Client: Hufvudstadsbladet | Paras Verkkomainos
It’s all about the mindset
Starting point & Challenge
Huvudstadsbladet is one of the oldest newspapers in Finland, and the biggest Swedish one, but in terms of readers it’s tiny compared to the big Finnish newspapers.
The newspaper had not been actively marketing themselves in over 10 years, and did not have a marketing communication concept or marketing plan.
Their strategy of moving from paper subscriptions to online based subscriptions was underway, but even though their online subscriptions were going up, the growth wasn’t rapid enough to fill the gap of cancelled subscriptions.
Another challenge they faced was the fact that the readership age had gotten older, as younger generations were lingering away from printed news or opting to subscribe (bigger) Finnish newspapers.
With the main target group being the Swedish speaking Finns (5,2 % of Finland population 2021), we did not have the luxury of having a huge audience from where to harvest new subscribers.
Insight
Finland was chosen for the fifth time in a row as the world's happiest country in 2022. But even more surprisingly, a study revealed that HBL's target audience, Swedish-speaking Finns, feel much happier than the rest of the population (some 42 % of Swedish-speaking Finns and only 19% of Finnish speakers reported feeling very happy in their everyday lives). With simple math, this means that HBL caters to the happiest target audience in the world.
We realised that the difference lies in the mindset of the target audience. The mindset to make everyday life a little bit better, even the most mundane things a little bit more enjoyable.
At it’s smallest, it could mean things like making an ordinary Wednesday evening cozier with the help of candles, sprinkling some flake salt on your bread at breakfast, or feeling a little bit more awake by taking a skinny dip in the archipelago. The same thing applies to how the content for HBL is produced by the journalists. They do not aim for quick clickbaits . Their articles are made by digging a bit deeper and wider. Therefore Lite bättre also reflects the content produced by the journalists.
Strategy
As HBL had been pretty silent marcomms wise for several years, our strategy was – instead of doing a big one-off – to create a long lasting culturally relevant concept. Something that continuously strives in smaller bursts, to remind everyone about HBL’s role and existence.
One key element of our strategy was carefully placed hyperlocal executions and to display locally meaningful content to the right people.
Last but not least, it was of the utmost importance to get HBL’s staff and reporters to stand behind the creative concept, because if they don't themselves believe in it, how could the newspaper own it?
Creative Solution
It’s not the boats or crayfish parties, as enjoyable as they are, that make Swedish speaking Finns happier than average. We realised that it’s the mindset shared and displayed by most of our target audience in their everyday life:
“Lite bättre” (A little bit better). The best part being that it’s everything but exclusive and everyone is invited.
We chose to strip away all unnecessary and just tap into their culture and language. With simple questions – made with only a couple of words – we were able spark interest and to plant the question “which one is a bit better?” into the viewers mind. Of course, there were or are no right answers.
The minimal graphic style paired with subtle animations perform both in small and big screens. With this approach we were able to stand out of all the noise surrounding us, plus the message and words got the attention they deserved.
We also took our questions and translated them into short clips full of positive energy and feel good, suited perfectly for today's social media. Something the target audience could truly relate with.
