November 07 and some news to come...

Almost 10 months in advertisingg business. Feels like it was yesterday. But I know, there is something on the air... just wait....

Anyhow...

My boss went to Milan, Italy to the McCann Europe´s yearly planning meeting, and came bck with smile. She - and slightly us too - had turned this company profitable after few years of trouble! Great!

Another topic - big pressure is on my shoulders since digital and CRM marketing are one of the growth areas, as well btl. Wow! Some thoughts about this challenge later this year (maybe).

Most pleased this fall I was work we did for L'Oréal Paris in Finland. They really wanted to go online to help boost sales and loyalty of some challeging products categories. Like hair colors - a category I never thought I would be dealing with. But hey, if this is your job, one have to get into the anything (that is not against your values).

So go and check it out http://www.hiusvarit.fi web site. Some nice social feateres like discussion forums, voting etc - and many to come (hopefully). At least I have planned something more.





I am so pleased to find that our client is within a year turned their efforts more and more online-driven. E-mail marketing is now almost a monthly rutin. Among others. And waht´s best, their intrest forces my team and myself to really get everything out from digital marketing. Okey, there is a long wat to go for really interactive marketing , but hey, so have so many other firms as well.

p.s. Another case I am still proud of, from my last Satama-time. The site for Arabia-brand of Iittala Group (now part of Fiskars Group).



Something went well on a project because after months of updates and campaigns it still look great, freach and... sao Arabia-brand. Check it out http://www.arabia.fi/.

Advertising boosted summer

My first six months in advertising industry

Time flies. I realized I haven’t been very active blogger since I started at the McCann advertising agency. Even though I keep telling our clients that consumers are there were bloggers are.

It´s summer 2007 and I am having lectures at the Helsinki School of Economics. I roughly calculated that this is my sixth year teaching digital design, project management and online advertising. It has been interesting to follow what topics have been changed over the years – social media networks, rich media, broadband - and which fundamentals are the same like they were early 00´s (importance of IA, story-telling and great marketing concepts).

Well, first 6 months leading MRM WORLDWIDE HELSINKI is done. We have survived from the merge process pretty well. Small and smart team is doing good stuff. There has been great interest towards us within McCann´s existing clientele. Depate is relatively hot about how to utilize online media and digital assets for advertising and marketing purposes. Of course there is limited amount of money to be used, so how to divide that pile between offline and online for example.

But the sad truth is that, consumer do not hang around same old “media places” anymore. Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, Habbo, Messenger… you name it. And occationally they are reading magazines and watching tv films (while having laptops connected to the wlan at the same time.

But deep experiences happen online (okey, sometimes at the movie theathers), and deep experience is required to affect brand´s position inside consumer´s head.

Over the years I have been talking about how “content is the king”. Ort even more pathetic like “Medium is the Message”. But I have to admit that things has changed – from the marketer´s perspective “contact is the king”. Since consumers are more and more controlling media consumption any contact marketer gets from the audience is valuable, something to stick into. Since that is the situation, then we must say, that “Response is the Message”. More response, better you are succeeding in a fierce competition to be top of the mind brand marketer.

See some interesting ideas (and bring the love back to marketing): www.dailymotion.com/video/x1zv6w_the-break-up/

Business side: several campaigns done from local travel company Finnmatkat and insurance company Henki-Sampo. Especially great success was a promotional campaign for Finnmatkat where we asked consumers to create longest “queue of dancers”.



The campaign really went off, the longest queue was over 28.000 persons, and campaign was heavily promoted at local communities (to drive people one´s personal queue). Talking about viral effect!

Some digital campaign work for Microsoft as well, and for L´oreal too, who is really starting to spend some money for online media.

I met MRM Germany leader few weeks a ago. They have done some excellent work for Microsoft and Opel, and we reallky shared similar ideas how to utilize digital for marketing. This international aspect was oneof the reasons to jump U.S -based advertising affiliate.

Summer holiday period is approacing. 4 weeks at the summer cottage. Fantastic! Hope its not raining like today... Catch you up later with more details :-)

Advertising - Here I come

Yes, it´s official.

After 9 years and 4 months at Satama, the company I was setting up over 3400 days ago, I decided to leave to advertising.

Former boss called me just before christmas. She has been leading the McCann Wolrdwide´s Helsinki office for a while, and now it was time to bring new competence in da house.

I am joing ad agecy McCann to lead new unit called MRM Partners, McCann Relationship Marketing Partners, which is responsible for relationship marketing programs and activities.

I have to say I am drilled. There wasn´t anything wrong at Satama, but time flies and I thought I have to try something different. Well, not SO different, but still...

MRM Partners will focus to build solid and profitable communication between our clients and consumers using both traditional and new digital means. Our vision is to design and execute the most compelling, involving and sought-after creative product in both the digital and traditional world of relationship marketing. The means of expression may be anything from advanced customer care programs and integrated campaigns to basic one-off activities.

I believe, that communication MRM produces should always be:
1. Create and strengthen relations between our client and their customers
2. Engage and involve, preferably over time
3. Be interesting and relevant: for the right customer, in the right way, at the right time
4. Improve our clients’ profitability
5. Speak directly to the individual

Satama - hope you will find your place and I wish all the best, eh, I am still a stock-owner ;-)