BACKSTAGE COLLECTION

TitleBACKSTAGE COLLECTION
BrandTAVASTIA
Product/ServiceLIVE ROCK CLUB
Category F01. Consumer Products
Entrant TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
Idea Creation TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
Production OY VALLILA INTERIOR AB Helsinki, FINLAND
Credits
Name Company Position
Jyrki Poutanen TBWA\Helsinki Chief Creative Officer
Erno Reinikainen TBWA\Helsinki Executive Creative Director
Ville Ohtonen TBWA\Helsinki Creative Director
Annika Wikstén TBWA\Helsinki Account Director
Lasse Kangasmaa TBWA\Helsinki Senior Creative
Iida Korhonen TBWA\Helsinki Creative
Lauri Gran TBWA\Helsinki Creative
Joonas Vähäkallio TBWA\Helsinki Art Director
Juhana Hokkanen TBWA\Helsinki Innovation Director
Saana Simander TBWA\Helsinki PR Strategist
Erika Rajaharhu TBWA\Helsinki PR & Insights Trainee
Juuli Nyberg Vallila Interior New Business and Sales Innovation Manager
Anne Berner Vallila Interior Chief Executive Officer

Background

Founded in 1970, Tavastia is Europe's longest running live rock club. 2020 was meant to be the celebration of its 50th anniversary, with numerous special gigs throughout the year. But as covid-19 imposed heavy restrictions, the club had to shut down for most of 2020 and for most of 2021. It not only canceled all planned concerts, but also put the club's economy in jeopardy – would this be the end of the legendary club, which has hosted the likes of Foo Fighters, Ellie Goulding, Muse, 50 Cent and Nick Cave? Our brief was to come up with an alternative possibility of celebrating the 50th anniversary. A possibility, which would allow everyone in Finland to join without coming to the actual club. Something, that could be planned and executed with a budget of less than 20 000 €.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

The backstage room of Tavastia is the most famous rock n' roll shrine in Finland. It's famous for its backstage walls, which bear the autographs of world famous stars from five decades, but as access is strictly limited to the stars, only a few have actually visited it. As Tavastia couldn't invite the Finnish rock fans to the club, the celebrations had to take place somewhere else – in everyone's homes. Thus The Backstage Collection was born to bring Tavastia to everyone: A line of home interior products: sheets, curtains, rugs, mugs, umbrellas, t-shirts, et cetera revealed the walls of Tavastia's famous backstage with all of its autographs.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

As Tavastia is an iconic club, which the entire nation knows and respects, the target was to gain the attention of the general public. In addition, as the profit of the Backstage Collection was vital to securing the financial survival of the club, we needed to appeal to music fans, who were the most likely audience to purchase products from the collection. Therefore we took the most iconic part of the club and turned it into a collection of sheets, curtains, rugs, mugs, umbrellas, t-shirts, et cetera revealed the walls of Tavastia's famous backstage with all of its autographs. We also needed a companion to make the products. The first and most vital part of the execution was to find a proper partner to actually design, produce and sell the collection. Vallila Interior, a Finnish homeware icon rose to the chalenge.

List the results (20% of vote)

Since Vallila Interior is a Finnish homeware icon, the Backstage Collection immediately got a nationwide retail distribution in the biggest wholesellers and supermarkets in Finland. It is also sold in Vallila's and Tavastia's web stores. The collection was quickly sold-out and Vallila extended the production to meet consumer demands. The Backstage Collection was immediately a hot topic in Finland's biggest newspapers and on social media. The reach of the press coverage alone was 9 014 377 in a country with 5 600 000 inhabitants. People were extremely enthusiastic to show off their Backstage Collection products on social media. The lasting impact of the collection is, that the products will remind people of Tavastia in their homes for years to come. Most importantly, Tavastia club survived the pandemic and is ready to let fans back in!