Group 6: Teemu Uusitalo, Sini Tenkanen, Anna-Kaisa Haaranen
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As you know, although Uber has been operating in Finland for a year, no communications
actions have been executed so far on the behalf of the company. Instead, the public opinion has
mainly been dictated by the media. Especially parties criticizing the company have been on
display. Furthermore, because of lack of communication the service is still quite unknown to
many Finns. Therefore, the purpose of our report is to present an overview of the current
visibility and reputation of Uber in Finland, and give recommendations on how the company
with an appropriate communications strategy could make a proper entrance to the Finnish
market.
Media’s role as a dominant opinion-leader
We gathered information by conducting a Facebook survey and reviewing related news articles
from the launch of Uber Finland to date. The survey had 21 respondents in total, 6 of which had
used Uber’s services. All respondents were young adults between the ages of 20 and 30. There
was no direct correlation between the sex of the respondent and the usage of the service.
As the majority of respondents had either never used Uber or heard of it, the surveys indicated a
clear connection between media and the overall impression of the company in Finland. Many of
the non-users referred to the news as their primary source when asked how they had formed their
opinion of Uber. To clarify, they stated their views to be negative due to the general tone of the
articles presented in Finnish media. However, out of the respondents who had used Uber, 5 out
of 6 had positive experiences and would use it again.
In addition to the Facebook survey, we analysed media sources in Finland and abroad. As Uber
Finland has so far chosen not to give statements to the media, the limelight has been dominated
by those who oppose the service, which explains the negative response of the survey respondents
unacquainted with the service. The media has, for example, taken advantage of Uber Finland’s
silence by aggressively reporting on the questionable legality of the service.
Directing media’s attention and establishing proper communication
Based on the obtained data, we strongly recommend Uber Finland to take the following actions:
1. Hire a communications manager to actively lead media’s attention to issues that are more
beneficial to Uber Finland
2. Start a program to systematically and coherently invalidate the accusations thrown at
Uber Finland by media and those who see Uber as a threat
3. Launch a marketing campaign to raise awareness of Uber’s presence in Finland and
highlight the flexibility and many possibilities of its service
Uber Finland has been presented in a very negative light by the Finnish media so far, and thus
the communications manager should take an active role in shifting the media focus away from
negative issues and highlight the positive features of the service instead. For example, it can be
promoted that Uber aims to tackle private motoring and not the traditional taxi companies, which
would help people view Uber as a responsible company that cares about the environment.
Group 6: Teemu Uusitalo, Sini Tenkanen, Anna-Kaisa Haaranen
In addition, some taxi companies claim that Uber’s service is illegal, when in fact the Finnish
Ministry of Transport and Communications has already stated the opposite. This official
statement can be used in Uber Finland’s communication strategy to silence the accusations of
illegality by the media and the taxi companies and to help change the company image from a
threat to a possibility.
Finally, given that Uber is not yet very well known in Finland, a marketing campaign is needed.
According to our survey and observations, Uber is not for everyone. The major customer
segment appears relatively young (18-30 years). Therefore, the marketing campaign should be
executed on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter for maximum coverage of
potential customers.
We are confident that with these actions Uber Finland can both answer to the negative media
attention and become better known among Finnish people and in positive light. In other words,
Uber gets a second chance to better manage the launch of its services onto the Finnish market.