Marketing Helsinki’s cultural centres used to be fragmented, making it difficult to create real impact. I saw an opportunity to change that. By shifting the focus to the unexpected, we built a unifying strategy — one that turned diverse programming into a strength, not a challenge. The result? A cohesive campaign that made people stop, notice, and engage with their local cultural scene in a whole new way.

Background & Challenge

At the time, I was a designer in Helsinki’s Culture and Leisure Division, responsible for creating ads for a wide range of events. I saw the problem: every cultural centre was marketing independently, leading to fragmented communication and inconsistent visibility. When our team got a new leader, I started thinking about a better approach. I told her that both the cultural centres and the citizens of Helsinki deserved something more strategic — so I took it upon myself to develop a concept that would unify the centres under a shared marketing strategy and visual identity.

MY ROLE

Although I had no formal leadership role, I pushed the idea forward. I pitched it to my team leader, her superior, and my colleagues, convincing them that we could and should try a new approach. They recognized the issue but weren’t sure what to do about it — this was my opportunity to step up.

To make sure we were solving the right problem, our team met with the centre directors to hear their concerns. Their biggest challenge confirmed my thinking: limited budgets were being spread too thin across too many different events and audiences.

From there, I started shaping the new concept, bouncing ideas off colleagues — especially one who became my key partner in the project. Together, we built something that could change the way cultural centres in Helsinki communicated their events.

Strategy & Execution

Cultural centres in Helsinki offer a huge variety of programming — so much so that their marketing often felt scattered. Instead of seeing this diversity as a problem, I flipped the perspective: variety is the strength.

The idea was simple: highlight the surprising, curious, and wonderful things people could experience in their local cultural centre. Every ad followed the same structure: a “Quite Surprising” headline, an intriguing fact about the show or artist, and the practical event details.

I designed a cohesive visual style aligned with Helsinki’s brand identity and made sure it worked across all channels—outdoor posters, digital displays, social media, and even a printed tabloid. On top of that, I briefed our team members on the new approach and coached them on how to create ads using the Quite Surprising concept.

Outcome & Impact

• Clearer Communication & Engagement: The new concept streamlined event marketing, making it easier for Helsinki residents to discover cultural events.

• Increased Visibility & Recognition: The campaign stood out — individual ads received spontaneous positive feedback from citizens.

• Industry Recognition: A paid digital campaign with Sanomat was so successful that they wanted to use it as a case study for effective advertising.

• Stronger Cultural Brand Identity: The campaign reinforced the perception of Helsinki’s cultural centers as part of a cohesive, city-wide cultural experience.

• Internal Impact: The initiative energized our team, introduced new creative processes, and inspired a more strategic approach to advertising.

Key Takeawys

• Leadership is about action: Even without a formal leadership role, I identified a problem, proposed a solution, and drove it forward.

• A strong creative strategy can unify fragmented messaging: By shifting the focus from individual event marketing to a cohesive campaign, we turned diversity into a strength.

• Listening to stakeholders is crucial for a successful strategy: Engaging cultural center directors helped validate the concept and gain buy-in.

• A clear and consistent visual identity strengthens brand perception: Aligning the campaign with Helsinki’s brand identity helped create recognition and trust.

• Impact goes beyond metrics: The campaign not only improved visibility but also inspired new ways of thinking in our team.