DIMAR – Digital Marketing
If you happen to be in Jyväskylä why not check out the event below!? This event is hosted by Business Arena. Remember to write to tiina.saarinen@businessarena.fi if you’d like to join the vent! Download the Invitation from the link below.
Willing to meet a Finnish employer?
Willing to find a job after graduation?
Willing to create valuable networks?
MEET US AND ENJOY SOME SNACK AND DRINKS!
Date and Time: 24th of October from 17 to 20 hour
Place: Crazy town, kauppakatu 32, 2. floor
By Hanna-Maija Kiviranta, JAMK
Source: http://blogit.jamk.fi/cfc/2012/10/02/finland-ranked-as-the-3rd-competitive-economy-in-the-world-how-about-central-finland/
Hanna-Maija Kiviranta
We are doing excellent! Finland moved up one place in World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness report reaching the 3rd position in the list of the top 10 competitive economies in the world.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013, Finnish economy has had small improvements in a number of areas. Finland occupies the top position both in the health and primary education as well as in the higher education and training thanks to strong focus on education over recent decades. This has provided the workforce with the skills needed to adapt rapidly to a changing environment and has laid the groundwork for high levels of technological adoption and innovation.
We are one of the most innovative countries in Europe, ranking 2nd, behind only Switzerland. Improving our capacity to adopt the latest technologies (ranked 25th) could lead to important synergies that in turn could corroborate Finland’s position as one of the world’s most innovative economies. (Source: The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013)
By Juha Saukkonen
JAMK Senior Lecturer
Last but not least of the potential bifurcation (development crossroad from which the development can start going to two different directions) points is about what will happen to the decision-making systems in our societies. More exactly: Is participatory democracy about to be replaced by some other systems or even gaining more strength?
Pros for “Flourishing democracy”?
The proponents of democracy state that:
1) Democracy when exercised in a right way is:
Believers in Erosion of political power say that:
Which group do you support? Is participatory democracy taking its last breath, or just on low mode waiting for new revival?
In the next blog post I will present the summary view – the most-likely scenario that the members in the summer seminar of Finnish Society for Futures research voted for. You can start creating your own “World view” along these 4 issues we have talked about. (Hint: In many cases a synthesis of the two opposite views was created – combining the best parts of both ends of the axis. You can start creating them also yourself). Coming to the blog next week….
Pekka Ylä-Anttila
By Pekka Ylä-Anttila
Original news available at http://blogit.jamk.fi/cfc/#.UCo26Wtb6dc
For anyone interested in economic change, Finland is an interesting case for two reasons. First, Finland has transformed itself in a relatively short period from a resource-intensive economy into a knowledge-based one. Second, the transformation coincided with major macro economic crisis in the early nineties – recovery from a deep recession and major structural transformation took place simultaneously. Among the OECD countries Finland is one of the late industrializing ones. Industrialization process really took off in the latter part of the nineteenth century, but the income per capita level remained roughly one half of that in the Great Britain – the leading economy at that time.
Still, during the post war decades, up the 1960s, Finland was in the catching–up phase of development — relying mainly on imported technologies and abundant forest resources. Physical investment intensity was among the highest in Europe, and foreign trade, financial markets and capital movements were heavily regulated.
Today, Finland is not only one of the most open economies in the world, but also one of the leading knowledge-based economies. Research and development expenditure in relation to GDP is one of the highest in the world – about 3,5 %. Higher education enrollment is well above the OECD average; number of researchers in relation to population is higher than in any other country. During the 1990s the economy oriented heavily towards ICT (information and communication technologies), and by the end of the decade the country was the most ICT specialized economy in the world.
Traditionally, Finland has been regarded as one of the top users of Internet technology. Alarmingly enough, certain recent research results do not seem to support this notion. In autumn 2011, the DIMAR research project funded by the Tekes (the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation) explored the current state of digital marketing and social media in the Finnish industry. According to the survey, every 10th industrial enterprise in Finland makes no use of digital media. Still fewer enterprises make use of social media. As much as 50% of the enterprises participating in the survey said that they were not utilizing social media at all.
Accordingly, the views the enterprises have of the manifestations of social media vary depending on the medium in question. Quite surprisingly, the tools of social media were considered the least important: almost half the enterprises participating in the survey thought that they are unimportant. On the other hand, the enterprises react more positively to customer magazines, newsletters, email and SMS marketing and sales support material. Approximately every 10th enterprise utilizes the potential offered by e-commerce with only every second enterprise using online advertising (banners). Neither have the roles of search engine advertising and optimization been established in the marketing operations of industrial enterprises. A customer magazine, newsletter and sales support material are considered familiar and safe media, which can contribute to successful business.
The research results are alarming in that enterprises may not understand the importance of the media of digital marketing familiar to the ever growing number of customers, particularly young people. Enterprises have to know where to find their customers. “Even if some enterprises must have understood this, the results of statistical surveys do not confirm that assumption”, says Mr. Jorma Kananen, Principal Lecturer of Business Operations Research and Development at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences.
Some of the worst barriers to the utilization of digital marketing in enterprises seem to be lack of resources, and a limited amount of time and know how available including difficulties with content production. Technical difficulties or shortage of money are only regarded as minor obstacles. Therefore, lack of resources may be interpreted to be equivalent to lack of experts of marketing. The staffs at enterprises keep working as before without recognizing the need for change. As Kananen goes on to say, “a skills gap in the utilization of the current marketing tools and media seems to be the greatest obstacle to successful business activities.
In order to make the use of digital marketing more effective, enterprises do not, necessarily, have to increase their marketing budgets but instead, re-organize them. This also calls for new kind of contemplation on the relationship between enterprise and customer and their mutual communication. Instead of gigantic investments, digital marketing will generate cost savings. Customers may participate in product design, and it will be possible to solve claims within the customer community. Furthermore, real time discourse with customers will make business activities more effective. The utilization of the nearly free tools of social media will save costs.” However, in order to achieve this, the enterprise has to take digital marketing and the new technology into account in its strategic planning. It is high time to question the traditional way of marketing, in which an enterprise approaches the target group chosen through a marketing communications campaign”, Kananen points out.
(Some background information of the survey: The participants were 150 industrial enterprises. Thus, the results are only suggestive. There will be a further study in spring 2012 with SMEs in Central Finland as the target group. http://www.dimar.fi/)
Further information:
Mr. Jorma Kananen, Principal Lecturer of Business Operations Research and Development at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences, Business and Services Management, jorma.kananen(at)jamk.fi, tel. +358 40 732 8742
