Minna Parikka

“Life is too short to take fashion seriously”

• Minna Parikka is a Finnish shoe designer

• She was only 15 years old when she realized that designing shoes was her true calling in life

• At the age of 19 Minna moved to England to study footwear design at the De Montfort University

“I felt like I’d been struck by a lightning when I first realized I could actually make a career out of making

shoes.”

• At 22 she was awarded the title of Young British Glove Designer by the British Glove Association• In 2005, she returned to Helsinki to start Minna Parikka brand, aiming for international success• Minna is the creative designer and the managing director of her company• In 2011, she was awarded in Finland with a young entrepreneur prize Timangi and in Spain with Fuenso Special Jury Award

• Today, Parikka's shoes are sold in her flagship boutique in Helsinki and 16 different countries as well as being available online on numerous websites• Price 220-450 EUR, average 300 EUR• Also bags, leather gloves and knitwear• Minna creates designs that combine elements of surrealism, playfulness and contemporary design with quality, comfort and wearibility

The Creativity and Passion of Parikka

• Minna Parikka gets her inspiration from an active everyday life• Stress • Pressure • Commercialism

can kill creativity. However, she does recognize the importance of being commercially successful. She feels it is a must to take the customers’ expectations into account while designing her collections.She couldn’t imagine working for anyone else as a designer.

• She believes that…

The Creativity and Passion of Parikka

Entrepreneurial Identities• Minna Parikka is an entrepreneur with three entrepreneurial identities:

• Inventor Identity She identified the opportunity for her business and developed the brand Minna Parikka, which is now internationally successful. When creating her collections she constantly develops her products with the market and the consumers in mind.

The Creativity and Passion of Parikka

Entrepreneurial Identities• Founder Identity

From the beginning of her career, she has been very passionate about establishing her business for commercializing and capitalizing on opportunities.

• Developer Identity She is constantly engaging in attracting new customers and market development, and is passionate about growing and expanding her business.

Audience ManagementShort Digital Marketing Plan

• Minna Parikka engages with her audience and consumers through a variety of ways including: Facebook Twitter Pinterest Minnaparikka.com Vkontakte

facebook.com/minnaparikka

• Informative• Mostly impersonal interaction• Differs from the webpage very little• Audience is visible

• Suggestions: Enhance personal communication

Encourage user involvement

Twitter

• @MinnaParikka• 48 Tweets (in 2012: 6-12 tweets / month), 26

Following, 186 Followers• Informative channel

Twitter (cont.)• Possibilities:

Twitter is relatively small in Finland but big abroad

Powerful way to connect fans, superstars, as well as organizations, such as World Design Capital Helsinki @wdchelsinki2012

Huge possibility to become an opinion leader in shoe/fashion/design world

• Suggestions: "The designer behind the

brand" "Learn the possibilities"

Pinterest

Pinterest (cont.)• Minna's shoes are already on Pinterest!• Many of the pins are from Minnaparikkashop.com

• Possibilities: Reports claim that over 80 % of Pinterest's

users are women (easy to reach the target group)! The fanbase is already there Fashion pinners are becoming more influential

(cf. fashion bloggers)

• Suggestions: Connect Minnaparikkashop.com and Pinterest

more deeply and try making Pinterest her number one

social media channel

Minnaparikka.com

• Information• Shop

• Few interaction possibilities• Only in English and Finnish

• Points out the artist

Vkontakte

• Minna Parikka’s community: 583 members Discussions concerning the brand

in terms of its quality, price, and the most convenient ways to acquire the product

Photo galleries Links to the office webpage and

to the online shop Details on where to find her shoes

in Helsinki

• Russian analog of Facebook Fan groups, videos, etc.

Thank You!