One Year of Silence – a campaign the silenced the radio

Background

When you have a big emergency, you have to make a lot of noise. But sometimes you can make your voice heard most effectively by being quiet. This was the case with the #vuosihiljaisuutta “One Year of Silence” campaign, which Mellakka Helsinki planned and implemented together with the Finnish live music association LiveFIN ry:n.

The event sector had been severely hit by the corona pandemic and had to cope without any operational capabilities or future prospects. The first anniversary since the start of the year of silence caused by the restrictions was approaching, and something had to be done.

Solution

“One Year of Silence” was a four-day campaign that culminated with a moment of silence on Friday 12 March 21, exactly one year since the Government recommended banning gatherings of over 500 people.

The aim of the intensive campaign was to highlight the emergency and generate public support in order to influence the decision-makers behind the demands. The campaign had to reach the actors in the field, the general public and the decision-makers.

All the key contributors worked pro bono. With a media budget of 0 euros, the campaign concentrated in gaining earned media.

Concept

The concept needed to depict the issue and highlight the unjust situation. “One year of silence” summarized this simply and effectively, silence being the antithesis for live music.

The hashtag #vuosihiljaisuutta welcomed people to share their stories and own experiences. We contacted artists, festivals and concert venues beforehand to give them a heads-up of the campaign and invited them to join. Their posts quickly sparked more conversation.

The hashtag did not rule out other fields, and restaurateurs, for example, participated as well.

Moment of silence

By planning the campaign around one specific moment in time, we had a natural climax for the campaign that was easily transformed into an event. A moment of silence is a strong, emotional statement. Several radio stations from different media corporations joined our effort. To ensure this, we made a tactical choice to go with 14.05, the time when the Government banned gatherings, instead of 14.00, the time when the press conference started, so that the moment of silence would not overlap with news bulletins on the hour.

In addition to radio, the public was invited to join the moment of silence through Facebook event which quickly attracted nearly 10.000 participants.

Saving live music

The campaign was not just about drawing attention to the unjust situation but demanding action from the decision-makers. The clearly worded demands and solution proposals by LiveFIN were communicated consistently throughout the campaign from press releases to social media posts that were easy to copy and share.

The campaign united – quite historically – Finland’s commercial radio stations, when a moment of silence was observed on around 20 radio stations, most of which were nationwide. Aito Iskelmä, HitMix, Iskelmä, Me Naiset Radio, Radio Helsinki, Radio Nostalgia, Radio Nova, Radio Pooki, Suomipop, Radio Rock, Radio 957, SuomiRock and SuomiRäp, to name some.

In addition, the campaign attracted 67 print and digital media hits with a potential coverage of nearly five million, as well as numerous radio and tv interviews, among which a spot on morning television.

Over 3,000 public social media posts were published using the campaign’s #vuosihiljaisuutta hashtag, including many by Finland’s top artists, such as Antti Tuisku, Vesala, Maija Vilkkumaa, Suvi Teräsniska and Ellinoora, and political figures, such as the Minister of Science and Culture at the time, Annika Saarikko.

The potential reach of social media mentions during the four-day campaign grew to almost 7 million. The Facebook event for the moment of silence attracted nearly 10,000 participants and reached 300,000 people.

The campaign was highlighted during Parliamentary question time and promoted important discussions with MPs and other political decision-makers. The hashtag lives on and new posts are still being published using it.

• 67 print and digital media hits with a potential coverage of 4.7 million
• Earned media value 481,000€ (digital news media only)
• Numerous radio and tv interviews
• Over 3,000 public social media post using the hashtag #vuosihiljaisuutta with a potential coverage of almost 7 million
• The Facebook event for the moment of silence attracted nearly 10,000 participants and reached 300,000 people