Swedish Fish Doubles their Aquarium Partnerships for a Family Friendly Sampling Campaign

Following its successful “Swedish Fish Selfies” campaign the brand executed at seven aquariums the year prior, Swedish Fish was tasked with upping the ante in 2018 and promoting its new Tropical flavor to consumers in a fresh and engaging way.  

A surefire way to go bigger is with scale. The brand first doubled the number of aquarium partnerships, broadening its outreach toward millennial parents with young children—its target market for the campaign. Meanwhile, the brand’s status as the official candy of Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” added an additional avenue for promotion at the aquariums. 

The aquariums were instrumental in bringing each partnership to life. One constant, however, was a 10-foot by 10-foot Swedish Fish-branded floor decal featuring a shark breaking through the aquarium floor. Brand ambassadors handing out free samples encouraged visitors to interact with the 3D graphic. 

Other activities at the aquariums included a scavenger hunt for red fish decals in different exhibits, a digital shark trivia game, a custom-branded Swedish Fish mobile truck tour and a “Sips Under the Sea Shark Week Viewing Party,” which entailed watching “Shark Week” live—with real sharks!—while sipping on a Swedish Fish-inspired candy cocktail. Finally, kids and families played the “Swedish Fish Chomped” game for a chance to win a “Tropical” vacation to Hawaii and swim with sharks.

It was a sampling success by all measures. More than 174,000 samples were delivered across 58 event days, 7,488 consumers participated in the shark trivia interactive content promoted through digital and social media, and engagement with the “Chomped” game surpassed campaign goals.