| Title | PROJECT TEEN CRITICS |
| Brand | THE FINNISH CULTURAL FOUNDATION |
| Product/Service | PROJECT TEEN CRITICS |
| Category |
A13. Not-for-profit / Charity / Governemt |
|
Entrant
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FOLK FINLAND Helsinki, FINLAND
|
|
Idea Creation
|
FOLK FINLAND Helsinki, FINLAND
|
|
Idea Creation 2
|
GREAT APES Helsinki, FINLAND
|
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Production
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GREAT APES Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Credits
| Sami Korjus |
Folk Finland |
Copywriter |
| Jussi Huhtala |
Folk Finland |
Graphic Designer |
| Jaana Haapala |
Folk Finland |
Strategist |
| Päivi Juusola |
Folk Finland |
Account Director |
| Miika Hyvärinen |
Folk Finland |
Production Artists |
| Jani |
Kivelä |
Production Artists |
| Marko Vuorensola |
Folk Finland |
ECD |
| Unna Lehtipuu |
Framilla |
CEO |
| Mikko Sairio |
Great Apes |
CEO |
| Teemu Huttunen |
Great Apes |
Developer |
| Sami Blick |
Great Apes |
Developer |
| Constantin Freche |
Great Apes |
Designer |
| Annakaisa Tavast |
Finnish Cultural Foundation |
Communications Director |
| Veli-Markus Tapio |
Finnish Cultural Foundation |
- |
| Antti Arjava |
Finnish Cultural Foundation |
- |
Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?
Art plays a significant role in forming people’s world views and self-image. But, Finnish teen don’t feel art and culture as their own and they are missing out. Project Teen Critics is giving the teens an opportunity to get familiar with art that they may not otherwise have access to. The three-year project strives to offer young people unforgettable art & culture experiences which hopefully trigger a life-long interest in culture.
Background
Art and culture play a big part in establishing people’s world views and self-image. But Finnish teens don’t feel art as their own and they aren’t visiting art & culture institutions – just when their identities are forming the most. They feel art institutions to be dusty, uninteresting places and don’t think that “high-culture” is for them.
The Finnish Culture Foundation wanted to change this perception and give all teens an opportunity to experience art, without the feeling of compulsion. Three-year-long Project Teens Critics was born. The objectives of the project and the launch campaign were:
- To reach every eight-grader in Finland and let them know about the project
- To inspire a life-long relationship with art and culture
- To get media and the public interested about the project and generate social discussion
Describe the creative idea
The Project Teen Critics is the world’s biggest art evaluation – it makes every single Finnish 8th-grader a Culture Critic. As critics, the teens have the power to express their opinions openly and discover what art means to them. Comments and ideas can be submitted through an on-site mobile application and published on Teen Critics website in real-time – and without any censorship.
In order to introduce new and different kind of art and culture for the Teen Critics, they will visit two different art & culture venues during their 8th grade – one will take place in their own province or nearby area, and the other in the capital Helsinki.
Describe the strategy
The primary target audience of the project are 8th-graders (14–15-year-olds) in Finland. They like modern and insightful things that give them the experience of realization. Art that is ‘just there’ doesn’t resonate with the teens, they want to be engaged and share their opinions. They really don’t like authorities to tell what to do or what to think. So, we created an inclusive project and campaign to show them that art can be for everyone and that their opinion is as important as everyone else’s.
By inviting the teens to be ‘art critics’ we give them the chance to express their feeling about art and culture. This also benefits teachers and schools later on in classes and the art institutions and artists when they are planning future programs, shows and exhibitions.
Describe the execution
In order the project to reach every eight-grader in Finland, we needed the schools to come on board. So the Project Teen Critics was included in the Finnish curriculum. Once that was done, we needed teachers and students to know what the project was about.
The world’s biggest art review was launched during September 2017 and it continues to the end of May 2020. The project will reach almost 200 000 students plus their teachers. During the launch of the project we used digital media and popular influencers to raise awareness.
The core of the Teen Critics is the Teen Critics app and website. The app makes reviewing art easier and fun for the teens and the public can follow uncensored reviews through the website.
List the results
During the first semester (Fall 2017–Spring 2018):
- 55 228 reviews on taidetestaajat.fi
- 741 schools and 58 000 students took part in the project
- 1002 different art & culture experiences
- The project was featured in the evening news of the Finnish Broadcasting Company
- Overall positive feedback from the Teen Critics