#EstonianWay – a powerful tourism campaign with a twist

Tourists know Estonia primarily by its medieval Old Town; fewer people know what else Estonia has to offer. To take on this challenge, Visit Estonia created the #EstonianWay campaign, which introduces the country through seemingly regular everyday activities with an added Estonian twist.

The aim of the campaign is to increase the awareness of regular tourists of the specialities and unique factors of Estonia as a travel destination, doing so with the help of influencers, incl. journalists, social media influencers and messages created by well-known people, as well as by incorporating entertaining and informative multimedia solutions.

International influencers introducing Estonia

Usually influencers are involved in some parts of a campaign; however, the Visit Estonia created a campaign powered entirely by influencers as in 2018, 45 famous instagrammers, journalists, youtubers, bloggers, musicians and other influential people were invited to Estonia to experience traditional travel activities with an Estonian twist. Or in other words – to do it the Estonian way. The activities included island hopping by using ice roads, diving between the houses of Rummu or taking in a musical performance in the middle of a forest. Everything came with an Estonian twist.

The first step of the campaign was to provide a truly unforgettable experience to influencers by providing special activities in the Estonian way. Visit Estonia used the abundance of emotions created by the activities to create several mini campaigns. To do so, video and photographic material from the famous travellers was used to compile advertisements introducing Estonia. The coverage and travel recommendations resulting from the content reached online, print, TV, radio and social media channels related to the visitors. Estonia promoted influencers and influencers promoted Estonia. The reciprocal marketing activities worked like clockwork, everyone reaped benefits and no-one suffered any losses.

A meeting of honorary consuls the Estonian way

You might remember that in the summer of 2018, honorary consuls from around the world met in Estonia and Visit Estonia decided to introduce the #EstonianWay campaign to them, as well as to ask for input for the campaign. Staying true to the central message of doing things the Estonian way, the workshop itself was organised in very Estonian settings – in a bog.

The visitors were delighted with delicacies straight from the nature, after which they were asked to brainstorm ideas on what could be true Estonian experiences worthy of sharing. A total of 57 original ideas and directions were collected that day, many of which have been brought to life by today.

Outcomes of the campaign

By now, 48 nationwide trips have been organised in Estonia, introducing a whopping 243 local tourism attractions and enterprises to the world. Even though the campaign is only at its halfway mark, it has already reached about 90 million people in 102 countries, received 2.1 million video views and 419,000 reactions from potential visitors. The #EstonianWay hashtag has been used on social media over 1,600 times.

An NHL hockey legend from Finland, a Telegraph journalist from Great Britain, a Russian TV diva, a French Michelin star chef, a German TV journalist, Swedish reality TV star, Latvia's most famous pop band, an instagrammer with 2.7 million followers globally, Czech travel vloggers, a Brazilian TV host – a total of 48 guests to date have taken Estonia and the local special experiences to about 90 million people.

Noteworthy outlets that have covered the events of the campaign include the Evening Standard, Yahoo News UK, The Telegraph, Iltalehti, Swedish TV4, Nyheter24, Aftonbladet, ARD/3Sat, ZEIT, CGTN, Skaties.lv, Vesti, Fantástico – a total of several dozen publications and broadcasts.

In addition, this week the #EstonianWay campaign was announced as a finalist in 6 different categories in the Golden Egg 2019 creative festival. Winners will be announced at the Golden Egg gala event this Friday, 15th of March!

Get in on the action and share experiences the Estonian way on your channels as well: estonianway.com!