Mystery Trips

Creative idea

Matkahuolto, Finland’s national bus service, faced a clear challenge: while widely used, it was largely irrelevant to Gen Z, seen as purely functional and lacking excitement. Mystery Trips reimagined a bus ticket as a digital experience of anticipation for this audience. Using existing e-commerce and mobile technologies in a radically new way, we designed for curiosity instead of clarity. The booking platform withheld the destination, revealing only time and theme, while automated communications and real-time triggers built suspense. Social sharing amplified the unknown, turning each ticket into content and transforming a routine purchase into a participatory, experience-driven journey.

Brand name: Matkahuolto
Advertiser / client: Matkahuolto
Product / service: Domestic bus travel
Campaign name: Mystery Trips
Agency network: INDEPENDENT AGENCY
Agency: hasan & partners, Helsinki
Media agency: Dentsu Finland
Agency chief executive officer: Riku Vassinen
Chief creative officer: Riku Vassinen
Art director: Antti Kaarto
Designer: Johanna Puolakka, Elli Tervo
Account director (agency): Johanna Vuorensola, Ida Nuortie
Additional company: Petri Österlund