A unique marketing project that combines an innovative mix of online communications and social media is attracting international tourists to Lapland and northern Finland.
- 01 October 2014
Despite the tough economic environment facing today's travel industry, our campaign has resulted in an 8 % rise in visitors to Finnish Lapland.
To-date, the “Lapland – North of Finland” project has produced two extremely successful online campaigns, raising much awareness of Lapland and Northern Finland across Germany, the Netherlands, Russia and the United Kingdom.
The winter 2012 “Only in Lapland” campaign reached 16.7 million people in the UK and Netherlands, while the summer 2013 campaign reached 11.3 million in both Netherlands and Germany. Moreover, according to marketing experts, the click percentage of online advertising was over 50 times better than the industry average.
The “Laplication” app, developed exclusively for the project, has already been downloaded over 20 000 times and has generated media visibility worth some EUR 200 000. Meanwhile, the webpage www.OnlyInLapland.com and the campaign's Facebook page with over 28 000 followers, have also proved extremely popular. In addition, media trips with journalists to the region have generated media visibility worth over EUR 2.2 million.
The project has also won various national awards for the most creative and innovative internet marketing campaign.
Overnight stays up 13.5 %
As a result of this exposure, international overnight stays in Lapland have increased by 13.5 %. The northern lights that featured in the winter campaign have also attracted Japanese tourists, which is a new emerging market for both regions.
The regions of Lapland and Koillismaa, as well as the Finnish tourism board and Finavia, which operates Finland's airports and air navigation systems are working together in the project. This ensures complete efficiency and synergy in the marketing campaigns.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Lapland – North of Finland” is EUR 5 800 000, of which the EU’s European Regional Development Fund is contributing EUR 2 900 000 from the Operational Programme “Northern Finland” for the 2007 to 2013 programming period.