The sub-Arctic city of Helsinki, Finland, is waking up to Place Appeal.
But it's much too little, far too late.
They built their new marketing effort at bnh.fi
It means Brand New Helsinki. Finland is .fi
Sorry to be critical, but bnh.fi is not quick & easy to understand or remember.
Going to the site becomes worse: at http://bnh.fi/en/share-your-helsinki-2020/ they offer a two-minute video, half in Finnish -- without subtitles. It effectively draws attention to difficulties with Finnish language, and a local disregard for non-Finns.
I do believe Helsinki, and Finland generally, could compete for top global talent. But they're relying upon bad advice filtered through a rigid, well-paid bureaucracy.
Fundamentally they need to overcome a chilly dark environment, a somewhat drab population (who themselves dream to escape), a perceived proximity to Chernobyl, relatively poor multicultural infrastructure, etc. etc. Worse, they're competing against places who began long ago to seriously invest in the high-stakes Place Appeal effort.
Finland (and Helsinki) must analyze the importance of Place Appeal to cultivate investment, generate tourism, attract mobile experts, and develop creative talent.
They need to understand the HUGE economic impact of the Place Appeal investment versus collapsing property values & continually watching creative people migrate away. For any locality seeking good future positioning, spending a few million euro is actually nothing compared to the many costs of failing to thrive.
Wish them luck. but...
... at this rate, Helsinki's marketers fulfill their rhyming destiny:
FINISH
But it's much too little, far too late.
They built their new marketing effort at bnh.fi
It means Brand New Helsinki. Finland is .fi
Sorry to be critical, but bnh.fi is not quick & easy to understand or remember.
Going to the site becomes worse: at http://bnh.fi/en/share-your-helsinki-2020/ they offer a two-minute video, half in Finnish -- without subtitles. It effectively draws attention to difficulties with Finnish language, and a local disregard for non-Finns.
I do believe Helsinki, and Finland generally, could compete for top global talent. But they're relying upon bad advice filtered through a rigid, well-paid bureaucracy.
Fundamentally they need to overcome a chilly dark environment, a somewhat drab population (who themselves dream to escape), a perceived proximity to Chernobyl, relatively poor multicultural infrastructure, etc. etc. Worse, they're competing against places who began long ago to seriously invest in the high-stakes Place Appeal effort.
Finland (and Helsinki) must analyze the importance of Place Appeal to cultivate investment, generate tourism, attract mobile experts, and develop creative talent.
They need to understand the HUGE economic impact of the Place Appeal investment versus collapsing property values & continually watching creative people migrate away. For any locality seeking good future positioning, spending a few million euro is actually nothing compared to the many costs of failing to thrive.
Wish them luck. but...
... at this rate, Helsinki's marketers fulfill their rhyming destiny:
FINISH
