Finland’s rapidly started NATO process under the leadership of President Sauli Niinistö and the publicity received by Prime Minister Sanna Marin, including the leather jacket and party videos, have aroused widespread interest in Finland. Even Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen’s paternity leave plans have been reported in many countries.
At the same time, the positive image of Finland strengthened significantly in 2022, he says of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (you move to another service) survey conducted in ten countries (USA, Germany, Japan, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Turkey, South Korea, China and Russia).
Almost half of the respondents to the international survey say that their opinion of Finland has changed more positively during the year. The positive change was particularly large in India, Brazil, Turkey and the United States.
– In the study, what surprised me was how much had been heard about Finland and how much news about Finland was also remembered. In addition, the enormous impact of the NATO process on the images of Finland can be considered quite surprising, says a landscape expert Meira Pappi from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
When asked the reason for the improved image of Finland, a fifth of the respondents mention the Finnish people. The NATO process and the Finnish government and international politics were also often mentioned.
When Russia’s answers are ignored, almost 60 percent of the respondents who are familiar with NATO said that Finland’s NATO process affects their image of Finland positively. The biggest positive impact of the NATO process was in the United States, where 77 percent of respondents said their views had become more positive.
Last summer, about 4,000 middle- and high-income middle-income respondents were interviewed for the research. All respondents were internationally oriented and all respondents had a university degree.
The Finnish spirit can be reflected in tourism, exports, investments and immigration
But is the positive vibe any good?
– Demand has grown at a double-digit rate this year, but the spike in sales caused by visibility cannot be separated from that, says the CEO Teemu Kiiski from the Finnish Design Shop.
Strengthening a positive image is still useful.
– Public image is very important for both country brands and product brands. We really want to flag them together. We aim for double-digit growth figures for next year as well, and the country’s positive visibility and positive magazine stories about Finnish design provide background support for that, says Kiiski.
The online store Finnish Design Shop sells Finnish design to more than a hundred countries. One of the biggest market areas is the United States.
In the business world, doors can open even wider.
– We can use it in work-related immigration, we can use our reputation in exports and when attracting investments and tourists to Finland, says the head of the Confederation of Finnish Business Petri Vuorio.
A positive image and interest can therefore contribute to increasing sales of Finnish products, arousing interest in traveling to Finland on vacation or even increasing enthusiasm to move here for work. On the other hand, machine orders can come from the other side of the globe, and an international investor can notice Finland as an interesting investment destination.
Finland is still unknown
However, the fact that more and more people know about the existence of Finland and know how to place the country in the Nordic countries is not enough.
Visibility and the increase in positivity were not enough, for example, to change Finland’s ranking in the 2022 annual report of the British Brand Finance consulting company in the country brand listing (you switch to another service), where Russia did collapse and Sweden also improved its position a couple of notches. The most valuable country brand is in the United States.
– Lack of familiarity is the biggest problem of all. If a positive view of Finland cannot be concretely connected to anything, then the effect is zero. More money and different social networks should be used to raise awareness. I’ve been thinking about this recently, especially from the point of view of work-based immigration, because it’s a hot topic, says the service area director promoting tourism, investments and work-based immigration Paavo Virkkunen from Business Finland.
Vuorio also raises the same issue. Sweden is known around the world and that affects, among other things, interest in coming to work in Sweden.
– We should bring out the strengths better and make them more aware. It would be important to get the good experiences of the foreign experts here and their spouses to the world through the bus radio. In addition, a comprehensive reform of the Aliens Act is needed to streamline and speed up the processing processes of work-related immigration.
There is also work to be done, for example, in attracting investments.
– When it comes to attracting foreign investments, we fare worse than comparison countries in the OECD comparison. The share of foreign direct investments in our GDP is 31 percent, compared to an average of 49 percent in the other Nordic and Baltic countries. For example, we have presented a Dutch model to streamline approvals, which would have one channel, one application, one decision, one right of appeal and everything can be handled digitally in several languages, Vuorio says.
In addition, in country branding work you have to remember the old saying; “A good bell can be heard far away, a bad one even further away”.
– There is a cough in the functionality of the systems. It won’t get you anywhere. The case of the Mongolian nurse or the Harjavalta battery material factory permit issue are not the only cases where the system worked poorly. Attention must be paid to the fact that the service promise that Finland gives can also be redeemed, says Virkkunen.
Good rankings in listings as part of marketing
The positive buzz that Finland has received must now be utilized and put into use by all means, say the experts.
The general public is familiar with, for example, listings of the happiest country in the world or the Pisa success in education, which have already played a role in building the country’s image. But Finland has also done well on other types of lists.
– Responsibility and digitalization are the world’s most significant megatrends. For example, Finland ranks at the top of Cambridge University’s and Morningstar’s prestigious listings measuring responsibility, says Vuorio.
It can be of decisive importance in terms of the creation of contracts, when large companies and large investors around the world consider from whom to order machines, equipment and products or where to locate production.
– Finland’s landscape is now incredibly good and strong. A good product brand combined with a great landscape is top notch. Yes, they reinforce each other. The threshold for purchasing products, for example, for both consumers and other companies is lowering, says Virkkunen.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also sees that a good reputation should be used as much as possible in sales and marketing.
– Finns’ strengths in the world are related to, among other things, technology, education, environmental and climate solutions, social and health well-being, happiness, democracy and equality. If the company is able to connect these themes to its own message, then we are already in a small advantage, encourages Pappi.
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Read more:
“Now Finland can be itself and no longer have to pretend” – this is how Finns’ self-image will be shaped when we join NATO
Research: The NATO process has brought extraordinary attention to Finland and strengthened Finland’s image in the world
Ministers demand clarification on the problems of foreigners’ work permits – Saarikko is ready to “confound” the Finnish Immigration Service
Finland’s image weakened in Russia – in Vyborg, they still talk about neighborly friendship and hope for better times
Russia’s country brand is now catastrophically bad and it has led to a boycott of all areas of life – just being in the country is a reputational disadvantage