In summer 2010, Marabou launched a chocolate bar with the classic red and white peppermint rock (in Sweden called polka).

But instead of focusing on the new flavour, we focused on the old dance with the same name.Together with a Swedish music producer we combined traditional genres with the historic two-stroke polka rhythm, and the modern dance group Urban Angels interpreted the moves. In the end we had three new songs (Hip-Hop-Polka, Pop-Polka and Rock-Polka) and dances that were used in the Polka game on Facebook; a game using your fingertips as dancing shoes, and the keyboard as the dance floor.

Only 17 weeks after the launch of Marabou Polka, 76% of the budgeted annual sales were already achieved. Marabou Polka became the best-selling chocolate bar in Sweden during the campaign and the most successful product launch in Marabou's 90-year-old history.

The target audience was chocolate loving Swedes, 16-55 years. We needed to plan and implement a product launch that could work in both traditional and digital media, and create engagement around Marabou Polka in order to drive sales.The objective was to make Marabou Polka one of the most talked about product launches in the segment of chocolate bars during the campaign period; and to break into the Top 10 best-selling chocolate bars in the country during the campaign period.

We took an outdated tradition from the dance floor to a whole new arena, where we remixed the music, the movements and the appearance. The polka needed to be modernized to meet a younger audience:1. Together with a Swedish music producer we combined traditional genres with the historic two-stroke polka rhythm.2. And then the modern dance group, Urban Angels, interpreted the moves. In the end we had three new songs (Hip-Hop-Polka, Pop-Polka and Rock-Polka) and dances that were used in the Polka game on Facebook; a game using your fingertips as dancing shoes, and the keyboard as the dance floor.

3. Shortly after the online success, the new Polka dance hit the roads and visited ten Swedish summer cities where people danced the modern polka. Updates from the events where continuously shared online.

Only 17 weeks after the launch of Marabou Polka, 76% of the budgeted annual sales were already achieved. Marabou Polka became the best-selling chocolate bar in Sweden during the campaign and the most successful product launch in Marabou's 90-year-old history. Over half a million polka dances were registered on Facebook during the campaign period. This exceeded the target by 208%. Almost a year after the campaign 100,000 more polka dances have been registered. The average time spent on the Polka game was 5 minutes, which was 25% higher than the set goals.

A brand extension in general, and new flavours introduction in particular, is a regular feature in the in-store environment, and the message on the chocolate shelf is dominated by product development (new taste, size, and packaging) and quality arguments (cocoa content, beans, origin). But new taste-splashes don’t really engage people…The purpose of this campaign was to engage the target audience by restoring joy and humour in a fragmented and complex product category. The campaign focused on creating several, for the category, unexpected exposures such as in the status on Facebook or through online games. Instead of focusing on the new flavour, we focused on the old dance with the same name. And by doing so we could combine taste, music and dance.

Marabou milk chocolate has been a Swedish favourite for 90 years. It’s the market leader on a market characterized by increased competition and constant product development supported by traditional advertising. The market has in recent years also stagnated in favour of more exclusive dark chocolate.So how do you introduce a new chocolate flavour in a media landscape that has totally changed? And how do you engage a young and picky audience in yet another new chocolate flavour, in a category kidnapped by connoisseurs and critics?