OVERVIEW

Background

Visit Kotka-Hamina is a commercial travel brand for the Eastern Gulf of Finland, a region that has never been well-known globally or domestically. Tourism had now taken an additional dive due to the area’s proximity to Russia. To increase the appeal and popularity of the region as a travel destination, and especially that of its archipelago, we needed to come up with a creative idea using very limited resources.

Visit Kotka-Hamina wanted to gain the widest possible visibility through earned media. Our objective was to create a phenomenon that would trigger social debate, with main media messages relevant to current social issues and built upon the region’s strengths.

Both environmental and social sustainability are driving forces for Visit Kotka-Hamina, and the benefits to mental wellbeing of spending time in nature on are a key topic of conversation for the brand.

Idea

The always-on online world has lured us in, and now it’s wearing us down. Its negative effects have reached the travel industry, with the birth of Instagrammable destinations, swarms of influencers and screens blocking actual experiences. The only things recharging on these vacations are our phones.

We decided to tap into this universal experience and the rising trend of digital detoxing, offering a much-needed solution while sparking conversation about the relationship between smart devices and leisure and tourism.

Our creative solution lay at the very core of Kotka-Hamina. The peaceful, unspoiled nature and clean air of its archipelago are ideal for experiencing the mental benefits of nature.

So we declared Ulko-Tammio, an island in the Kotka-Hamina region, the world’s first phone free tourist island. We officially encouraged visitors to put away their phones for the duration of their visit to truly enjoy their experience in the archipelago.

Strategy

We wanted to reach a global audience of potential travellers interested in wellbeing and sustainability. To achieve this, we knew we needed to tap into just the right conversation with just the right societally meaningful idea that communicates the core of the Visit Kotka-Hamina brand.

We recognized digital detoxing and the role of smartphones in wellbeing as the best topics to both amplify the best reasons to visit the Kotka-Hamina region, and to feel relevant to our target audience.

We enlisted Finland’s national authorities as ambassadors for credibility, and had Instagram influencers go offline on Offline Island to create interest and break the norm of influencer marketing. We planned targeted PR around these and our idea's strong societal importance and universal nature.

We also designed an exceptionally thought-out press strategy, and carefully timed executions before the summer holiday season to achieve immediate positive impact on business.

Execution

In June 2023 we officially declared Ulko-Tammio a phone-free destination. We incorporated the concept into official signage, handed out screen covers for use during visiting and invited curated, credible influencers to Offline Island – armed only with Polaroid cameras and a limited amount of film. Influencers were hand-picked based on their previous posts about our campaign topics. After their return, the influencers told their audiences about the thought-provoking experience, igniting discussion and interest.

At the same time, we targeted PR to global news, lifestyle and travel medias. National organizations Parks & Wildlife Finland and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare spoke as ambassadors and Finnish embassies around the world gave interviews on behalf of Offline Island, helping us put Visit Kotka-Hamina on the world map.

Outcome

    - Campaign reach: 3.4bn

    - Earned media: €36.2M

    - Articles about the island: 1217

    - Growth in overnight stays: +8.4% (July 2023, compared to the year before)

    - Increase in accommodation sales at Kotka-Hamina and Loviisa region: +7% (July 2023, compared to the year before)

    - Online conversation: +2531% growth in Visit Kotka-Hamina’s website visits

    - Ferries to the island sold out for summer 2023

    - Ulko-Tammio was selected as a Travel Destination of the Year 2023 by The Finnish Guild of Travel Journalists