| 06.04.2020

Doctoral thesis: Stockmann pioneered marketing in Finland

"Stockmann's is always Stockmann's" was the famous department store slogan in the 1950s. New research shows that Stockmann’s introduced marketing thought in Finland even before marketing was established as an own discipline.

Marja-Leena Sarvikivi has in her doctoral thesis ”Reklam och marknadsföringstänkande i Finland. Varuhuset Stockmanns annonsering under 100 år" studied Stockmann's newspaper print ads from a century (1900-2000) to explore how Stockmann's newspaper advertising reflects changes in marketing thought and advertising in Finland.

The extensive material includes a total of 1391 ads in Swedish, published mainly in Hufvudstadsbladet, the leading newspaper in Swedish in Finland. The oldest ads are from the beginning of the 20th century, that is, when marketing started to take form as a discipline of its own.

“I have studied advertised products, goods and services, as well as the arguments in the advertisements and the way in which the arguments are presented. The changes over time were studied through the changes in text and image in Stockmann's newspaper ads”, says Sarvikivi.

The dissertation contributes to the insight that the meaning of products has changed for consumers and how that is incorporated in marketing thought.

“My research shows that Stockmann has played a role as a trendsetter and pioneer in the field of retail and department stores in Finland during the studied century. Stockmann has also been a pioneer in marketing thought before marketing theory actually took shape in Finland”, notes Sarvikivi.

According to Sarvikivi, Stockmann has in its advertising implemented the development that is only later presented in marketing theory: a development from product focus and benefit, to customer focus and customer experiences.

More information:
Marja-Leena Sarvikivi
Email: marja-leena.sarvikivi@hanken.fi
Tel: +358 40 725 2465

Marja-Leena Sarvikivi will be defending her doctoral thesis ”Reklam och marknadsföringstänkande i Finland. Varuhuset Stockmanns annonsering under 100 år" on Wednesday 8 April at noon.The subject is marketing.
Opponent: Anders Parment - Stockholm Business School
Kustos: Maria Holmlund-Rytkönen

You can read the doctoral thesis in full here.

The defence is held in Swedish online via Teams, join here Opens in new window . The link opens at 8.4 at noon.