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Rent a Finn for virtual happiness

A new social media initiative by visit finland offers people the chance to learn happiness skills from the world’s happiest people..

Visit Finland is once again inviting people around the world to get to know the Finnish way of life. The tourism body is launching a new social media initiative for the coronavirus age, continuing from its successful Rent a Finn campaign in 2019 .

The interactive series showcases five different areas of Finnish lifestyle via weekly livestreaming sessions on Visit Finland’s Facebook and YouTube page. The themes are Eat with a Finn, Relax with a Finn, Be active with a Finn, Spend time with a Finn and Be happy with a Finn.

People can also apply for an exclusive one-to-one session with the guides leading these sessions, which will be held in June.

“We want to encourage people to take care of themselves and their loved ones while dreaming about their next trip,” said Paavo Virkkunen , executive director of Visit Finland at Business Finland . “The Rent a Finn campaign of 2019 was a great success, and during these uncertain times we want to give people the opportunity to learn about the secrets of Finnish happiness regardless of place or time.”

“This initiative also offers the chance to connect one-to-one with a Finn from the comfort of your sofa.”

The series kicks off on 15 May with the Relax with a Finn guide, Päivikki Koskinen , teaching about sauna, bathing and sauna preparations.

All good things come in threes

Earlier this year, Finland was chosen as the happiest country in the world for the third year in a row. The World Happiness Report surveyed citizens’ perceptions to rank 156 countries against factors such as trust, sense of freedom to make key life decisions, generosity and having someone to count on.

“Finnish happiness isn’t skin deep and immediately visible – it’s deeply engrained in our being,” explained Heli Jimenez , senior director of international marketing at Business Finland.

“Sustainable happiness is our superpower, and it means we tend to take life as it comes,” she continued. “We appreciate the small things in our daily lives, such as sitting quietly on a bench and staring at the empty lake after a relaxing sauna session or taking a morning dip in the sea before going to work.”

“This attitude will also bring us through these challenging times.”

Good News from Finland and Visit Finland are both part of Business Finland.

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Finland's 'Rent a Finn' Tourism Campaign Lets You Do Exactly That

Why call a Swede, when you can rent a Finn?

In 2016, the Swedish Tourist Association launched a lauded campaign with random Swedes serving as brand ambassadors who chatted with callers from around the world about life in the Scandinavian country (and just about everything else, for that matter).    Now, Visit Finland and SEK, a unit of Grey, take the concept of personalized tourism outreach a step further, offering summer vacation trips to the Nordic nation, complete with local "happiness guides." 

The notion stemmed from a recent UN report naming Finland the happiest country on the planet for the second straight year, with its scenic beauty and outdoor attractions playing a key role in that selection. Through "Rent a Finn," eight guides will host visitors for three days of restorative activities, ranging from fishing trips and berry picking to relaxing dips in rustic Finnish saunas.

Those guides appear in the project video:

Sure, they look happy now. Will a few days of dealing with houseguests drive the smiles from their faces? Probably not. After all, they're Finns. 

Guest and guide selection took place a few months back, with prospective visitors submitting videos to illustrate why they wanted to get happy the Finnish way. Potential guides were asked to display their regional knowledge and prove they'd make good hosts. The trips are scheduled from June through August, with recaps posting online in September. 

You can view entries (there were 6,000 overall) at RentAFinn.com, along with the guide-guest pairings. The travelers hail from China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. One of the guides, "Esko," serves as mayor of Rovaniemi, which is located near the Arctic Circle and bills itself as the hometown of Santa Claus. Dude seems downright jolly. 

All in all, it's a fun way to cast Finland as the welcoming hub of global happiness during these increasingly unsettled times. And the initiative goes beyond the contest, with Visit Finland encouraging all Finns to "rent" themselves to random visitors for a few hours or "invite someone you know to visit Finland this summer." Conversely, "you can also rent yourself while abroad. Share the secrets and wisdom of being a happy Finn with the locals." 

Despite paid advertising in only 10 markets, earned media helped the campaign reach 1.4 billion people across 150 countries. That's some rad ROI, especially considering the big role tourism plays in the nation's economy, generating about $17 billion annually and employing 140,000 Finns.

"In the highly competitive travel marketing field, Finland can never compete with the big media budgets of larger destinations," says SEK creative director Suvi Lähde. "But we can use our uniqueness, not as something for everyone but as something special. We can break travel industry clichés with something so different and remarkable." 

What's more, "Rent a Finn is not only ownable for Finland due to its basis in the UN Happiness Report, but also meaningful because of its higher purpose of bringing more happiness to the world," Lähde says. "Instead of simply selling tourism, it's branding a whole nation." 

Below is the case study. 

Client: Visit Finland Advert: Rent a Finn Creative Agency: SEK | Part of Grey PR: Visit Finland & SEK Media Placement: Dagmar Film Production: Cocoa Mediaproductions & SEK  Digital production: Creuna Finland Additional credits: Hintsa Performance

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'Rent a Finn' to learn how to reduce stress and relax

A view from the forest in Finland. [VISIT FINLAND]

Cooking with herbs. [VISIT FINLAND]

Wild berries available in the forest. [VISIT FINLAND]

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'Rent A Finn': Visit Finland for free this summer through special program

by Cody Miller

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Looking for your happy place?

According to the UN’s World Happiness Report , Finland is the happiest country in the world and has been for the past two years.

Now, through the special program ‘Rent A Finn’, Visit Finland is offering a few lucky individuals the chance to visit the jolly country for free.

The program is made possible through eight Finnish volunteer guides who will show you why their homeland is the happiest on earth.

Their secret to being so happy, according to the website, is the Finns' special connection to nature, explaining that when “others go to therapy, Finns put on a pair of rubber boots and head to the woods.”

RELATED | American wants to provide summer jet service from Las Vegas to Tokyo in 2020

If you’re wondering if you need a readjustment, the website also offers a test to see if your life is in balance .

Those interested can apply for the program alone, with a friend or as a family.

Those selected will travel to Finland this summer for three days, all expenses paid for.

Participants will stay with their host, at their summer cottage or home, and be filmed for Visit Finland’s communication and advertising materials.

To learn more about your possible hosts and how to apply, visit the website .

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Visit Finland

Rent a Finn

Agency: Grey

Description

According to the UN, Finland is the happiest country in the world – thanks to the special connection between people and nature. Studies have shown that nature can have a positive impact on our minds and alleviate stress. At the same time, the world is getting busier. Many travelers search for silence and serene nature. Well, Finland has those things in abundance. But how to teach the world this happy, close-to-nature lifestyle? The idea: Rent a Finn. Now it’s time everyone had a chance to learn from the best. To become as happy as a Finn, you can rent one and learn how. Rent a Finn is not only unique and ownable to Finland due to its rational background from the UN Happiness Report, but also meaningful because of its higher purpose of bringing more happiness to the world. The campaign has so far reached 149 countries with paid advertising in only 10 markets. The reach has raised as high as 1,366 billion – 98,5% coming from earned media. The PR value of the campaign reached € 34 175 321.

This professional campaign titled 'Rent a Finn' was published in Finland in May, 2019. It was created for the brand: Visit Finland, by ad agency: Grey. This Experiential medium campaign is related to the Hospitality, Tourism industry and contains 1 media asset. It was submitted about 5 years ago.

Advertising Agency: SEK | PART OF GREY Media Placement: Dagmar Film Production: Cocoa Mediaproductions, SEK Digital production: Creuna Finland Additional credits: Hintsa Performance

Related Campaigns

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Season’s Sweetest Outdoor Ad

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Visit Finland: Rent a Finn

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Campaign details

Brand : Visit Finland Agency : SEK Helsinki Country : Finland

Finland is a small, sparsely-populated Nordic nation with big ambitions to become a real contender as a must-see destination in the world of international tourism.

To do this meant challenging the dominance of Scandi tourism giants Norway and Sweden, under whose long shadow Finland's international tourism brand ranking had remained static for many years.

But with a communications budget of just €200K government tourism body Visit Finland needed to find a smarter way to create the biggest possible splash.

Commercial objective:

• Increase Finland's tourism revenue.

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Rent A Finn to Learn About Happiness

Finland has been named the Happiest Country in the World. Find out why by applying to be paired up with some of the eight Finnish happiness guides around the country who will host some lucky visitors in their homes or summer cottages for three days this summer.

The Rent a Finn program is organized by Visit Finland with a focus on nature. “Our secret is in our nature, very literally. When others go to therapy, Finns put on a pair of rubber boots and head to the woods.”

Apply online by April 21, 2019. A short video application is required.

– Jan Schroder , Editor in Chief

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