Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs Puts the Spotlight on New Initiatives With Lumen5
Ella Jokinen , Visual Communication Designer, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Holds a Master's Degree in Graphic Design from the University of Lapland and has participated in multiple exhibitions and contests. As the ministry's Visual Communication Designer, Jokinen works out of their Helsinki location in the communications department, managing and enforcing its visual guidelines. She also creates new digital and print materials, supervises outsourced designs, and provides training for other employees.
ABOUT MFAF
Promoting the Security and Welfare of Finland and the Finns
Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs promotes the security and welfare of Finland and the Finns while striving for a fair and secure world. The ministry maintains relationships with governments and multiple organizations while operating at both a global and domestic level. Employing over 1100 staff globally and 876 domestically, it operates 94 diplomatic missions worldwide, including embassies, consulates, and service points. The ministry also manages Finland's travel services and promotes the country's image abroad. Through their development policy, MFAF helps in resolving global problems and international cooperation by managing initiatives around everything from sustainability to international trade. Finally, it directly serves Finland's economy, society, government leaders, Parliament, and citizens.
THE CHALLENGE
Lights, Camera, Edits
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs knew the best way to reach new audiences and heights was the lever the power of video in its marketing and communications strategy. Their challenge: create impactful videos AND at scale. Not just videos that could educate, but videos that could engage and captivate audiences. Ultimately, build awareness for their key initiatives with immediate results.
The reality is: video plays a significant role in the ministry's content strategy. Compelling, algorithm-friendly, and easy to understand, it was the perfect medium for the ministry's messaging. At least, it would be, if it wasn’t for one small problem.
Ask anyone who's dealt with video and they’ll tell you — approval processes are an absolute nightmare! Especially within a company so grand in size and global efforts. A single video can take weeks to produce as it ping pongs between stakeholders in an infinite feedback loop. Nobody’s got time for that! What they needed: to create regular, timely content for both internal and external channels - traditional video production was not an option!
"We needed a faster, more streamlined video creation process that aligned with existing workflows," explains Jokinen. “Fully relying on outsourcing was not a viable option. It was often too time-consuming, expensive, and frequently inconsistent with our visual identity. Creating a unique video template for different scenarios and use cases empowered us to increase our in-house video creation output and encouraged creativity. We have videos for multiple needs!”
Jokinen’s plate was becoming fuller than one’s dinner plate on Joulu (Christmas in Finnish) and sought out a tool with the capacity to quickly create multiple videos - without requiring lengthy approval processes. Jokinen knew her team needed a solution that was intuitive, usable by both visual designers and regular communications staff. Not to mention, the need for scalability.
"Our people work in multiple languages and timezones, and each embassy has its own events and initiatives. A tool managed by the communications department but usable by anyone was our best option," says Ella Jokinen, Visual Communications Designer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ministry’s operational size - not just in human power, but in multiple international embassies brought forward the utmost important requirement: the need to maintain a consistent visual identity across all embassies. With this in mind, the ministry prioritized seamless team management and separate workspaces in its search for the perfect solution.
Fully relying on outsourcing was not a viable option. It was often too time-consuming, expensive, and frequently inconsistent with our visual identity.
THE SOLUTION
Branded Templates Drive Serious Improvement
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs first heard of Lumen5 from another ministry that used the solution. When that ministry's director of communications joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he brought it to the table as a viable option. Having already demo-ed multiple alternatives — and found all lacking — Jokinen and a colleague demoed Lumen5 to their head of web communications. Safe to say, it was the perfect fit!
And once it was determined the platform met its security and branding requirements, the ministry purchased licenses for both its communications department and six major embassies.
"Lumen5 had nearly everything we were looking for and well within our financial means. Communication from their team was also excellent, and they worked closely with us in spite of the time difference," says Ella Jokinen, Visual Communications Designer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
There were many reasons why the Ministry for Foreign Affairs fell in love with Lumen5. It helped the Ministry overcome geographic boundaries and the multi-location problem, helping keep its teams connected wherever they are in the world. They also loved the intuitiveness of the drag-and-drop interface, pre-built branded templates, and a comprehensive library of stock footage, video, and imagery.
"Lumen5 as a whole is excellent!" says Jokinen. "Working with the company is like being both a customer and a collaborator. We've not only developed our visuals and communications practices, but also have the tools to realize them."
Lumen5 also helped the Ministry create their own branded templates to accelerate the video creation process. This allows users to create their own custom templates with elements that include layout, color schemes, bumpers, and branding. The platform also provides comprehensive editor and administrator options, including the ability to delegate videos to other users. Finally, Lumen5 supports multiple download formats, making it easy to fit a video to any media channel.
"Because we can make an entire video in one place, we've greatly increased our video production. Team features such as editor and administrator roles are also quite useful, allowing us to keep better track of how people use videos and visuals and make our content better and more coherent in the future," says Ella Jokinen, Visual Communications Designer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Lumen5 had nearly everything we were looking for and well within our financial means. Communication from their team was also excellent, and they worked closely with us in spite of the time difference.
Full Branded Support Every Step of the Way
During onboarding, Lumen5's Templates team worked closely with Jokinen to update and optimize the ministry's visual guidelines for video content. The company helped her determine how to configure the platform for multiple user groups with different visual needs, focusing on making the process as fluent and friendly as possible.
Today, Lumen5 provides regular instructional meetings about updates and new features while also paying close attention to the user experience. "Lumen5 offered great feedback on my thoughts and ideas, and they were incredibly understanding of the ministry's needs. It's easy to work with them, and I'm not afraid to mention if something's wrong because I know they will take care of it. The platform is constantly evolving and improving," says Ella Jokinen , Visual Communications Designer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It's easy to work with Lumen5, and I'm not afraid to mention if something's wrong because I know they will take care of it. The platform is constantly evolving and improving.
THE RESULT
50 videos with multiple languages
Created in 1 month
2x
Increase in content creation
3125%
Increase in views on one video
Over 200 videos
Created in 6 months
Creating Professional Multi-Lingual Videos at Scale
With Lumen5, Finland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has significantly increased its rate of video production through streamlined approvals and intuitive video creation. Since deployment, its users have created over 200 videos in 6 months. One of the first English videos created with the platform received over 30 times more visibility on Twitter compared to previous content, reaching over a total of 180,000 views in the first 24 hours after distribution.
The Ministry continues to leverage branded templates to create impactful and informative videos at scale. These branded templates make it incredibly easy for the Ministry’s teams to turn ideas into ready-to–publish videos in hours, not weeks. Not to mention, to publish videos in multiple languages: English, Finnish, and Swedish.
"Previously, our videos were mainly for event documentation, speeches, or greetings," says Jokinen. "Lumen5 has made it easier for embassies and the entire communications department to enrich their content by creating videos on current topics. Editing is also considerably more efficient and people don't need other applications or help from a graphic designer to adhere to our visual identity."
More recently, the ministry used Lumen5 to create four separate multi-lingual videos about Finland's decision to join NATO, which one video had received over a total of 10 000 views, 106 retweets, and over 350 likes. Other initiatives supported by video content include more serious topics, such as climate issues, Finland’s support to countries in crisis, and humanitarian situations, such as the war in Yemen. However, videos are also made to recap events such as their annual high-level week videos or even more holidays and celebrations, such as Pride month.
"Lumen5 has changed how our team thinks," Jokinen concludes. "People want to make things pop, and they've realized it's easier to do that with video. Currently, we're working to deploy the tool to more embassies, holding in-house training with the eventual goal of tackling larger themes and repurposing old content."
Videos by MFA
Finland has been one of NATO's most active partners. In 2014, Finland became an Enhanced Opportunities Partner. Finland's membership will strengthen NATO's global efforts to promote stability and to fight terrorism.
The war in #Yemen has lasted 8 years, making it the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. About 23 million people need humanitarian help. Finland provided 3.75 MEUR in humanitarian assistance in 2022. We support the efforts to achieve peace in Yemen.