Laku in the semi-finals of the Finnish Municipal Marketing Championships

Kouvola's Lakritsi and the City of Kouvola's New Start in Kouvola campaign is competing for the win in the Finnish Municipal Marketing Championships. The campaign has made it to the semi-finals and is among the top 13. The winners will be announced on 15 September at the Municipal Market in Helsinki.

Kouvola Licorice and the City of Kouvola jointly implemented a marketing campaign in the summer of 2020, with the aim of offering one person both an apartment and a job in Kouvola. The campaign's overarching theme was doing good, which was seen as a starting point that was well suited to the year 2020, which was characterized by the corona pandemic, layoffs and unemployment. It was time to do good deeds to counterbalance the negative discussion.

Kouvola's good deeds began with setting a Guinness World Record for the world's largest bag of liquorice. The K-Citymarket Järvenpää shopkeeper re-bagged the liquorice from the record bag together with a local youth sports club and used the sales proceeds together with liquorice manufacturer Timo Nisula to buy an apartment in Kuusankoski. The apartment was renovated and decorated together with local operators to prepare it for the new Kouvola resident.

– We thought it was important to do something concrete for one person in the midst of the corona crisis and create a good mood. It was great that in addition to the city, many companies were enthusiastic about the idea and joined in implementing this project, says lacquer manufacturer Timo Nisula about the background of the campaign.

The New Start in Kouvola campaign was primarily about giving one person the opportunity to change the direction of their life. The campaign had a concrete impact on the situation of the person who had found a job and an apartment and moved to Kouvola. The campaign also achieved extensive media attention, which was able to influence the tone of the general discussion about Kouvola. The campaign was visible in Kymen Sanomat, Etelä-Saimaa, Ilkka-Pohjalainen, social media and its own website, among others.

The campaign was selected from 46 entries to be among the top 13 to compete for the finals of the Finnish Municipal Marketing Championship. According to the Association of Local and Regional Authorities, municipal marketing is developing more strongly into an activity that supports and promotes strategy. Many of the entries involved residents and collaborated with area businesses and stakeholders. The winners will be announced on 15 September at the Municipal Market in Helsinki.

– What was exceptional about the campaign’s starting point was that the initiative was taken by a local company that asked the city to join. I believe that the positive media visibility generated by Kouvola’s unbeatable offer strengthened the local pride of the people of Kouvola. Kouvola’s reputation improved, says Kirsi Vainio, Communications and Marketing Manager from the City of Kouvola.

You can learn more about the New Beginning in Kouvola campaign in the video below: