How Brand Used Bing Ads and Emotional Intelligence to Dominate the German Market

In today’s hyper-competitive digital landscape, brands face the challenge of creating advertising that not only reaches but truly resonates with their audience. Recently, Fjällräven, the Swedish outdoor clothing and equipment brand, exemplifies how emotional intelligence (EQ) and omnichannel strategies can drive engagement and conversions. Facing stiff competition in Germany, Fjällräven partnered with Bing Ads to craft a campaign that leveraged AI-driven personalization, multi-platform media, and emotionally resonant messaging.

This case study explores how Fjällräven harnessed Bing Ads, generative AI, and inclusive marketing principles to connect with Gen Z and outdoor enthusiasts. By understanding the role of EQ in advertising and integrating cutting-edge tools like Copilot Search, Fjällräven achieved remarkable brand growth—offering valuable lessons for marketers aiming to future-proof their strategies.

I. Understanding Emotional Intelligence in Advertising

Emotional intelligence (EQ) in marketing goes beyond demographics—it taps into universal human emotions that drive trust and loyalty. Research shows that 70% of buying decisions are emotionally driven, with trust being a critical factor. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, 79% of Gen Z consumers prioritize brand trust, and 85% will only consider brands they trust.

Fjällräven’s campaign focused on 12 inclusive feelings—joy, trust, certainty, contentment, celebration, zest, relaxation, acceptance, clarity, confidence, relief, and safety—to create deeper connections. By aligning its brand mission (“enabling and inspiring people to spend time in nature”) with these emotions, Fjällräven crafted messaging that resonated authentically.

For example, video ads highlighting product durability evoked confidence and safety, while nature-centric storytelling fostered joy and relaxation. This EQ-driven approach ensured relevance across diverse audience segments, minimizing exclusion and maximizing engagement.

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II. Fjällräven’s Campaign Strategy with Bing Ads

To succeed in Germany’s competitive outdoor apparel market, Fjällräven implemented a comprehensive multi-platform media strategy. This included social media marketing and display ads to build broad awareness, along with Connected TV (CTV) and streaming ads on platforms like Netflix, where "top 10 shows" targeting helped reach outdoor enthusiasts. Additionally, digital out-of-home (DOOH) and audio ads were used for contextual engagement. Partnering with Bing Advertising ensured ad placements alongside premium content, enhancing brand credibility. The campaign also incorporated interactive elements to educate consumers about sustainability, while dynamic creatives adapted to user behavior—demonstrating the effective integration of AI and emotional engagement (EQ) in marketing.

III. Leveraging Generative AI and Copilot for Personalization

Microsoft’s Copilot Search significantly contributed to Fjällräven’s campaign by leveraging AI to automate ad creative variations, ensuring brand consistency across all touchpoints. It enhanced search ads with dynamic multimedia elements, resulting in a 2.8x higher click-through rate (CTR) compared to traditional Bing Ads campaigns. Additionally, Copilot enabled personalized responses tailored to user intent, resonating with Gen Z’s preference for conversational AI. By analyzing customer pain points—such as skepticism toward sustainability claims—and aligning them with the 12 inclusive feelings, Fjällräven developed authentic, solution-driven advertisements that effectively addressed audience concerns.

IV. Results and ROI Analysis

Fjällräven's campaign surpassed industry benchmarks by delivering strong results across multiple metrics, including notable increases in brand awareness, consideration, and purchase intent. The campaign's emotionally intelligent messaging drove measurable sales growth in Germany while achieving higher engagement rates on Netflix and gaming platforms—key channels for reaching Gen Z audiences. These outcomes demonstrate how combining AI-powered personalization with emotional resonance can enhance ROI in competitive markets, particularly when leveraging Bing Advertising's precise targeting capabilities to maximize impact.

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V. Future-Proofing Advertising Strategies

With Gen Z’s spending power projected to reach $12.6 trillion by 2030, brands must align their strategies with this AI-native generation’s behaviors. Success hinges on multi-touchpoint integration (e.g., search → Copilot → e-commerce), conversational AI optimization for voice/search queries, and authentic messaging balanced with frequency capping to mitigate ad fatigue. Bing Ads ecosystem—spanning Bing, Copilot, Xbox, and gaming ads—provides a seamless framework for omnichannel engagement.

Topkee’s expertise ensures brands maximize this ecosystem through data-driven preparation and execution. Their team begins with competitor analysis and industry-specific keyword research to build a tailored promotion plan. For landing page optimization, Topkee employs WEBER’s scoring tool to audit performance, ensuring alignment between ad creatives and landing pages while enabling global tracking (TAG) for precise conversion attribution. This reduces ad learning periods and enhances targeting accuracy.

To streamline ad credential acquisition, Topkee’s specialized team handles Bing Ads account audits and qualification applications for regulated industries, minimizing placement risks. Their attribution-based Remarketing segments users by behavior (e.g., website visitors, converters) to deliver personalized ads, improving conversion rates.

For campaign management, Topkee’s TTO tools automate budget allocation, bidding strategies, and KPI tracking, with rules adjusted dynamically based on performance data. Their customer tracking system by analyzing traffic sources, creatives, and custom attributes, enabling real-time optimizations. Creative production combines AI-generated text/image ideation with designer refinement, ensuring brand consistency across text ads, multimedia visuals, and customer-group targeting.

Post-campaign, Topkee provides detailed performance reports (ROI, conversions, CTR) and KPI-driven insights to refine future budgets, bids, and content. By integrating these capabilities with Microsoft’s omnichannel assets, Topkee empowers brands to future-proof their advertising—balancing Gen Z’s demand for authenticity with the precision of AI-powered automation.

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Conclusion and Key Takeaways

Fjällräven’s campaign highlights how emotional intelligence (EQ) and AI-driven personalization are shaping the future of advertising, offering key insights for marketers. To stay ahead, brands should prioritize EQ by aligning messaging with the 12 inclusive feelings, leverage generative AI tools like Copilot to boost relevance and efficiency, and adopt omnichannel strategies to engage Gen Z on platforms they frequent, such as Netflix, gaming, and mobile. For those ready to embrace this shift, Bing Advertising provides the necessary tools and insights to transform engagement into lasting loyalty.