The Finnish mobile and broadband operator Sonera wanted to offer its clients more than just technology. Together with Aalto University it created an interaction strategy that makes business more productive without sacrificing sustainable development or the employees' well-being.

The message of interaction strategy is very unusual for an operator. Therefore it needed to be spread in a manner that was distinct from the competition as well. Standing out in b2b-marketing could have been achieved with social media, viral videos or guerrilla marketing.

However, in order to give the message proper significance and authentic credibility, we chose two media that truly stand the test of time: spoken word and the book.To ensure that the message got heard, we invited notable Finnish economic, political and academic figures to share their opinion on the matter both in The New Spirit of Finland conference and the book Understanding Neogrowth.

We introduced the idea of interaction strategy to the speaker/interviewee prospects with a handout leaflet. As the first prominent figures – including ministers and the CEO of Nokia – agreed to participate, we sent a teaser about the conference to 8,000 Finnish business executives.

An invitation was to follow the teaser, but it was never sent since the New Spirit conference got fully booked with the teaser. We also contacted the guests by mail, email and SMS and opened a website to build up expectation. During the conference, the presentations were streamed live at the website and afterwards they were also available as video recordings.The book – totalling a respectable 240 pages – was published at The New Spirit and advertised later in print, display and outdoor media as well as a campaign site of its own.

The New Spirit conference exceeded all expectations. It made the news on Finland's two largest TV channels and all of the financial newspapers – both print and web editions – wrote about it. The book was reviewed in business magazines and blogs and in just two weeks, the first edition ran out. Soon a second edition was printed and later it was translated into English.Choosing spoken word and the book as the main media to spread the message proved successful. Sonera genuinely managed to raise the discussion with Finnish major companies to a whole new level. And the vivid discussion still continues surpassing all objectives originally set for the campaign.The New Spirit conference, Understanding Neogrowth book and the whole concept of an interaction strategy also provided an unprecedented inner boost among the 3,000 employees of Sonera.