My mother bought me a t-shirt with a large American flag on the front.
I proudly wore it, after all, I had an American boyfriend, who soon became my husband, and I moved to the United States.
Then I found stickers and pins that proudly visualized our multinational union. Two flags united: the US flag and the Finnish one.
I learned to fold the Finnish flag as a Girl Scout. And later, as a U.S. Army wife, I learned to stop my car at the Army base when hearing the Reveille or Retreat played, knowing that the flag would be raised or lowered. Honored.“Nice story Katja, but how does this relate to marketing?”
Let’s dive in.
Firstly, how do you feel about flags these days? Marketing and branding are always about emotion.
Secondly, when you see a flag in a product package, what does it represent to you? Does it tell a story of a certain quality, an origin story, or about pride and honor?
What I really want to talk about is country branding, but it might take a while to get there.
The second I said “an American flag,” you thought about politics, didn’t you?
Without getting too political, you either felt disgusted by the current political leadership or you felt something else. Maybe you even made assumptions about me.
It is very challenging to think of marketing without thinking about politics, pop culture, trends, tradition, future, and the past. And today, you simply can’t think of them only in the context of your own country or culture. We live in a connected world, with diverse people, cultures, and yes, politics.
If you want to be successful in marketing and selling to people, you need to understand the political, social, and economic climate people live, fed by algorithms. And that might be a different bubble than the one you live in, even if you live on the same street.
What are your choices then?
- Try to be as neutral as possible without taking sides. Then nobody hates you, but nobody loves you either.
- Show your values, and you will divide opinions. You’ll get die-hard fans, and people who will boycott you, making the fans just support you more.
Marketing studies say that more than half of European consumers will buy from brands whose values match their own.
The rate is 71% in the USA, and as high as 83% among Millennial Americans.
You need to understand the reasons why some values are important, and then you need to know who the people are.
One in four people lives with a disability, and about 16% of the world population is non-religious. The LGBTQ+ community is above 10% of the adult population. Another factor is age. Did you know the silver economy, the folks over 65 years old, is the fastest growing – and the wealthiest – consumer group in the world?
When people see someone like them in ads, they are more likely to buy. 38% of consumers, in general, are more likely to trust brands that show diversity in their ads, but the rates go significantly higher when you look at different demographics. Over 70% of Gen Z want to see diversity in ads, and 85% of Latinx and LGBTQ+ people. (Diversity stats.)
It’s not as easy, though.
At Crush 2024, I interviewed Senia Williams, who studies Gen Z behavior at Google, and she coined the Gen Z to be “woke, broke, and complicated”.
They might support Greta Thunberg, but not afford anything else but purchasing from Temu or SHEIN, and adding to the climate crisis.
So are we in square one then? I don’t think so, especially if you want to be a thought-leader. Or like I like to say, a Rebel Leader.
Let’s get back to national symbols for marketing.
In Finland we have Avainlippu (key flag) and Design from Finlandcertificates and visual logos that companies can apply and then show the country of origin.
The Avainlippu brand is the 5th most valued brand in Finland (Source: Brand Valuation 2024, Taloustutkimus), and 94% of brand companies that have been awarded the Avainlippu say the brand supports the sales of products and services in Finland.
It makes it easy for people to support local labor. But what about people outside Finland? What does the “key flag” tell them?
Can we now talk about the country brand?
- Who decided what the country brand of Finland should look like?
- And who’s the brand for? Is it for the Finns or everyone else?
- Who gets to use the country brand of Finland?
- Is it more about commerce, companies, and what we can sell?
- Or is it more about our ideologies, values, creativity, and culture?
When you try to find information about this, you will find government working groups, branding experts, educational institutions and well, everyone, voicing their vision for the country brand.
Some are aspirational, some call for more concrete action. (Sidenote: branding is always action.)
I’ve consulted numerous Finnish companies about international marketing, and there is always this big decision to make:
- Should we brand ourselves as a Finnish company?
- Or a Nordic company?
- Or try to avoid talking about where we are from and just be international?
Many companies choose to use the association and brand that comes with being a Nordic company. Perhaps it tells enough vaguely about the good stuff, without going into the details of any weird stuff. I get it.
Yet, everyone knows that the easiest way to separate yourself from the competition is to be different.
In Hollywood movies, when there is someone or something weird, it’s often from Finland. Finland is a weird mystery. Where is the sisu, the guts, to own it? Or to show who we really are, if the image of us is wrong?
We are also much more than Northern Lights and Santa Claus, two things the country travel branding people decided we are about. (Sidenote: it worked.)
Are you in Team Finland?
Let’s boil this down to a simple question: Would you wear a t-shirt with a big Finnish flag in the front? Would you wear a t-shirt with the “Finnish Lion,” the crowned lion in the coat of arms of Finland? (Or insert your national flag or symbol.)
Most likely, it depends on the context. In an ice hockey match or at the Eurovision Song Contest, you’ll be seen as supporting your country; in a different context, you might be seen as a nationalist new-Nazi.
There it is again! Politics.
The real question we should be asking is: Are we going to let our national flags, symbols, and ultimately country brands be turned only into political tools of nationalists? And happily go after a borderless multi-cultural melting pot? Or are we going to fight for our heritage, culture, and what makes us unique, while also being progressive and learning to live in a diverse world?
Are we going to build the country brand Finland together? Or are we waiting for someone else to take it and turn it into whatever they want, like a political statement?
Does the Nation of Thought-Leaders need country borders?
Too many questions, more answers!
I want answers, too.
That’s why at Crush 2025, we will be addressing some of these questions.
I want to learn from Hanna Vuorinen about some of the great work done by Film Finland in terms of bringing Hollywood movie productions to Finland and showing the real Finland to the world. Jade Ventoniemi reaches millions on social media, sharing about her experience after moving to Finland. I’m interested to hear how her audience sees Finland, and what we can learn from that.
We will talk about the importance of diverse voices in culture, and why we shouldn’t just let a few gatekeepers decide what we publish or promote with Melina Korvenkontio and Maiju Talvisto. Jenni Rotonenwill talk about using social media for social good.
Katja Pantzar has written multiple books that have been translated into several languages about Finland and Finnish sisu, I want to hear her thoughts on where all that bravery and guts came from, and how to find that now.
In all of this, we need to talk about allyship and include everyone in the conversation, whether it’s Saara Särmä with her All Male Panel, or Joey Bayer highlighting the importance of bringing people together and building communities. Aino Bergiusof Slush will share some secrets on how Slush was built into a global phenomenon in a Networking lunch session.
Above all, Crush is for thought leaders who have the guts to take action. We bring together thought-leaders like Liisa Holma , Ulla Jones and Laura Strömberg who spark change through action. Great leaders create more leaders.
And so much more.
Crush is not a political movement.
But we live in a time when what kind of shirt you choose to wear can be seen as a political decision, and you will be judged for it, whether you want to or not. We shouldn’t ignore it.
I don’t want to have a conference just about business or marketing tools.
If you want to futureproof your success, you have to build it in an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable way.
I don’t want to just talk about how to build brands (personal, company, or country).
If you want to become a better marketer, step outside your comfortable marketing box. Understanding humans is the ultimate flex of any marketer. And if you want to shake things up, well, then you want to understand marketing.
We live in a time of AI revolution. Crush gathers Rebel Leaders who, however curious or knowledgeable they are about technology, put people first.
Crush 2025 will be held on 14.5.2025 at the Helsinki Stock Exchange Building.
Are you in or out?
Wishing you success,
Katja Presnal
Founder, Crush Movement