Summer events and festivals are an opportunity for authentic encounters with Finnish consumers

The Finnish winter is long and harsh, but when summer arrives, the entire nation comes alive. Summer events and festivals provide the perfect setting for brands to catch Finns at their most joyful and create lasting memories and impressions. 

Festivals are an integral part of the Finnish summer. According to LiveFIN ry, there were 462 festivals in Finland in summer 2024, with 2.8 million visits in total. 

“We have everything from rock to folk music and opera to rap parties. The winter makes it hard to organise big events, but in the summer, there’s at least one in every town and village,” illustrates Olavi Kajantie, Business Manager, Events from Sanoma. 

The popularity of domestic music in Finland drives ticket sales. All ten songs and albums on Spotify’s Top 10 lists in 2024 were by Finnish artists. It’s a telling fact that Taylor Swift was the only non-Finnish artist to make it among the Top 10 most streamed artists in Finland. 

“Finnish music is a huge part of our musical landscape. As with advertising, Finns relate to songs sung in their own languages.” 

Sanoma’s Nelonen Media Live produces 13 summer festivals that attract a wide range of people across demographics. The titles include well-known and loved festivals such as Rockfest, Suomipop Festivaali, Tikkurila Festivaali, Jysäri and Raumanmeren Juhannus. 

Making meaningful memories in real life 

For a brand, a festival partnership is an excellent way to connect with Finns. 

“A direct contact between a brand and a consumer in a real-life setting, with no interfering technology, leaves a mark. Events create quality contacts,” Kajantie points out. 

Sanoma is on a mission to bring meaningful moments and encounters to the forefront of festival production. For brands, this means putting the product aside for a minute and focusing on presence and service. 

“Festivalgoers often appreciate an opportunity to relax and take a breath, and a space for that is an excellent example of what a brand could offer. Instead of selling anything, you can create a lasting impression by being there when a need arises.” 

The key is to provide an experience and match the environment. Create something fun and memorable – a glitter station or a jewellery workshop in your brand colours, for example. 

“This is something that appeals to Gen Z, too. When asked, they claim they don’t want to be advertised to, but their media environment is filled with commercial messaging. The trick is, advertising needs to happen in a context, and festivals and events provide just that,” Kajantie says. 

Expand your campaign across media 

The best results come from including an event as a part of a bigger campaign that spans a variety of media. On top of handling festival production, Sanoma offers a wide range of media and expertise that makes it simple to plan a comprehensive campaign. Try some of these tricks: 

Pair an ad campaign on radio with visibility at a music festival. Many of Sanoma’s festivals have a partnering radio station. 

“A radio campaign that includes a ticket giveaway is an incredibly effective means of collecting data,” Kajantie says. 

Radio is summer media, as our survey reveals A quarter of Finns listen to the radio more during the summer, according to the Summer of Audio 2025 (Audion kesä 2025). 

Good vibes shared through social media generate buzz outside the festival gates, too. Take popular Finnish influencers on board and make sure to create content on the spot. 

“A festival is a perfect place for content creation as people are genuinely happy and willing to appear alongside the brand with smiles on their faces. The joy is authentic, not staged,” Kajantie explains. 

Keep the message and tone of voice consistent across media environments. The creative professionals of Sanoma Content Studio can help you there. 

When in contact with your target group, use the opportunity to gather data. After the event, you can catch your audience in Sanoma’s digital media. 

Ready to kickstart your campaign? Contact us!