Page 17 - Intangible value

NEW WINDS BLOWING IN THE SWEET FACTORY
JOURNALIST ARTO MURTOVAARA
The only permanent thing is change. We are heralds of a new kind of work, simpli ers and solution nd- ers. We challenge conventions. We want to make an impact and produce results. We are enthusiastic and pass on our enthusiasm to others.
This is how CEO of Superson Oy Pirjo Airaksinen summarises the operating principles of her 3-year- old marketing communications company in its of ce on Tehtaankatu Street. Fazer’s rst sweet factory, which used to operate in the building, gave a name to the whole street. Now that building, called Mestarita- lo (Master’s House), and even the buildings next door to it are lled with companies in creative industries.
Airaksinen and her partners set off to look for Su- person’s operating model from a totally new starting point. The company employs only 12 people perma- nently, and not a single designer. The required pro- fessionals and specialists are recruited speci cally for each assignment. To introduce its operating model, the company uses a picture, in which it is lit- erally on the same line with prominent international pioneers: Uber, Facebook, Alibaba and Airbnb. They also do not own anything themselves.
‘We are here to implement that new idea of work in practice.’ says Pirjo Airaksinen. ‘In that respect we are heralds of the new intelligence industry.’
The new age also has a strong impact on marketing and communications. The customer may still use as many as ve different agencies in one project: ad- vertising, communications, digital, event manage- ment and service design agencies. But it is no longer enough. Airaksinen talks about marketing communi- cations as a large entity, a part of the customers’ core strategy. They investigate the customer’s problem, how it could be solved, and only then set up the team.
‘Our task is to help customer improve their business operations,’ stresses Airaksinen. ‘Rather few compa- nies understand that marketing communications is an investment. It is easily seen as a mere cost.’ She believes in insight and that those who are similar, who think in a similar way, work well together.
Airaksinen is almost preaching about the start-up spirit, entrepreneurial spirit, customership and the customer’s point of view, trust, motivation, strict crystallisation of matters, the index of enthusiasm, as well as about agility and exibility, which is the only way to operate today.
‘They say that Finland is a backward place, in which people cannot sell or make brands or create con- cepts. But yes, we can do that,’ stresses Airaksinen.
They say that the number of self-employed people will increase and that those who specialise will be successful. ’Probably, but it requires an immense amount of selling oneself,’ says Airaksinen. She pro- vides the platform for different professionals, adven- turers and verbal masters. The company takes care of everything else, and offers a both physical and virtual work community in exchange. They even have a dedi- cated Facebook community for their designers.
Modern technology offers new methods. We must be aware of them and adopt them. ‘We do and experi- ment in the start-up spirit. We learn as we do it.’
In the end, Airaksinen provides a total surprise: ‘At long last, seniority is valued. It has long been said that only the young can be professionals, that only the young can learn something new. That is not true, the right direction is required. In addition to seniority and in-depth expertise, we need the digi- tal natives. They come up with ideas.’
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