The Helsinki Freedom campaign has won the prestigious City Nation Place Award in the Communication Strategy category. The award was presented at the City Nation Place Global conference held in London on 3 November 2021.
Helsinki Freedom won the City Nation Place Award for “Best Communication Strategy: Economic Development” based on the planning and effectiveness of communication in relation to the existing brand and the target group. In addition, special attention was paid in this category to new ways of utilising the city’s own channels and purchased media in a creative and effective way. The other finalists competing with Helsinki for victory in the same category were Ontario, Copenhagen, Kuala Lumpur and North Carolina. The City Nation Place jury justified its choice by acknowledging how “Helsinki’s Freedom strategy responded to a very specific challenge with a strong creative direction that remained very consistent and connected to the city’s core brand values. The jury were also impressed by the media amplification strategy.”
Helsinki Freedom is an international marketing campaign for attracting international talent that aims to increase awareness about Helsinki and enhance the city’s appeal while at the same time alleviating the shortage of experts among local companies. Helsinki Freedom describes Helsinki as a new kind of “free city” where everyone has the right to a good life, a career, an education, wellbeing and a functional daily life, as well as the opportunity to make their lives unique.
The Helsinki Freedom campaign was launched in November 2020 and comprises four parts. At the heart of the campaign was a series of Instagram mini documentaries by five well-known local documentary directors. In the tactical part of the campaign, “Helsinki Freedom, Home-Delivered”, a competition was organised together with local growth companies to engage tech talent. The Home-Delivered campaign combined the digital with the physical and a human touch. Winners of the competition received ten items representing Helsinki’s freedoms in a box delivered to their doorstep at a time when it was not possible to invite them to Helsinki to experience freedoms on the spot due to the Covid pandemic. In addition, the Helsinki Freedom campaign included short video stories about the good life in Helsinki presented by international experts and students, as well as a guerilla campaign on Instagram and Facebook. Helsinki Freedom content can be found on the MyHelsinki website.
The competition for international talent is intense, and cities play an important role when people are considering moving to a new location. At the same time, awareness about Helsinki is relatively weak, and Helsinki is often not considered a viable alternative in people's minds when considering a new home.
— Helsinki must invest even more strongly in raising general awareness about the city and in value- and emotion-based marketing in order to keep up amid international competition, emphasises Anu Syrmä, Marketing Director at Helsinki Partners.
City Nation Place (CNP) is a UK-based organisation specialising in city marketing and the development of vibrant identities. CNP produces information to support the reputations, attract investment and skills, and increase the economic competitiveness of cities. This year’s City Nation Place Global conference, one of the leading industry events, was attended in person by more than 100 decision-makers in London. In addition, 150 representatives of cities and countries attended the conference virtually.
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Helsinki Freedom/MyHelsinki(Link leads to external service)
City Nation Place Awards 2021(Link leads to external service)
Photo: Helsinki Marketing