STORY & IDEA

Rent a Finn: Learn from the Best

According to the United Nations, Finland is once more the happiest country in the world in 2019, as it was the year before. Studies show that nature has a positive effect on our psyche and can reduce stress. At the same time, the world around us is getting busier and busier. Many travellers are looking for peace and quiet in a natural environment. These are all things that Finland offers in abundance. But how can we communicate this happy and natural lifestyle to the world? It’s about time everyone had the chance to learn from the best.

STRATEGY

Happiness Guides: More than Testimonials

Our core target group consists of people whose values fit with a trip to Finland – they are also known as “modern humanists”. How can we reach and address this group of people, who are skeptical of advertising, on a very limited budget? With real stories about Finns, who had made themselves available as “Happiness Guides”, we addressed German media through tailor-made media work and through selected, internationally known Finnish personalities (e.g. Samu Haber). As soon as the story was picked up by the media, we concentrated on generating further content.

The core messages were about the unique and nature-loving lifestyle of the Finns and the opportunity to experience everything Finland has to offer together with a Happiness Guide. We also used content describing the scientifically proven positive effects of nature and the special characteristics of the Finnish lifestyle, including an online life balance test developed by the coaching company Hinsta Performance. Content that appeals to those who are looking for a unique travel experience.

IMPLEMENTATION

A Successful Launch with the Potential of Becoming a New Travel Trend

“Rent a Finn” was launched globally in January 2019, following the launch of the campaign website rentafinn.com From all those who expressed their willingness, eight Happiness Guides were selected as testimonials for the communication. The idea was to start a movement; to get people to talk about the initiative and share it on social media.

After the recruitment phase in Finland, we rolled out the campaign comprehensively in March 2019 and localised it for the German market. Whether TV, radio, print or online: In addition to sending out press releases (tailor-made to trade, popular and travel media) and radio PR for the launch of the campaign, we sent journalists to meet personally with the Happiness Guides. On individual press trips to the Far North, the journalists had the opportunity to experience the Finns’ recipe for happiness with all their senses. In addition, we accompanied the sports and tourism student Madeline from Cologne, who was a guest of Happiness Guide Katja in Helsinki, more about this here.

The results were extraordinary and exceeded our expectations in terms of quality and quantity. Within a very short campaign period from March to June 2019 we generated coverage in Die Zeit, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Stern, Die Welt, Fokus, Business Punk and Hygge, Pro7 taff and Galileo as well as in various private radio stations and on Deutschlandfunk. “Rent a Finn” was thereby successfully launched in a very short period of time and will continue as a new travel trend in the future.

SPREAD THE WORD

“After the sauna, we go to the sea. The water has a temperature of 5 degrees Celsius. I think bathing is out of the question. I tell Juho that too. To get closer to happiness, one more beer would be enough for me. But I can already see by Juho’s grin that my categorical refusal will crumble.” – Bjørn Erik Sass, DIE ZEIT