#VAPPUATHOME – HELSINKI’S ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME VIRTUAL MAY DAY PARTY
Title | #VAPPUATHOME – HELSINKI’S ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME VIRTUAL MAY DAY PARTY |
Brand | THE CITY OF HELSINKI |
Product/Service | HELSINKI |
Category |
E04. Real-time Response |
Entrant
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MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
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Idea Creation
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MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
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Idea Creation 2
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MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Media Placement
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MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Media Placement 2
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MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
|
PR
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MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
|
PR 2
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MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Production
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MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Production 2
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ZOAN Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Production 3
|
MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Post Production
|
MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Post Production 2
|
MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
|
Credits
Riikka Lahdensuo |
City of Helsinki |
Project Lead in Brand Building and Marketing |
Sanna Forsström |
City of Helsinki |
Head of Brand |
Ulla Helander |
Miltton |
Senior Communications Consultant |
Laura Ruokola |
Miltton |
Senior Project Manager |
Mikko Hakkarainen |
Miltton |
Creative Director |
Reetta Wallén |
Miltton |
Creative Strategist |
Eva Niskanen |
Miltton |
Social Media Advisor |
Margit Mardisalu |
Miltton |
Art Director |
Sven Bauweraerts |
Miltton |
Graphic Designer |
Julius Kontiola |
Miltton |
Strategist |
Desiree Leinonen |
Miltton |
Producer |
Stina Lähteenoja |
Miltton |
Producer |
Mikko Laine |
Miltton |
Producer, Director |
Sebastian Kammonen |
Miltton |
Film editor |
Pasi Viitanen |
Miltton |
Motion Graphics Designer |
Laura Olin |
ZOAN |
COO |
Miikka Rosendahl |
ZOAN |
CEO |
Background
Finland's May Day festivities gather tens of thousands of people to celebrate in the parks in Helsinki. 2020 was different: no offline events were allowed.
Normally, the City of Helsinki has no organizing responsibility of the May Day festivities (vappu in Finnish). Due to COVID-19, within a few weeks, Helsinki took over the responsibility of motivating people to stay safely at home – cancelling vappu was not an option.
The main objective was to see empty parks and no large gatherings of people. In addition, the aim was to spread the local solution globally as a new innovative public service and an insight to digital Helsinki. The brief was to create a concept and campaign that would encourage people to stay home.
Describe the strategy
After the long quarantine, people deserved a jolt of joy. Instead of giving up on the celebrations altogether, this May Day was turned into an exceptional event. Helsinki needed to give everyone living in the area reasons to stay inside for this very special May Day. And this message needed to be communicated in a positive and encouraging way. Not only was this vappu a one-time experience, it gave everyone the chance to become an everyday hero just by staying home. A new phenomenon, “the once-in-a-lifetime #vappuathome” was created.
Almost all of the traditional May Day events were rethought in a digital form, and all marketing was encouraging people to enjoy the digital content, including a VR concert in Virtual Helsinki by one of Finland’s most popular rap bands.
Describe the execution
The campaign was planned and executed in April, 2020. Helsinki mobilized partnerships and served a diverse cultural menu only within a few weeks’ time. Almost all traditional vappu events were rethought in a digital form. One of Finland’s most popular rap bands, JVG, performed live in Virtual Helsinki.
5 local influencers shared their #vappuathome tips on social media, and a social media campaign was created around these videos. The message was boosted in co-operation with a local radio station.
Marketing was mostly focused on digital channels that could be seen safely from home. Outdoor marketing invited people to enjoy the digital content. A fence was built around the statue of Havis Amanda, the gathering site of vappu, and turned into an ad space.
Finnish media got highly interested in the concept. International media work succeeded well, and Helsinki’s international reputation as a digital forerunner was boosted.
List the results
#Vappuathome became a phenomenon only in a few weeks’ time. The campaign gained a lot of earned media, and the social media reach was extremely good. People were motivated to rethink their May Day celebrations. Finally, only a handful of people gathered to the parks and streets of Helsinki.
Moreover, Helsinki served globally as a testbed for VR. The international media work succeeded very well, and Helsinki’s reputation as the digital forerunner was boosted. The case was covered widely by the international media, such as the Guardian and Forbes. Altogether, the media coverage reached more than 500 million people worldwide.
-Only a few people gathered in Helsinki’s parks and streets
-1.4 million people attended the virtual gig in Finland (25% of Finns)
-Over 400,000 people in Helsinki reached through social media ads and 665,000 people through radio co-operation
-Over 500 million people reached through traditional media around May Day