This 'Snow Media' Service Turns Snow into Money to Protect Winters in Finland

To raise funds, Protect Our Winters Finland (POW) will turn snowy spaces into money by selling it. The environmental NGO is turning snow into media and selling it as a media to selected brands and companies with a new Snow Media concept. All the profit goes back to winter through POW, an organisation fighting climate change to protect our winters. 

"The idea is eye-opening: we commercialise winter to save it from the climate crisis. We wanted to deliver a strong and touching message of defending winters in a clever way. We’re creating a media which is owned by winter – so of course the profits go to protecting winters," says Kalle Wallin, creative director of the agency NORD DDB Helsinki. 

Finnish DOOH marketing company Mediateko, another key player in the project, is exited. 

"The goal of advertising is to influence the target group's thinking and behaviour in a positive way for the advertiser. This insightful innovation offers excellent opportunities for this. Mediateko enables solutions for advertisers in Finnish ski resorts and is passionately involved in POW Finland's activities to ensure the vitality of Finnish winters in the future, comments Sampsa Savolainen, CEO of Mediateko Oy. 

Artistic and impressive snow advertising will be seen next to tall buildings, popular winter trails and ski centres where people can see the artwork from above. All of the works will be documented and further used in social media, digital advertising platforms and DOOH. The first part of the campaign started this spring, but the goal is to get more brands and consumers involved during the winter 2024–2025. Of course, depending on the amount of snow and the state of the upcoming winter, which are both already affected by climate change. 

"The first client for this project is naturally Protect Our Winters itself as we really want to give POW and its messages the spotlight it deserves," says Kalle Wallin from NORD  DDB. 

The first commercial client is Lindström who wants to show their values with the artistic advertisement. 

"Responsibility is one of our core values, our business model is based on the circular economy. As a Finnish company, we want to draw attention to climate change and its  effects on winters. We joined because we wanted to fearlessly try something new and because preserving nature’s biodiversity is crucial to us", says Minna Heinonen, head of  marketing from Lindström.

"We are thrilled to finally see this project in the daylight and to see the first commercial company to join and donate through this project. In the heart of Lindström operations there is caring, not only for people, but for working clothes as well, and longevity of the clothing and material should be the course in our society," says Noora Vihervaara, general manager of POW Finland. 

The Snow Media is available for brands acting for a better future and taking genuine action on our climate. As winter has melted away, outdoor media companies and buyers are already beginning to book media spaces for the next winter, 2024. 

"We are expecting this form of unique marketing to be used for good in general. Meaning this is not the space for greenwashing nor fossil fuel based businesses and brands that  should not be advertised anywhere anymore," says Noora Vihervaara.