The Great Society Shines Spotlight on Fiskars Village with New Web Video Strategy
The Great Society, a Portland, Ore.-based brand-building company, has unveiled the first three installments in the Fiskars Cinema Series. The documentary short films were devised to bring fresh relevance to a nearly 360-year-old company and feature the people, scenery and stories that make up one of the world’s most spectacular – and least known – artist communities: Fiskars Village, Finland. The “webisodes” can be currently viewed at www.FiskarsCinemaSeries.com.
Portland, OR, April 23, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Sparkling documentaries enhance brand engagement for 360-year-old company.
Today, The Great Society, a Portland, Ore.-based brand-building company, unveiled the first three installments in the Fiskars Cinema Series. The documentary short films were devised to bring fresh relevance to a nearly 360-year-old company and feature the people, scenery and stories that make up one of the world’s most spectacular – and least known – artist communities: Fiskars Village, Finland. The “webisodes” can be currently viewed at www.FiskarsCinemaSeries.com.
Fiskars Village, a company town founded in 1649, is a treasure trove of compelling brand stories. Not only is the Village vital to the company‘s heritage, it also represents the physical manifestation of Fiskars’ brand promise to support creativity and self-expression. The Great Society recommended the Fiskars Cinema Series as one platform to migrate consumers from simple awareness of Fiskars’ iconic orange-handled scissors to a deeper, more emotion-based relationship. The Great Society led all aspects of consumer research, strategy, creative development and production for the films and the online “microsite” that houses them.
“Based on my previous work with The Great Society team in turning around the Gerber Legendary Blades business, I knew they would capture the true essence of the brand in a compelling way,” said Chad Vincent, Chief Branding Officer for Fiskars globally and President of Fiskars Craft. “The skill and care with which these films and the microsite were made will change the way the world views our company and provide a great source of pride for our global staff.”
The videos were shot in High-Definition (HD) digital on location over a period of three weeks by The Great Society. The first installment, “From Iron to Art: The Rebirth of a Company Town,” chronicles the creation and recent renaissance of Fiskars Village, located 40 minutes west of Helsinki in southern Finland. The second webisode, “Passion and the Power of Self-Expression: The Artisans of Fiskars Village,” offers insight into the lives and motivations of several Village artists and artisans spanning a variety of media. “Olavi Linden: Portrait of a Creative Spirit,” the final piece in this initial collection of films, provides a compelling profile of an eccentric artist and inventor. Linden is also the lead designer for the Fiskars Gardening Product Division and the human embodiment of the brand promise.
“Marketing is really nothing more than storytelling. When you have such outstanding material to work with, sometimes you just have to get out of the way and let the stories tell themselves,” said Scott Cowan, President of The Great Society. “We wanted to create an immersive experience for fans of the brand – one that will foster entirely new conversations about, and with, Fiskars.”
Telling brand stories using internet video represents an emerging trend in viral marketing employed recently by companies such as Budweiser, Hitachi, Jeep and others. Web video is an ideal platform for projects like the Fiskars Cinema Series due to its inherent cost-efficiencies, as well as its potential to be shared virally among appropriate audiences. The Great Society, formed in 2007, has taken the lead among West Coast communications companies to leverage new media tactics to create provocative brand experiences across multiple media platforms.
This initial set of films will be followed by subsequent rounds of new material. Planning for Phase 2 is currently under way. In addition to their availability on the microsite, the films will be seeded among Influencers and available for viewing on various video sharing websites like www.YouTube.com.
About The Great Society
The Great Society is a bit of a mutt – part brand consultancy, part advertising agency, part graphic design shop – that is built to provide integrated solutions to problems both large and small. The Great Society’s award-winning expertise is evident in past work for Regence BlueCross BlueShield, Fiskars, Brooks Sports and the Chalkboard Project. More information is available online at www.GreatSociety.com.
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Today, The Great Society, a Portland, Ore.-based brand-building company, unveiled the first three installments in the Fiskars Cinema Series. The documentary short films were devised to bring fresh relevance to a nearly 360-year-old company and feature the people, scenery and stories that make up one of the world’s most spectacular – and least known – artist communities: Fiskars Village, Finland. The “webisodes” can be currently viewed at www.FiskarsCinemaSeries.com.
Fiskars Village, a company town founded in 1649, is a treasure trove of compelling brand stories. Not only is the Village vital to the company‘s heritage, it also represents the physical manifestation of Fiskars’ brand promise to support creativity and self-expression. The Great Society recommended the Fiskars Cinema Series as one platform to migrate consumers from simple awareness of Fiskars’ iconic orange-handled scissors to a deeper, more emotion-based relationship. The Great Society led all aspects of consumer research, strategy, creative development and production for the films and the online “microsite” that houses them.
“Based on my previous work with The Great Society team in turning around the Gerber Legendary Blades business, I knew they would capture the true essence of the brand in a compelling way,” said Chad Vincent, Chief Branding Officer for Fiskars globally and President of Fiskars Craft. “The skill and care with which these films and the microsite were made will change the way the world views our company and provide a great source of pride for our global staff.”
The videos were shot in High-Definition (HD) digital on location over a period of three weeks by The Great Society. The first installment, “From Iron to Art: The Rebirth of a Company Town,” chronicles the creation and recent renaissance of Fiskars Village, located 40 minutes west of Helsinki in southern Finland. The second webisode, “Passion and the Power of Self-Expression: The Artisans of Fiskars Village,” offers insight into the lives and motivations of several Village artists and artisans spanning a variety of media. “Olavi Linden: Portrait of a Creative Spirit,” the final piece in this initial collection of films, provides a compelling profile of an eccentric artist and inventor. Linden is also the lead designer for the Fiskars Gardening Product Division and the human embodiment of the brand promise.
“Marketing is really nothing more than storytelling. When you have such outstanding material to work with, sometimes you just have to get out of the way and let the stories tell themselves,” said Scott Cowan, President of The Great Society. “We wanted to create an immersive experience for fans of the brand – one that will foster entirely new conversations about, and with, Fiskars.”
Telling brand stories using internet video represents an emerging trend in viral marketing employed recently by companies such as Budweiser, Hitachi, Jeep and others. Web video is an ideal platform for projects like the Fiskars Cinema Series due to its inherent cost-efficiencies, as well as its potential to be shared virally among appropriate audiences. The Great Society, formed in 2007, has taken the lead among West Coast communications companies to leverage new media tactics to create provocative brand experiences across multiple media platforms.
This initial set of films will be followed by subsequent rounds of new material. Planning for Phase 2 is currently under way. In addition to their availability on the microsite, the films will be seeded among Influencers and available for viewing on various video sharing websites like www.YouTube.com.
About The Great Society
The Great Society is a bit of a mutt – part brand consultancy, part advertising agency, part graphic design shop – that is built to provide integrated solutions to problems both large and small. The Great Society’s award-winning expertise is evident in past work for Regence BlueCross BlueShield, Fiskars, Brooks Sports and the Chalkboard Project. More information is available online at www.GreatSociety.com.
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Contact
The Great Society
Karamy Muessig
503-750-9041
www.greatsociety.com/
Karamy Muessig
503-750-9041
www.greatsociety.com/
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