmark for the campaign as a whole shows that the target audience has absorbed the material.On YouTube, the series has received 212,000 organic views. The campaign as a whole (advertisements+episodes) has generated more than 3,200,000 completed views (100% viewing of the content). The target group has thus not only been reached by the material, but has chosen to actively take part in it.