The MyStory project focused on supporting small scale tourism companies along Northern Lights Route in becoming more visible by using storytelling as a marketing tool. The project was a cooperation between stakeholders from Finland, Norway and Sweden as part of the Interreg Nord program.
During the MyStory project, small tourism companies from the Northern Lights Route area learned how to create their very own company core story from the cultural heritage that is the heart and centre of their tours, as well as how to digitize this story and promote it online. The full program was then collected into detailed, interactive guidelines and published online. These guidelines are publicly available resources that give an easy to follow, step-by-step introduction to building and communicating a story-based brand identity for tourism entrepreneurs.
Additional resources and webinar recordings on a wide variety of topics in the fields of digital storytelling, brand development, and content marketing can be accessed on the project’s public YouTube channel.
Digital Guidelines My Story – Along the Northern Lights Route
The MyStory project also resulted in the creation of a shared vision and developmental road map for the Northern Lights Route Area by stakeholders from all three participating countries. The vision work has been published in three languages:
Finnish Norwegian Swedish
Other project activities were:
- Cross-border support program (incl. workshops and consulting) for selected companies in the northernmost parts of Finland, Norway and Sweden,
- Development of digital pilots, which demonstrate examples of tools for creating an interactive digital content and highlighting the local culture of the Northern Lights Route area.
Digital Pilots
The project involves partners from both Finland and Norway. Local tourism organizations and municipalities along the route are playing an important role.
The MyStory project was based on the previously completed Our Stories project and aimed to be the next step towards supporting the small-scale companies in the field of tourism. The idea of continuing the work with stories and story-design, was reinforced in the fall 2019, when Our Stories received the Arctic Awards.
Digitalization and the growth of tourism are global megatrends, which the local tourism operators in Tornio Valley and Northern Norway areas are seizing. New digital implementations are highlighting cultural heritage and stories, as well as to show the area’s special features to local community and tourists.
Financier: Interreg Nord, Regional Council of Lapland, Tornio Valley Council, Innovation Norway, Troms and Finnmark County and SkatteFUNN.
Priority: Entrepreneurship
Partners: Lapland University of Applied Sciences, University of Turku Future Research Institute, Pellon Kehitys Oy and Halti Business Garden.
Total budget: 827 622 EUR
Project time: 1.2.2020 – 30.9.2022
