Title	DNA LAUNCHED THE WORLD’S FIRST JOLLA
Brand	DNA
Product/Service	TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Category	A09. LAUNCH OR RE-LAUNCH
Entrant Company	DRUM COMMUNICATIONS Helsinki, FINLAND
Advertising Agency	DRUM COMMUNICATIONS Helsinki, FINLAND

Name	Company	Position
Anu Laukkanen	Drum Communications	Communications Consultant
Saara Nikkanen	Drum Communications	Senior Communications Consultant
Mikko Koivulehto	Drum Communications	Senior Communications Consultant/Partner
Tero Kekki	Drum Communications	Senior Communications Consultant/Partner
Riitta Luhtala	DNA	Communications Manager
Vilhelmiina Wahlbeck	DNA	Communications Director

The Campaign

The unique cooperation between Finnish operator DNA and new smartphone producer Jolla culminated in the fall of 2013. The world’s first Jolla was to be released to the market. DNA had participated in the development of the phone, with influence over both the design and the usability of the device. It was certain that Jolla, the new Finnish success story, would capture interest. However, there was one obvious challenge: how to ensure that DNA also had its share of visibility at the launch. The strategy was to raise interest early and to maintain it by feeding the media bit by bit with interviews and stories. Important was also to offer joint-interviews with DNA and Jolla, but always at DNA’s offices. This emphasized DNA’s role, but also allowed for domination on the visual side of the communications, with the signature pink especially prevalent at the launch event. The execution, started with a high-profile TV interview, included carefully timed tailored stories, press releases and meetings with journalists. The launch date was confirmed at the Slush event, and everything came together at a big launch event. PR activities were coordinated with other marketing communication activities taking place at the same time. The systematic communications strategy and the carefully designed PR activities resulted in hundreds of media mentions, and references to DNA were made in nearly all of the communications that dealt with the launch of the Jolla smartphone. The PR campaign was a success that delivered on the client’s expectations, even exceeding them.

The Brief

The goal of the PR campaign was to make DNA’s presence in the media and social media as visible as possible beside Jolla. The aim was to utilize the field of media efficiently and it was the job of the communications agency to ensure that the actions taken in different areas were coordinated in terms of content and timing. It was essential that DNA’s spirit was visible everywhere. The actions taken had to be in line with its strong brand. It was necessary to ensure that the launch brought DNA the image-related benefits that they deserved.

Results

The primary aim was to create visibility for DNA alongside Jolla. References to DNA were made in 438 media mentions altogether. These mentions were: online 337, print 94, radio 2 and TV 5 (f.ex. live broadcast from the launch event). Each of DNA’s press releases caused a clear spike in visibility, as well a large number of direct quotations. The operator was practically mentioned in every single article that concerned the launch. Visually everything was dominated by DNA’s colors. As a whole, the success of DNA’s launch campaign for the Jolla smartphone exceeded expectations in all areas. Different channels provided great support for one another. According to the media monitoring estimate, the publicity’s value for visibility in the print, online, radio and television media was 592 356 euros. Combined with wide visibility in social media, the launch of Jolla provided DNA’s brand with visibility worth over one million euros.

Execution

The first objective was to push through a message that specifically DNA was launching the world’s first Jolla. To kick things off, the agency invited MTV3, the biggest commercial TV channel in Finland, to DNA. The next step was to tailor stories and coordinate meetings, all carefully paced to maintain interest. Mid-November, it was finally time for the eagerly awaited news: The world’s first Jolla would be sold in DNA’s pop up store, November 27. This was shared by DNA during the startup event Slush and immediately distributed to both the press and social media. Reporters were invited to the launch event, with all of Finland’s significant media (55 reporters showing up). The whole launch event was scheduled so that the media could produce material live for the main news broadcasts. To anticipate changes, the communication agency had built different scenarios, and each PR activity created fine results.

The Situation

DNA participated in the development of the Jolla mobile phone from the start. As a Finnish operator, DNA wanted to support a new Finnish success story with lots of potential. The world’s first Jolla was already a phenomenon before entering the market. People knew how former Nokia employees were developing a completely new mobile phone. Nokia was about to sell its mobile business operations to Microsoft. The public was craving for a new Finnish mobile success story. It was obvious that Jolla would attract the media’s attention. DNA wanted to ensure that they would get their share of the visibility.

The Strategy

The first objective was to ensure that the messages delivered by the DNA spokespersons matched those of Jolla’s. The agency determined the core messages and made a Q&A for all parties to use. As Jolla’s voice would be strong, it was decided that DNA should dominate the visual side. All activities from the reporter meetings to the launch event should have the brand’s characteristic pink color visible everywhere. It was also a part of the agency’s strategy to hold all the reporter meetings at DNA’s premises, to make it immediately clear that the operator has a role in the launch of the phone. Careful scheduling of all activities was the core of the strategy. The media was kept hungry by offering them information only gradually. Information on the actual publication date was withheld, and as the launch date was finally confirmed, the message was delivered by DNA.