Heureka
Versatile marketing communications to turn an exhibition with an important message into a phenomenon.
The client
Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre, introduces the public to science and technology engagingly and interactively. Visitors can experience the joy of discovery through spectacular exhibitions, planetarium films, educational programs, and events. Heureka is one of Finland’s most popular recreational centers, attracting an average of nearly 300,000 visitors each year. Heureka’s vision is to offer a unique way to experience, learn and get excited about science.
The challenge
The exhibition Facing Disaster, drew from resilience and natural disasters, and it was launched in the middle of the corona pandemic. Regardless, the commercial goal was to get 500,000 visitors, making the exhibition Heureka’s most visited ever. The brand goal was to attract a broader target audience to the production and make Heureka enjoyable to them as well. In addition to groups of families with children and students, ordinary city dwellers and corporations were the targets. The goal was to tell the importance of resilience excitingly so that the message would remain favorable for children.
The solution
Strategy work and planning were done in a co-design spirit in close cooperation with the Heureka team. It was clear that marketing would focus on the feeling of empowerment and learning new because, as usual in Heureka, the exhibition invited visitors to participate in cracking challenges.
The exhibition was named Facing Disaster, which reflects the perspective of putting a human in the center of events. It also tells about the physical setup inside the exhibition – visitors can feel the forces of nature around them inside the immersion rooms.
The key message was “An experiential exhibition about the forces of nature – and your forces”, which involves the statement that the exhibition is an impressive, immersive experience about the forces of nature. Through the tasks in the exhibition, you learn about cooperation and perhaps something new about yourself. The creative solution was to visually describe the magnificent forces of nature seen in the exhibition’s immersion rooms and the human experience in their midst.
We designed a multi-stage road map for the long duration of the exhibition, aiming to create awareness, arouse interest with creative media solutions, and direct the purchase in the right spots. The main focus of advertising was on digital and outdoor advertising. The multi-channel plan included actions from TV advertising to brand partnerships and from influencer marketing to advergames.
The results
Considering that the exhibition was launched during covid-19, the number of visitors was good. Marketing communications succeeded in raising awareness in various target groups. It was perceived as understandable and evoked interest in visiting the exhibition.
For example, according to the campaign measurement, as a result of the campaign aimed at families with children conducted in February 2022, more than half of the target group respondents remembered the communication related to Heureka, and the advertising increased interest in visiting Heureka. The advertising’s positive effect on the brand image created a sense that stood out from the rest.
The meaning
The Facing Disaster exhibition aimed to educate Finns about the importance of resilience. The topic is timely; for instance, extreme weather phenomena are becoming more common due to climate change. Resilience took on a new meaning in the spring of 2022, when Heureka was one of the actors who offered a way to look at one’s own ability to survive and the flexibility of the mind through the Facing Disasters exhibition. Marketing was meant to reflect a typical Heureka way of handling topics – through science, but in common sense and positive way, and above all through trust and cooperation.
