Title	FAKE ROMANI EXPERIMENT
Brand	DIAK (DIACONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCE)
Product/Service	DIAK (DIACONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCE)
Category	B08. Use of Celebrity, Influencers & Key Opinion Leaders
Entrant	DIAK (DIACONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCE) Helsinki, FINLAND
Idea Creation	TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
Media Placement	IUM FINLAND Helsinki, FINLAND
PR	TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND

Name	Company	Position
Mertsi Ärling	Diak (Diaconia University of Applied Science)	Project Manager
Niina Mäenpää	Diak (Diaconia University of Applied Science)	Communications Expert
Mertsi Lindgren	Diak (Diaconia University of Applied Science)	Project Manager
Joni Auvinen	Diak (Diaconia University of Applied Science)	Trainee
Sami Tikkanen	TBWA\HELSINKI	Chief Executive Officer
Jyrki Poutanen	TBWA\HELSINKI	Chief Creative Officer
Ville Ohtonen	TBWA\HELSINKI	Creative Director
Aki Toivonen	TBWA\HELSINKI	Creative Content Strategist
Tuomas Perälä	TBWA\HELSINKI	Copywriter
Petri Sarkalahti	TBWA\Helsinki	Project Manager
Jesse Korhonen	TBWA\Helsinki	Insight Analyst
Timo Klemola	TBWA\HELSINKI	Designer
Miika Luoma	TBWA\HELSINKI	Director, Media & Audiences
Laura Paikkari	TBWA\HELSINKI	Creative Director
Erno Reinikainen	TBWA\HELSINKI	Creative Director
Ville Kontiainen	TBWA\HELSINKI	Copywriter trainee
Sami Kelahaara	TBWA\HELSINKI	Senior Creative
Joonas Hokka	TBWA\HELSINKI	Creative Content Strategist
Hamy Ramezan	TBWA\SCREEN	Director
Arsen Sarkisiants	TBWA\SCREEN	DOP
Niko Hatara	TBWA\SCREEN	Producer
Jari Lähteinen	TBWA\SCREEN	Producer
Donna Maimon	TBWA\SCREEN	Production Manager
Anssi Mahlamäki	TBWA\SCREEN	Motion Designer
Marja Uski	IUM Finland	Head of Client Unit
Kaisu Luukinen	IUM Finland	Social Media Planner
Aleksi Ylitalo	IUM Finland	Programmatic Planner
Emmi Vilkanen	IUM Finland	Programmatic Planner
Meri-Tuuli Väntsi	-	Influencer
Jari Sarasvuo	-	Influencer
Tuomas Enbuske	-	Influencer
Anne Kukkohovi	-	Influencer
Meeri Koutaniemi	-	Photographer
Heli Mäenpää	Bang Bang	Producer

Why is this work relevant for PR?

To change the public perception and opinion about the employment situation of the Romani minority, we needed to get the press to write and social media talk about our campaign. Most importantly we aimed to influence the decision makers about the situation. That’s why, instead of an advertising campaign, we created a social media experiment followed by a carefully created PR plan. The fact that even Finland’s top experts can’t get a job, if they apply for it with Romani names, was newsworthy in itself.

Background

The inequality faced by the Romani in Finnish society is a complex and centuries-old issue. In working life, the first element one comes across with is the applicant’s name. Even with an impressive CV, it is nearly impossible to get into a job interview if you have a typical Romani name. Nevo Tiija is a project administered by Diak (Diaconia University of Applied Science) that aspires to improve the role of the Romani minority in Finnish working life. Diak needed to raise nationwide awareness of the discrimination of Romani people, especially in employment.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Numerous studies prove, that the discrimination of Romani in the work life is deeply rooted and the prejudices are very strong: up to 60% of Romani are unemployed. Despite the outrageous figures, these studies have not raised a wider public discussion. To make the majority face their own prejudices in a more relatable way, we turned the tables: we invited four of Finland’s most esteemed professionals to apply for jobs from their respective fields. Jobs, for which them they were indisputably qualified. These four “Fake Romani” replied to job advertisements with their own CV’s but with typical Romani names.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

With a media budget of 20.000€, we had to rely on earned and social media. We selected four influencers with four distinctly different target audiences (culture followers, business-people etc.), in different social media channels, to maximize organic reach. Press releases explained the experiment in detail and linked to a documentary film. Hand-picked journalists, talk show hosts etc. got the possibility for an exclusive interview of each of the influencers. And to ensure the long tail, the influencers switched their social media names to their Fake Romani names. Thus, their every post, tweet, share and like reminded of the campaign.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

We invited a business guru, a television personality, a top chef and a leading columnist to apply for work by using a Fake Romani name. None of them were invited to a single job interview. The whole process was turned into a mini documentary, which was used to spearhead the campaign. The campaign was launched through our influencers’ own social media channels. While sharing their respective videos of the experiment, they also changed their names on their social media accounts into the Fake Romani names. Carefully curated press releases were sent to the media along with a media package featuring background information, more videos, photos etc. We also supported the Facebook and YouTube content with a media budget of 20 000 euros.

List the results (30% of vote)

The Fake Romani Experiment shocked the nation. Some people reacted with denial, but as they met the research results at the campaign site, they couldn’t escape the truth. All of Finland’s biggest newspapers, TV news channels and numerous talk shows reported several times about the campaign in 104 articles. Overall the campaign reach inside Finland (a country with a population 5 500 000) was over 192 000 000 (35*population), adding up to 1 765 000 € worth earned media. The discussion led to concrete changes in the Finnish job market: Finland’s biggest employers (including the cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Vaasa, and the two biggest retailers) announced that they would switch to anonymous recruiting. Most importantly the campaign will have a lasting impact as even the government included anonymous recruitment in its reform programme, making the job market more accessible to all minorities, not just the Romani.