We paired Chupa Chups with Stranger Things and turned ordinary bikes into portals of adventure. Even with a tight budget, we launched a high-impact campaign that got everyone talking, all thanks to a city-wide lollipop hunt.
How do you connect a sweet icon like Chupa Chups lollipops with the dark, suspenseful world of Stranger Things? And do it all with a budget that made every penny a true creative challenge? Challenge accepted! We created an experience that drew fans into the storyline faster than a portal to the Upside Down.
When you hear Stranger Things, what comes to your mind first? Of course – a group of heroes on bikes racing toward a mystery. That’s exactly the feeling we wanted to bring to the streets of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
We partnered with bikesharing giants Nextbike and Rekola and gave 100 of their bikes a Chupa Chups & Stranger Things makeover. For a few weeks, regular bikes were transformed into unmissable pieces of art.
But we didn’t stop there. Beneath the saddles, we hid a treasure: limited-edition Chupa Chups lollipops. Because every adventure needs a treasure hunt, right? The lollipop quest turned fans into treasure hunters, chasing all 7 flavors. Each lollipop they found also served as an entry ticket to an Instagram competition with prizes even the Hellfire Club would be thrilled about.
To boost the campaign, we carefully orchestrated media support: newsletters and app notifications drew fans directly into the game, influencers became treasure hunters themselves, and social media platforms were flooded with content from excited cyclists.
The campaign got people out of their seats, even on chilly October days. Almost 2,000 rides were taken on the “lollipop bikes” in the Czech Republic, while Slovakia saw about 5,000 rides. For a month with an average temperature of 10°C, these are phenomenal numbers. In fact, during the off-season for cycling, we achieved results comparable to peak summer demand.
This success wasn’t a coincidence. It was powered by well-thought-out media support that reached the exact audience we were targeting:
Creatively designed IG Reels by the bikesharing companies achieved excellent reach and engagement. One reel gathered almost half a million views and reached over 248,000 users, while another generated a storm of 158 comments.
Altogether, (in collaboration with Rekola and Nextbike), our Reels reached over 700,000 Instagram users in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
A paid Meta campaign in Slovakia reached 89% of the target audience aged 18 to 24.
All campaign newsletters had excellent open rates. The one from Nextbike, for example, achieved a 29.38% open rate, helping us deliver information about the unique “lollipop bikes” to tens of thousands of people who actually opened the newsletter.
Despite a limited budget, thanks to a great idea and smartly targeted media support, we sparked massive interest, activated the community, and achieved results during a chilly October that rivaled those of the peak cycling season.
