Klarna, a payment provider and bank, has brought rapper Snoop Dogg into the team to… bring “Smoooth” to the next level, reports Henry Vilar of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).
Snoop Dogg will become Smoooth Dogg and the face of a major campaign called “Get Smoooth”, as well as Snoop Dogg becoming a minor shareholder in Klarna.
The campaign aims to remove friction from the world of pay later payments. Thus, it has recruited “arguably the smoothest man alive, on his journey to become even smoother.” You couldn’t make this up. “From smooth to smoooth”, the campaign said.
For Snoop Dogg, this is part of his European investment strategy.
“I’ve been looking for an opportunity to expand my tech investment portfolio to Europe and seeing the way Klarna operates and how they challenge the status quo, I think it’s a match made in heaven. I’m very excited about this partnership,” said Snoop Dogg.
Snoop Dogg will acquire the shares from an existing Klarna shareholder. Klarna’s CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski confirmed the partnership on Twitter.
“Snoop is not only a rap legend, but also a successful businessman, with a genuine interest in tech, retail and e-commerce. He has a great understanding of consumer behaviour and is exceptional when it comes to branding and marketing,” Siemiatkowski continued.
For context, this man once said in a song: “I love you so, how much you’ll never know. ‘Cause you took your dope away from me.”
Following the Get Smoooth campaign, Snoop Dogg and Klarna will announce a range of unique items enabling anyone to “Get Smoooth.”
Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Klarna demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2012. Last fall, the company announced a $20 million funding round that brought its total capital to nearly $682 million.
