It is good to apply for the Key Flag mark for products manufactured in Finland and services provided by a Finnish-owned business. The Key Flag helps the buyers to make decisions that are in line with their values – whether they are consumers, or persons in charge of corporate purchases or public procurement.
Finnish work, competence and businesses are valued now more than perhaps ever before. The pandemic, with the concern it has caused over the hardships of our businesses and their jobs, has turned the values many have upheld earlier into practical deeds to support Finnish work. Therefore, the businesses should communicate visibly about the Finnish origin of their products and services – the Key Flag is a reliable mark for it.
“Making the Key Flag visible is important in this corona pandemic. It is a way to support Finnish work and especially local producers.” Source: Association for Finnish Work membership survey
The Key Flag was born in 1965 as a campaign logo and it became an indication of origin in 1975. The Key Flag mark may be awarded to a product manufactured or a service produced in Finland. Furthermore, the domestic content of a product or service must be at least 50 percent. Read the complete Key Flag rules here.
Studies show that the Key Flag is the mark that most motivates buying, and it is recognised by more than 80 percent of all Finns and more than 90 percent of corporate decision makers. It is the 12th most valued brand in Finland. According to the Key Flag companies, the Key Flag mark promotes the sales of products and services in Finland, but also in the international market.
“We applied for the Key Flag mark for Ponsse when we launched on the international market.” Ponsse / Juha Vidgren, Chairman of the Board
“Nowadays our customers have great appreciation for the Key Flag, we hear it in sales meetings from nearly every customer.”
How do you apply for the Key Flag?
Fill out an application to obtain the right to use the Key Flag mark; our personnel will assist you in doing so. The applications are processes six times a year by a committee consisting of experts in various fields. The amount of the user rights fee depends on your turnover, you can see the quantity of your fee using the membership fee calculator. The smallest possible fee is 97 euros per year.
Once you have obtained the user rights of the mark, it will be renewed every three years using a simple form. Each year, you will inform the association of your annual turnover and other matters pertinent to the user rights of the Key Flag mark, such as any changes in your manufacturing process.
“The Association for Finnish Work gave good advice and took a new user of the mark into its network.”
How do we utilise the Key Flag mark?
We offer a comprehensive package of material and guidelines for the businesses to use. You will have a password to our extranet for downloading the logos and ready material on communication and marketing. We offer social media images, press release templates, ready files to print stickers and posters, and various topical campaign materials. You can print the logos on product packaging or labels, insert them on your website etc.
We organise regular events on Teams to give you tips on utilising the mark. I also personally help Key Flag companies with using the mark.
“Using the Key Flag mark has been made extremely easy with versatile materials that are easy to utilise in the company’s marketing.”
“The webinars and instructions to use the material have been really valuable to us due to time resources. We got ready material quickly, and through it, visibility. Thanks 😊”
Versatile membership benefits
When you apply for the user rights of Key Flag or Design from Finland or Finnish Social Enterprise mark, you are also joining the association as member and, in addition to the user rights, you will have all the membership benefits. You can also become a member without applying for user rights of the marks and still have our general membership benefits.
We offer our member companies a wide range of training on communication, online trade and accountability, as well as campaigns and communication support, and surveys on consumers, BtoB buyers and public procurement, to utilise in sales and marketing.
“We received good materials for accountability communication.”
“The webinars were really useful, and they offered a lot of practical advice and inspiration. Thanks!”
The quotes are from a membership survey of the Association for Finnish Work
Nina Pohjoiskoski
Customer Relationship Manager, The Key Flag
nina.pohjoiskoski(a)suomalainentyo.fi
+358 50 344 6048