At the start of 2009, Swedish coffee producer, Gevalia, was facing big challenges; the cost of raw materials had increased, there was a financial crisis and stressed consumers were taking less time for coffee breaks. To face these challenges, Gevalia introduced a new taste and a new design to their products. These changes needed to be experienced by the target group and Gevalia also wanted to strengthen the relationship with their consumers.

By reversing the logic of sampling we introduced the concept 'Sweden’s largest coffee break'. We paid tribute to the Swedish fika culture by letting ten cities battle for the prestigious award of becoming Sweden’s best fika-city.

To spread the word about the battle, we equipped local ambassadors, organisations, authorities etc with material to help spread the word – both online and offline. The media were informed about the battle and were provided with statistics from a fika-survey that had been carried out prior to the tour.

Everyone realised the value of becoming Sweden’s best fika-city. People did not only try to get friends and family to the event - the media wrote about a commercial sampling and 24,000 people all over the country lined up for something as ordinary as a cup of coffee.

The objective was to gain exposure for Gevalia as a brand and get as many consumers as possible to try the new, improved coffee. Gevalia also wanted its primary target group, which is mainly located in small and medium sized cities, to encounter and interact with the brand via new channels and in a new context.

To gain credibility to talk about fika, Gevalia created a survey where people’s views of coffee and fika were mapped. The results were broken down to ten local levels in order to understand the battling cities and to create a knowledge base for publicity work.

For five weekends in May-June 2009, two rival cities challenged each other (each weekend) in gathering as many people as possible to their united coffee break (fika) in their city centre. Before each battle, selected local opinion leaders were equipped with material to promote the battle via their own channels (Facebook, WOM, e-mail etc). The media was informed about the battle beforehand and provided with local results from the fika survey.At the same time, local authorities, universities, associations, pensioner organisations, tourist offices etc in every city were contacted to help spread the word via their channels. Local celebrities were encouraged to show their support and the media were offered interviews with celebrities, Gevalia and performing artists at the events. After each battle, the media and all participating partners were provided with customised press material from their local event.The whole campaign was also available online. The campaign site was continuously updated and it included live standings with images/clips/blogs from each town, links to Twitter and Facebook and coffee trivia.

The campaign generated a total of 23,851 coffee guests (59 percent above target), 142 media clippings (473 percent above target) with over 70 bloggers, and an estimated reach of a third of Sweden’s population. The ambassadors sent over 30,000 invites via Facebook and several hundreds of comments were posted on Facebook groups and in blogs. When it comes to being the perfect fika coffee, Gevalia was ranked 33 percent higher among those who had visited the event, compared to the national average. The same survey showed that the perception of Gevalia as a high quality brand was 70 percent higher among the participants than the national average. The final record was set by Östersund, who managed to gather 3,563 people to one, united coffee break (fika).

By celebrating the Swedish coffee culture, Gevalia managed to connect with coffee drinkers all over the nation and communicate its message in several new, channels. 'Sweden’s largest fika' became the battle that every local patriot wanted to win.

Historically, coffee in Sweden has been associated with a typical Swedish social institution – fika, which means sitting down and taking a coffee break with someone. The solution was to celebrate the Swedish fika culture by implementing the concept of 'Sweden’s largest fika', where we let cities battle for the prestigious award of becoming Sweden’s best fika-city. The concept was based on the local patriotism of the residents and the rivalry that exists between certain Swedish towns. With this concept, the strategy was to let the target group commit themselves to be the driving force behind the campaign.

By organising interactive samplings in form of large public fika gatherings, which could also be experienced online, Gevalia created environments where the target group could experience Gevalia’s coffee in a new and appealing context.

Gevalia is a classic Swedish coffee brand with roots in the 19th century. In recent years, the Swedish coffee market has been characterised by tougher competition than ever before, increasing raw material prices and more price-conscious consumers. In 2009 Gevalia introduced a number of changes to boost its competitiveness; the quality of the product was further improved and a new logotype and design developed. Gevalia needed to communicate these changes to its target group and at the same time reach out and interact with them.