Skip 2020 and step into the future – we broke the myth about how an image campaign in the public sector is supposed to go

Skip 2020 and step into the future – we broke the myth about how an image campaign in the public sector is supposed to go. Skip2020 broke the myth of how boldly a public sector organization could speak to its target group by conducting an international image campaign. With a strong digital focus and modern communication techniques we turned weaknesses into strengths. Reaching out to people from 35 countries, our video was viewed more than 101,000 times in two weeks.

THE PROBLEM: LACK OF IT SPECIALISTS

In Estonia, one of the most developed digital societies in the world, there is a shortage of nearly 8,000 IT specialists, but due to the pandemic, it is not possible to conduct large recruitment campaigns.

In Estonia, one of the most developed digital societies in the world, there is a shortage of nearly 8,000 IT specialists, but due to the pandemic, it is not possible to conduct large recruitment campaigns. IT professionals are a highly sought after target group, who are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get a hold of. It is even more difficult to do so while being a public institution. For the ‘Work in Estonia’ image campaign, the goal of Skip2020 was to maintain Estonia’s high-level reputation as a destination country for foreign IT talents, in a situation where usual recruitment campaigns had generally been postponed indefinitely.

STRATEGY

How to speak creatively to the target group – so that the strengths of Estonia as a destination country would stand out? We knew the context, performed social listening, and created a tongue-in-cheek-style campaign with a strong digital focus, that saw 2020 as an absurdly bizarre phenomenon, which could have a long-term effect on one’s health.

According to various theories, the best way to recover from the experienced events and move on, was to share or write down, what happened. That’s why we created a special video call and landing page as a central element of the campaign, inviting IT professionals from all over the world to share their “Possible only in 2020” story.

Favorite stories could be voted for and five authors, who received the most votes and were chosen by a jury, won free accommodation in beautiful places in Estonia to work remotely, live in the world’s most digital country with zero bureaucracy, and be surrounded by beautiful boredom. In a supporting PR campaign, we portrayed Estonia as a therapy nest, where one could hide from the debilitating effects of 2020. We sent out a press release and created content with features and memes in our own channels, as well as in international groups of digital nomads.

We knew the context, performed social listening, and created a tongue-in-cheek-style campaign with a strong digital focus, that saw 2020 as an absurdly bizarre phenomenon, which could have a long-term effect on one’s health.

We hit the right spot and got 124 people from 35 countries to write their stories. We also made a video, which was viewed more than 101,000 times in the first two weeks alone.

RESULTS

With Skip2020 we broke the myth of how boldly a public sector organization could speak to its target group with an international image campaign. We hit the right spot and got 124 people from 35 countries to write their stories. We also made a video, which was viewed more than 101,000 times in the first two weeks alone.

The campaign lasted from December 15, 2020, to December 31, 2020, and the total budget was 15,000 euros.

META’s partner / Creative Agency: Age McCann

Meta team

Ann Hiiemaa Partner and team lead