Real, Not Perfect: Helsinki’s Authentic Pitch to Talent

Finland consistently ranks as the world’s happiest country, but Helsinki’s talent strategy goes beyond that narrative. Instead of promoting perfection, it focuses on authenticity to better connect with international talent.  

On this episode of Talent Wars, host Patience Fairbrother Wallace speaks with Anita Lankinen, marketing manager at Helsinki Partners, about how Helsinki is positioning itself in the global race for talent through its “Happy Helsinki” brand and its guiding principle of being real, not perfect. 

Anita talks about her move from Russia to Finland and how that experience informs her work in talent attraction. She then explores how Helsinki Partners brings visitor, talent and investment promotion together under one roof to align messaging and share insights across teams. 

The conversation dives into the “Hire Helsinki” campaign, which cast the city as a job candidate to compete for talent and drove more than 71,000 application clicks in three months. Anita also shares the thinking behind the Pamela Anderson campaign, which generated more than 500 million impressions and showed how quickly a strong narrative can scale. 

Throughout the episode, Patience and Anita discuss how the “Happy Helsinki” narrative translates into tangible messaging around “life-work balance,” short commutes, childcare and healthcare, while also being transparent about taxes and climate realities. 

Listen in to learn: 

• Why Helsinki uses the “real, not perfect” philosophy in talent attraction  
• How the “Happy Helsinki” brand is adapted for international talent audiences  
• How collaboration strengthens talent, visitor and investment promotion strategies  
• How data and segmentation improve talent targeting  
• How to leverage a timely celebrity hook to strengthen your destination narrative

For regions and cities looking to strengthen their talent strategy, this episode offers clear insights on why real messaging matters more than polished branding. 

Listen and subscribe to Talent Wars on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. To submit guest or episode topic ideas, email patience.fairbrother@old.aboutdci.com.