Title | RENT A FINN |
Brand | BUSINESS FINLAND / VISIT FINLAND |
Product/Service | DESTINATION FINLAND |
Category |
E01. Integrated Campaign led by PR |
Entrant
|
SEK | PART OF GREY Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Idea Creation
|
SEK | PART OF GREY Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Idea Creation 2
|
BUSINESS FINLAND Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Media Placement
|
DAGMAR Helsinki, FINLAND
|
PR
|
SEK | PART OF GREY Helsinki, FINLAND
|
PR 2
|
BUSINESS FINLAND Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Production
|
SEK | PART OF GREY Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Production 2
|
COCOA Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Production 3
|
CREUNA FINLAND Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Additional Company
|
HINTSA PERFORMANCE Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Credits
Mira Vierto |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Head of Client Group |
Suvi Lähde |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Creative Director |
Jarno Luotonen |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Creative Director |
Per Pedersen |
Grey |
Grey Global Creative Chairman |
Eduardo Maduri |
GREY |
Grey Europe Creative Chairman |
Kimi Issakainen |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Art Director |
Antti Tuominen |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Copywriter |
Laura Saarinen |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Project Director |
Essi Orama |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Communications Consultant |
Erika Vierto |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Project Manager |
Nicolas Prieto |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Agency Producer |
Ville Koivisto |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Project Director |
Vesa Tiukkanen |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Editor |
Jerry Strengell |
Jerry Strengell |
Editor |
Santeri Kekkonen |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Art Director |
Alexsandra Piela |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Assistant Art Director |
Sami Kelahaara |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Creative Director |
Otto Kilpiö |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Copywriter |
Miikka Vento |
SEK | PART OF GREY |
Junior Copywriter |
Heli Jimenez |
Visit Finland / Business Finland |
Senior Director, International Marketing |
Mervi Holmén |
Visit Finland/Business Finland |
Marketing Communications Manager |
Hetta Huittinen |
Visit Finland / Business Finland |
Head of International Media and PR |
Eevakaisa Mölsä |
Visit Finland / Business Finland |
PR and Media Manager |
Joonas Halla |
Visit Finland / Business Finland |
PR and Media Manager |
Sari Hey |
Visit Finland / Business Finland |
PR and Media Manager |
Heli Hemgård |
Visit Finland / Business Finland |
Communications Manager |
Ville Huumo |
Creuna Finland |
CTO |
Igor Buyanov |
Creuna Finland |
Senior Web Developer |
Markus Karikivi |
Creuna Finland |
Project Director |
Annika Muhonen |
Dagmar |
Senior Digital Planner |
Markus Vuorinen |
Dagmar |
Digital Strategist |
Noora Pyörre |
Dagmar |
Digital Planner |
Liisa Marjoniemi |
Dagmar |
Client Manager |
Tom Hakala |
Cocoa Mediaproductions |
Director |
Henri Ollinkari |
Cocoa Mediaproductions |
Executive Producer |
Anita Hyppönen |
Cocoa Mediaproductions |
Production Manager |
Antti Ahokoivu |
Cocoa Mediaproductions |
Cinematographer |
Jukka Honkanen |
Cocoa Mediaproductions |
Editor |
Joni Kuusisto |
Cocoa Mediaproductions |
Color Grade |
Markku Mäkelä |
Cocoa Mediaproductions |
Sound design and sound mix |
Jukka Honkanen |
Cocoa Mediaproductions |
Sound design and sound mix |
Markus Packalen |
Cocoa Mediaproductions |
Set designer |
Marek Sabogal |
Cocoa Mediaproductions |
Photographer |
Ed Webster |
GREY |
Creative |
Cherish de Tagle |
TOWN |
Producer |
Why is this work relevant for PR?
According to the UN, Finland is the happiest country in the world, thanks to the special nature connection. Studies have shown that nature can have a positive impact on our minds. At the same time, the world is getting busier, people are searching for their calm.
The idea that inspires and involves people both in social media and news channels: Rent a Finn.
A small country like Finland can’t afford to compete with the media budgets of big destinations to attract attention. The entire idea “Rent a Finn” is based on creative PR which will grow to a cultural phenomenon.
Background
Visit Finland is a governmental organization that works continuously to develop Finland’s travel image. Travel marketing is a highly competitive business; small country like Finland can’t afford to compete with the media budgets of big destinations to attract attention. However, the industry communication is full of clichés in both the visual style and content. Breaking these conventions offers us a huge opportunity. Finland is an unconventional travel destination – not something for everyone but something special. Accordingly, our communication has always been designed to convey these distinguishing factors true to Finland to make us stand out. In 2018, the overnight stays were on the rise, but the ongoing battle for attention in the Nordic countries was fierce. Our task was to create awareness and interest towards Finland and make it a talking point in a way that is truly meaningful to people who are seeking unique options.
Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)
According to the UN, Finland is the happiest country in the world – thanks to the special connection between people and nature. Studies have shown that nature can have a positive impact on our minds and alleviate stress.
At the same time, the world is getting busier. Many travelers search for silence and serene nature. Well, Finland has those things in abundance. But how to teach the world this happy, close-to-nature lifestyle?
The idea: Rent a Finn.
Now it’s time everyone had a chance to learn from the best. To become as happy as a Finn, you can rent one and learn how. Rent a Finn is not only unique and ownable to Finland due to its rational background from the UN Happiness Report, but also meaningful because of its higher purpose of bringing more happiness to the world. Instead of simply selling tourism, it’s branding a whole nation.
Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)
The insight of a balanced life and the travel trend of “living like a local” is emphasized in our target group called “Modern Humanists”.
We mobilized the whole nation and built a story step by step.
1. Nationwide initiative that recruited Finns up for rent.
2. The content of Finns that were up for rent was fed to global media with PR and with the help of chosen internationally known Finnish spokespersons.
3.While focusing on creating content we monitored earned media developments and reacted along the way.
Key messages were the Finns’ unique close-to-nature way of life and the chance to enjoy what Finland has to offer by renting a Finn. We created content describing the scientifically proven facts of nature’s positive effects and the special characteristics of the Finnish lifestyle, appealing to those who are looking for a unique travelling experience.
Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)
The objective was to increase the awareness of Finland as a tourist destination and emphasize its competitive advantages, such as nature and wellbeing. Our aim was to step by step build a story and cultural phenomenon.
Rent a Finn was launched by recruiting Finns in January 2019. Out of all the willing Finns we chose a few to work with as the faces of our communication to introduce the Finnish way of life. The idea was to tease, get people to talk and share the idea in social media.
After a warmup phase we went all in. We created localized PR content and contacted all the top media in our target countries. Our goal was to create a phenomenon where anybody could put themselves up for rent by using a #rentafinn. The idea of renting a Finn is now launched and continues as a new travel trend in the future.
List the results (30% of vote)
The results were astonishing and exceeded all expectations.
Media Outputs – The coverage was 3 184 media hits with reach of 1,366 billion. 98,5% of the campaign’s reach came from earned media.
The sentiment of the hits was positive (98%). The purchase intent exceeded all expectations with over 600 000 interested visitors on the campaign’s website. The campaign reached over 149 countries with paid advertising in only 10 markets. The PR value of the campaign reached
€ 34 175 321.
Target Audience Outcomes – We managed to build a phenomenon in the desired target audience and inspire people from around the world to get more information about Finland as an interesting destination. We managed to build our social community with 12 488 new followers in total. During the campaign the share of new visits to the Visit Finland website increased with 57% compared to last year’s period.