Vilnius municipality hires influencers to promote completed city projects

Vilnius City Municipality has enlisted five social media influencers, including prominent opinion leader Rolandas Mackevičius, to promote its newly launched website showcasing completed urban projects, LRT reports.

The campaign, aimed at increasing public awareness of the municipality’s work, will cost €6,800 (excluding VAT), with Mackevičius alone receiving €3,800 for creating Instagram content. The initiative seeks to direct residents to 1000darbu.lt, a platform consolidating information on all ongoing and completed city projects.

According to municipal representatives, the decision to collaborate with influencers stems from a strategy to reach broader and more diverse audiences beyond traditional communication channels. “The goal is for as many people as possible to find relevant information about the city’s development,” the municipality stated in a response to ELTA.

The selected influencers—Rūta Mikelkevičiūtė, “laumeieva,” Karolis Šimkus (“Karolis.earth”), Mackevičius, and the profile “Vilniaus ritmas”—were chosen based on their audience demographics and content focus. Mikelkevičiūtė, a TV host, was picked for her strong following among women aged 35–65, a group typically harder to engage. Meanwhile, “laumeieva” and “Vilniaus ritmas” were selected for their Vilnius-centric content, while Šimkus was included for his coverage of local news and attractions.

Mackevičius, whose services accounted for over half the campaign’s budget, was described as particularly effective due to his wide reach—over 342,000 followers—and high engagement rates. His recent Instagram video for the municipality garnered 309,000 views and more than 4,100 likes, demonstrating strong audience interaction.

The municipality emphasised that such collaborations are part of an ongoing effort to diversify communication methods and ensure key messages reach residents across different age groups and interests.