Finland is north. For some technology workers, it’s true north.
Helsinki and some of Finland’s most renowned tech companies launched a talent attraction campaign in September branding Helsinki as the world’s first City as a Service (CaaS). The campaign received close to 7,000 applications of tech professionals interested to relocate to Helsinki.
“Finding the best talent in the world is critical for us and other tech companies in Helsinki. It is a great place to live and work, with the best education system, the best healthcare, amazing international companies, and the happiest people in the world. It is easy to demonstrate this when we bring people here,” says Kristo Ovaska, CEO of Smartly, an ecosystem filled with advertising automation solutions.
In other words, Smartly is Software as a Service, or SaaS.
On the city’s promotional microsite, these key product features are listed:
This campaign drafts on the immense popularity of Software as a service (SaaS) in today’s technology market. The city is presented as a product. While the city is, in reality, so much more than that, for a highly targeted recruitment marketing campaign, speaking the prospect’s native language—in this case, code—is the best thing to do.
“Helsinki has all it takes to make you feel like home but the problem was, not too many knew about its beautiful features. To make the world aware of what Helsinki has to offer, the city just needed a little repackaging,” says Alexander Pihlainen, CEO of brand company Bou behind the creative concept.
In related news, Slush, “the world’s leading startup event,” is happening now in Helsinki. Slush has grown from a single gathering in Helsinki to a series of events organized all around the world.
“The sauna situation is out of control,” one participant said.
