Knowledge sharing for digital decision makers
Conference, 3-5 May 2011

Tapio Hedman

Communications Director, Aalto University, Finland

Biography

Tapio Hedman is the Communications Director for the Aalto University, responsible for its internal and external communications, marketing activities, printed and interactive media, and strategic events and exhibitions – as well as for the brand strategy that glues them all together. He has been in the position since May 2010.

Prior to his current role Tapio had an extensive career in Nokia with numerous global marketing and communications leadership positions. Between 1997-2002 he was globally responsible for the corporate communications of Nokia Mobile Phones. For the next three years he focused on developing a unified brand strategy and related communication tools and frameworks for Nokia worldwide. In 2006-2007 Tapio was in charge of marketing for the Nokia Multimedia business group globally. From the beginning of 2008 Tapio was leading the development of Nokia’s marketing strategy and later the creative process of all of Nokia’s marketing campaigns worldwide.

Tapio is 47 years old, married with two grown-up kids, and lives in Espoo, Finland. He has four dogs and is a keen outdoors and fitness enthusiast with particular enthusiasm for barefoot running.

In this brief video you can hear how Tapio is working to build the brand strategy for Aalto University:

 

Aalto University, Finland

Aalto University, Finland

Aalto University is a newly created university from the merger of three Finnish universities: the Helsinki School of Economics, the University of Art and Design Helsinki and Helsinki University of Technology - all leading and renowned institutions in their respective fields and in their own right. The combination of three universities opens up new possibilities for strong multi-disciplinary education and research. Aalto University is strongly future-oriented while at the same time building on the combined 300-year-history of three highly-regarded universities. Only the best students and researchers are admitted to study and conduct research at Aalto University. Aalto University has three main campuses all located in the Helsinki Metropolitan area: the School of Economics is in the heart of the city, the School of Art and Design is a short distance north of the city center, and the School of Science and Technology is about a fifteen minute drive west of the city in Otaniemi, Espoo. In addition to the three major campuses, Aalto University also has units operating in different cities around Finland: in Mikkeli, Lahti, Vaasa and Pori. The institution's mission is to make Aalto University a world class university within ten years time, based on its unique strengths and characteristics.

Presentation

Building a brand for a newcomer: from nowhere to world-class stature

Case: Aalto University, Finland

Track: Higher education
Conference Day #1, Wednesday May 4th, 3.15 pm - 4.00 pm

Aalto University was created in 2010 from the merger of three Finnish universities: Economics; Science and Technology; and Art and Design. This combination opens up unique possibilities for strong multi-disciplinary education and research. The new university's ambitious goal is to evolve into world-class stature within the current decade. A sustainable brand for the Aalto University is not built by marketing and communication – but not without them, either. In my presentation I will elaborate on how the Aalto brand has been defined, what are its unique differentiators, and how will its evolution be supported by holistic, integrated and interactive marketing and communications. I will also discuss its relationship with the country brand of Finland. For more details on the talk read Creating a world-class brand for a new Finnish university

See slides online