Building a Brand for Finna

This thesis deals with building a brand for Finna, a new digital library service with joint interfaces. The Public Interface of Finna is a new service in the brand architecture of the National Library of Finland and provides access to the digital information and services of libraries, archives, museums, serving those who seek information or experiences. The thesis is based on structural interviews that were conducted for the purpose of gathering information for the brand building process. These interviews were conducted in December 2012 in the National Library of Finland. An additional questionnaire sent via e-mail correspondence in April 2013. The procedural study will focus on various aspects of early brand building of Finna, consisting of the preliminary brand plan and analysis of the overall brand building process. It discusses the challenge of gradual brand building and dealing with customers’ expectations. The study describes the complexity of being customer driven in two ways – via contractual organisations and being end-users of the nation-wide service. The aim of the research is to contribute and facilitate the further stages of Finna’s brand building and facilitate the implementation of this brand. It also aims to enhance the marketing strategy building process for both the early and later development phases. The complexity of such a service sets high demands in terms of long-term branding, yet it could be efficiently used in favour of the service. For example, new additions and updates could be used to support the brand story. Through this, such charisma and allure could better engage the end-users of the service