ESTABLISHING A EUROPEAN FOOTHOLD FOR DEVIGN, INC
Vihervuori-Akkanen, Mari (2010)
Vihervuori-Akkanen, Mari
Kymenlaakson ammattikorkeakoulu
2010
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2010062412522
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2010062412522
Tiivistelmä
The objective of the study was to provide Devign, Inc., a corporate identity de-velopment company, the means to make an informed decision regarding ex-tending the reach of its verbal branding services to Europe via Finland. The aim of this research was to analyze why and how a professional services firm becomes global.
The empirical research was carried out using the action research approach; the nature and goals of the project were particularly suitable for this methodology. The study focused on Finnish-based marketing, advertising and branding agencies.
We were initially confronted with the novelty of branding in Finland. It quickly became clear that a growing number of general marketing and advertising agencies also present themselves as brand identity companies. However, whether or not these firms can actually deliver on the branding component is not readily determinable. Our research concluded that there is not a commonly held view by agencies of what branding actually is, and few differentiate between branding, marketing and advertising. What was apparent is that there are relatively few firms who market themselves as branding and brand strategy service providers. The research also confirmed that there is a need for native speaker language evaluation in marketing communication materials and other extensive writing, such as web copy. In addition, given the seemingly increasing tendency by Finnish companies to use more English in their “short” branding components, like names and taglines, they will face the same uphill battle that native English-speakers face: how to find something that is available from trademark and domain name perspectives.
The study and legwork laid the foundation for future alliance opportunities and prove that a professional service firm’s entry to international European markets is viable with reasonable costs.
The empirical research was carried out using the action research approach; the nature and goals of the project were particularly suitable for this methodology. The study focused on Finnish-based marketing, advertising and branding agencies.
We were initially confronted with the novelty of branding in Finland. It quickly became clear that a growing number of general marketing and advertising agencies also present themselves as brand identity companies. However, whether or not these firms can actually deliver on the branding component is not readily determinable. Our research concluded that there is not a commonly held view by agencies of what branding actually is, and few differentiate between branding, marketing and advertising. What was apparent is that there are relatively few firms who market themselves as branding and brand strategy service providers. The research also confirmed that there is a need for native speaker language evaluation in marketing communication materials and other extensive writing, such as web copy. In addition, given the seemingly increasing tendency by Finnish companies to use more English in their “short” branding components, like names and taglines, they will face the same uphill battle that native English-speakers face: how to find something that is available from trademark and domain name perspectives.
The study and legwork laid the foundation for future alliance opportunities and prove that a professional service firm’s entry to international European markets is viable with reasonable costs.