Last Saturday we reported on the release of the ‘Mission for Finland’ nation branding report. This 365 pages document compiles two years of hard work (the Finnish country-branding delegation was created in September 2008) by a taskforce chaired by former Nokia CEO Jorma Ollila and appointed to draft a nation branding strategy for Finland.
The report explores Finland’s strengths and aspects that could set the Nordic country apart and, as the authors themselves say, “would convince the world to turn to us more often and more effectively”.
The working group, whose strategic discussions were led by British specialist Simon Anholt, suggests many ideas, such as that organic production should account for at least one half of Finland’s overall agricultural production by the year 2030, that Finland’s lake water should be purified and made drinkable, that Finland should establish a peace mediation convention dedicated to Nobel laureate Martti Ahtisaari or that Finland should turn silence into a strong brand association.
This kind of challenges are ‘missions’ for the Nordic country. But Finland’s nation branding strategy also sets a mission for all Finns. The report calls on all Finns to participate, from grandparents passing on manual crafting skills, chefs developing dishes based on undervalued local fish, and the foreign ministry implementing an annual “peace negotiation day” inspired by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari.
The nation branding group report lays out over 50 tasks for different players: ministries, companies, local governments and organisations as well as private individuals. According to Ollila, while the group was working on its report, ordinary people often asked what they can do. “One grandmother came and asked what she could do. There are things in the report for grandmothers to do, too,” says Ollila.
The committee took out a full-page advertisements in 30 newspapers imploring Finns to read the report and take the tasks to heart.
If you’re curious about the tasks included, here is the complete list of missions sketched at the ‘Mission for Finland’ report:
- 1. Mission for Finnish businesses:
SOLVE A GLOBAL PROBLEM AND TURN IT INTO A GOOD BUSINESS - 2. Mission for the Ministry of Education and Culture:
THE EDUCATIONAL LEVEL OF IMMIGRANTS TO BE RAISED TO THE OVERALL LEVEL, IMMIGRANTS TO BE TRAINED AS TEACHERS - 3. Mission for schools:
A DAY OF RECONCILIATION - 4. Mission for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs:
THE AHTISAARI CONVENTION - 5. Mission for the Ministry of Justice:
DECISION-MAKING TOOL FOR THE WIKI-DEMOCRACY OF THE 100-YEARS-OLD FINLAND - 6. Mission for the state and local authorities:
ONE PERCENT TO CULTURE - 7. Mission for designers:
FROM CHAIRMAKERS TO SOCIAL DEVELOPERS. - 8. Mission for Finnish entrepreneurs:
FINNISH CULTURE TO BE INCLUDED ON THE SHOPPING LIST - 9. Mission for vocational education:
VOCATIONAL SCHOOL FOR DIY - 10. Mission for the Martha organisation:
THE ‘ADULTHOOD PACKAGE’ - 11. Mission for grandparents:
PASS ON YOUR MANUAL SKILLS - 12. Mission for local authorities and the state:
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT TO PROMOTE ENERGY-EFFICIENT PRODUCTS THAT CAN BE MAINTAINED AND REPAIRED - 13. Mission for housing associations and neighbourhoods:
ORGANISE A PARTY - 14. Mission for economists and the Ministry of Finance:
CALCULATE THE VALUE OF VOLUNTARY, PEER AND DOMESTIC WORK IN FINLAND - 15. Mission for municipal managers:
LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO ENGAGE IN PRODUCTIVE COOPERATION WITH ASSOCIATIONS - 16. Mission for companies operating in industrialised areas:
FINLAND TO BE DEVELOPED INTO A SILICON VALLEY OF SOCIAL INNOVATIONS - 17. Mission for tekes:
OPEN INNOVATION CAMPS AS TOOLS FOR CREATING INNOVATIONS - 18. Mission for employers:
PROMOTE TEAMWORK - 19. Mission for schools of economics and management consultants:
CREATE MODELS FOR MANAGEMENT BY PARTNERSHIP - 20. Mission in Finland:
PUBLIC-SECTOR OPENNESS TO BECOME ACTIVE - 21. Mission for the public sector:
PUBLIC OFFICIALS AS WARRIORS OF AN OPEN INFORMATION SOCIETY - 22. Mission for schools:
SCHOOLWORK TO BE BASED ON OPEN INFORMATION - 23. Mission for universities:
ACADEMIC OPENNESS INTO PRACTICE - 24. Mission for the Ministry of Finance:
GROSS NATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY AS THE NEW BENCHMARK - 25. Mission for research policy:
EXTENSIVE DEPLOYMENT OF MATERIAL FLOW CALCULATIONS, I.E. THE ENVIMAT MODEL - 26. Mission for schoolyard designers:
PARKING SPACES TO BE REPLACED WITH NATURE FOR A VARIETY OF PURPOSES - 27. Mission for biology teachers:
TAKE LESSONS FROM THE CLASSROOM TO NATURE - 28. Mission for the tourism industry:
HOLIDAY PACKAGES IN SILENT FINLAND - 29. Mission for Metsähallitus:
MORE AND BETTER INVESTMENT IN COMMUNICATIONS - 30. Mission for the President:
INITIATIVE ON NORDIC EVERYMAN’S OBLIGATIONS - 31. Mission for regional employment and business policies:
TURNING EVERYMAN’S RIGHTS INTO LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES - 32. Mission for institutional kitchens:
PORTIONS OF THE RIGHT SIZE - 33. Mission for restaurants and the food industry:
GOURMET DISHES OF ROACH - 34. Mission for the public sector:
NO BOTTLED WATER - 35. Mission for the Ministry of the Environment:
WATER METERS, I.E. WATER AS THE VEHICLE FOR POPULARISING INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES - 36. Mission in Finland:
DRINK FINLAND - 37. Mission for forest owners:
MODERATION IN DRAINING FORESTS AND SWAMPS - 38. Mission in Finland:
HALF OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ORGANIC - 39. Mission for the University of Helsinki and Agrifood Research Finland:
ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INSTITUTE FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTION - 40. Mission for school children:
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER EVEN WITH - 41. Mission for science centres:
SET UP PISA CENTRES - 42. Mission for the politicians:
THE BEST SCHOOL FOR ALL IN A DIVERSIFYING SOCIETY - 43. Mission for head teachers:
MAKE SCHOOLS A CENTRE FOR NEIGHBOURHOOD DEMOCRACY - 44. Mission for public figures and top sporting figures:
TEACH IN A SCHOOL ONCE A YEAR - 45. Mission for parents of school children:
CLUB ACTIVITIES AND PARENTS’ LEARNING OBLIGATION - 46. Mission for the it sector and pedagogues:
NEW INNOVATIONS IN TEACHING TECHNOLOGY SHOULD BE DEVELOPED - 47. Mission for higher education institutions and universities:
COPYING THE PISA SUCCESS AT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS - 48. Mission for museums:
NATIONAL HERITAGE THE PROPERTY OF THE NATION - 49. Mission for the media:
THE POPULARISATION OF SCIENCE TO NEW LEVELS - 50. Mission for libraries:
ENSURE YOU ARE INDISPENSIBLE FOR FINLAND IN THE 2020S - 51. Mission for owners of advertising spaces:
SPACE FOR SOCIAL COMMUNICATION - 52. Mission for schools and local authorities:
CULTURE FOR FREE FOR THOSE IN THEIR LAST YEAR AT SCHOOL - 53. Mission for the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the Ministry of Education and Culture and companies:
THE APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM SHOULD BE DEVELOPED - 54. Mission for the social welfare authorities:
A CATCHER SCHEME FOR THOSE IN DANGER OF EXCLUSION SHOULD BE CREATED - 55. Mission in Finland:
LEADERSHIP IS TEACHING - 56. Mission for trade unions:
MASTER DIPLOMAS FOR THE BEST WORKPLACE TEACHERS - 57. Mission for higher education institutions and universities:
A PERIOD AS A TEACHER, MENTOR OR DISSEMINATOR OF INFORMATION AS PART OF ALL DEGREES - 58. Mission for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy and the Ministry of Education and Culture:
ENHANCING COUNTRY BRANDING WORK BY DEVELOPING THE HOUSE OF FINLAND OPERATING CONCEPT
To read the full report, click here: ‘Mission for Finland’ nation branding report [PDF]
There is something ironic in the “Mission for the tourism industry: HOLIDAY PACKAGES IN SILENT FINLAND” as in my opinion Finland’s global tourism marketing has for the most part been very silent indeed. The marketing message that it has tried to proclaim to date has been so far off target and so boring that those that have heard it have not been impressed.
I have lived in many different parts of the world, and to be frank, am embarrassed at the lack of knowledge people have of Finland as a potential holiday destination.
And now Finns are being asked to market its peaceful “silence”. How big is the demographic that this will attract. Maybe it would be better to aim at many different niches.