Finland is a country that many people have heard of, but yet know nothing about. Even with Nokia, Finland’s pride and joy, Nokia has never sought to advertise its Finnish roots because it has not been seen as advantageous for them and many people associate Nokia more with Japan, rather than Finland. (Rantanen, E. 2008) Finland today therefore, is in a great position to brand itself and promote its distinctive identity, not only by promoting Nokia as Finnish, but because research conducted by Teemu Moilanen and Seppo Rainisto in their book Building Finland’s Country Brand (2008) shows that even though Finland is not very well known in the world, people’s opinions about it are still hugely positive. That is why Finland needs a consistent and coherent image, which it can project abroad. (Current State of Finland’s Brand, 2010) In 2008, Finland started its own Brand Committee to figure out the Finnish ‘brand’, and they were instructed by ‘Competitive Identity’ master Simon Anholt. (Finnish Nation Branding Workgroup unveils Brand Finland Strategy, 2010) So what exactly did they come up with for Brand Finland?
Simon Anholt instructed the Finnish Brand Committee to think about the question of ‘What can we do, in order for other countries to need us?’ (Ängeslevä, P. 2010) The Report of the Finnish Brand Committee was published in 2010 starting with the words ‘Finland is already the best country in the world’. (Ibid.) The report highlights Finland’s strengths that it should use, mainly its ‘Functionality: Finland Works, Water: Drink Finland and Education: Finland gives you a lesson’ but summarizes together the main goal, which is to make Finland the ‘global problem-solver’. (Finnish Nation Branding Workgroup unveils Brand Finland Strategy, 2010) To be able to achieve this, the Finnish brand relies heavily on the character of Finnish people, the shyness and quietness, but extremely hardworking and driven to achieve results. (Current State of Finland’s Brand, 2010) Simon Anholt even summarized it in two slogans, ‘If you want results, get a Finn’ and ‘No talking, but action’. (Ängeslevä, P. 2010)
In 2010, the Country Brand Index showed that Finland was moving up on the list, now being in the 16th position from previously holding the 28th position, which was obviously good news for everyone working on Brand Finland. (New Insights on Finland’s Country Branding Program, 2010) Finland’s country branding initiative therefore seems to have been successful, especially when looking at the Country Brand Index. As far as success in being the ‘global problem-solver’, it remains to be seen. The Finnish ‘brand’ has definitely truly relied on the character of its people, and the image that is to be projected definitely ‘lies close to the country’s DNA’ and is surely something that all Finnish people can relate to. (Ibid.)
References:
- Current State of Finland’s Brand (2010) TehtavaSuomelle.fi, November, 25. Available from: http://www.tehtavasuomelle.fi/documents/TS_Current_State_of_Finlands_Brand_A4_EN.pdf Accessed: 8.3.2011
- Finnish Nation Branding Workgroup unveils Brand Finland Strategy (2010) NationBranding.info, November 27. Available from: http://nation.branding.info/2010/11/27/finland-nation-branding-strategy-unveiled/ Accessed: 24.2.2011
- Finnish-Dutch Trade Guild: New Insights on Finland’s Country Branding Program (2010) NationBranding.info, February, 10. Available from: http://nation-branding.info/2010/02/10/finland-country-branding-program/ Accessed: 8.3.2011
- Rantanen, Esko (2008) Suomi-brändi on ihan metsässä. Talouselämä, September 22. Available from: http://www.talouselama.fi/uutiset/article160899.ece Accessed: 24.2.2011
- Ängeslevä, Päivi (2010) Tässäkö Suomen brändi? Vertaa Työryhmän Tuloksia ja brändigurun näkemyksiä. Suomen Kuvalehti, November 25. Available from: http://suomenkuvalehti.fi/jutut/kotimaa/tassako-suomen-brandi-vertaa-tyoryhman-tuloksia-ja-brandigurun-nakemyksia Accessed: 8.3.2011
I started asking a few people whether they knew where Nokia was from - nobody did.. I think the story of Finland demonstrates that branding can be very effective when a country is "under-branded", e.g. not sufficiently known given its attributes and good policies.
ReplyDeleteYour blog also shows how a branding strategy can have an effect not just to the outside world, but also to the people in the country - possibly by "uniting" them behind the brand?
Love the slogan: "If you want results, get a Fin" - although that also demonstrates one of the issues with nation branding: could you not say that about other very efficient countries? Just one of the issues we have with so many countries in the world, some of which have very similar characteristics. Are brands really able to distinguish a country from the rest?
It is and remains a confusing topic filled with questions...