Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2010 | Page 15

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Magnetic North
A new strategy is needed to lure foreign investments, professionals and students into
the country. The new Aalto University could
serve as catalyst for this process:
“Finland could target hi-tech companies who could rally around the Aalto University,” Kilpinen says, picturing a Silicon
Valley type of a international setting. But
why should cutting-edge companies flock to
Finland when there are plenty of other equally tempting alternatives out there?
Kilpinen answers that a new kind of
family-orientation and the pull of a happier,
healthier lifestyle could well attract young
talent to the North.
“There is quality of life and sheer wellbeing in the Nordic countries that you will
not find anywhere else,” he claims. There’s
time for family and friends and safe environment is a big plus:
“An American friend of mine says that
he knows of no other country where you can
send your kid off to school by bus and not
worry about it.”
According to a recent British study,
Finland is the world’s most prosperous nation when one takes full stock of such factors as health, freedom, security and political governance – in addition to plain wealth.
Similar news have become commonplace in
Finland, which is not say that the Finns are
not tickled pink every time they do well in
the rankings.
Kilpinen, however, sees a slight problem with this mentality:
“Very often in history, yearning for
outside recognition is a sign of a developing nation.”

Growing Pains
Still, Kilpinen acknowledges that Finns are
keen on such merits since the country is both
small and young, still trying to figure out its
rightful place in the world. The good news
is that Finns are not too hung up on their
own history like some older nations. Hav-

THE PRODUCT:
Turun Sinappi
ustard can be very patriotic.
Case in point: the venerable Turun Sinappi – Turku mustard –
with its iconic castle logo and memorable commercials became a part of the
Finnish culture over the years. Launched
in Turku in 1948, the “national” mustard
was originally manufactured by Finnish
Jalostaja. However, as Turun Sinappi was
snatched off by global giant Unilever the
decision was eventually made to shift production to Sweden in 2003.
s
Finns, however, would not take this
lying down. A Pro Mustard movement rose
ose
and gained momentum rather quickly – largeargely thanks to the media savvy of Visa Nurmi, a recently deceased marketing man. Nurmi and his cohorts
nd
could not stop Turun Sinappi from exiting the country but the movement
did help kick-off a strong rival.
Aura Sinappi – Aura being the river which runs through Turku – became an instant hit product. Aura Sinappi is made in Turku by a family company. Turun Sinappi, on the other hand, did not stay in Sweden for very long
and is now manufactured in Poland. b

M

ing worked in Paris for three years, Kilpinen knows that the French are sometimes
so impressed by the past that they forget tomorrow.
He adds that the French ways of working also constituted to a full-blown culture
shock:
“There was no quick, clear decisionmaking process at all,” Kilpinen reminisces.
Nevertheless, Kilpinen claims that he “fell
in love” with the country and its culture and
would like to see such passion for, say, literature, in Finland as well.
Another country that Kilpinen is quite
familiar with is the United States. In fact,
Kilpinen became the new Chairman of the
Board for The American Chamber of Commerce in Finland in March and is clearly
excited about the challenge. Talking about
nation brands, Kilpinen feels that America
has made a strong comeback under the new
leadership:
“If the Bushes were the worst thing to
happen to American foreign policy in a long
while, Obama is the best thing.”

Slave to the Grind
Kilpinen observes that the US has the same
unattractive feature that France has: the
working days are grueling and there’s very
little time left for family. Again, this father
of five returns to his original point about Finland being a regular Shangri-La for families.
In Finland, he would still like to see a

bolder mentality where there would be less
looking for approval from others. He talks
about a “teacher’s pet syndrome”.
“Our own way is the best way. We
should not go around trying to adopt models from other countries.”
Kilpinen notes that the Finnish identity is often based on comparison: “the Japan
of the North” or “Poor man’s America”. This
approach does not bode well in the brandbuilding business, he says.

Nail the Narrative
Kilpinen feels that a key part of the challenge for Ollila’s team is to get the stories
out, the real-life stories of the land and its
people. The stories