Nokia's Pioneer Marketing History

PIONEERING MARKETING HISTORY

Nokia was originally founded 150 years ago by a Finnish engineer Fredrik Idestam, who established a wood-pulp mill in southern Finland and started manufacturing paper. The firm was already firmly setting its feet in the Communication territory. The aftermath and reconstruction of the Second World War drove an extensive demand for power and energy transmission, telex, telegraph and telephone communication. It was the moment that Finnish Rubber-Works chose to acquire majority shares in the Finnish Cable Works fomenting the speedy growth and expansion of the latter. The pulse analyser for use in nuclear power plants was the first piece of electronic hardware pioneered by Nokia in 1962. The Company began development on radio telephony in 1963 for emergency and military services and the third largest TV manufacturer in Europe by 1987. In 1967, the two companies merged to form the Nokia Group. As a firmly settled business, Nokia launched the world’s first international cellular network.

Nokia’s presence was felt throughout the 1970’s when the mobile phone industry was experiencing its lift-off culminating in 1982 with the introduction of the first car phone. In 1987 it introduced the first handheld mobile phone. The phone was heavy (800g) and expensive (Rs 200,000) but was well acclaimed as was the one proposed by rival Motorola at that time. In 1994, Nokia launched the 2100 series, the first to feature the Nokia famous ringtone tune, which established itself as a masterpiece. It turned out to be the most recognisable pieces of music in the world and one of the most frequently played. The Nokia 2100 sales rocketed to 20 million phones worldwide largely exceeding the 400,000 initial targets. Besides the r...

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... the industry with its Navigation services and Digital mapping systems. It has also been a service provider for Network infrastructure of mobile and Internet Protocols (IP). Nokia survived brilliantly the analog as well as the Digital eras showing real adaptation faculties and instincts over its 150 years of existence.

Nokia went on to build a solid reputation and a colossal goodwill over these years to be recognised as one of the most famous brand in the world; a status crucial in fulfilling its duties and responsibilities towards its employees, shareholders, investors, network operators and above all its consumers. Moreover, maintaining those levels of excellence should have guaranteed endurance and sustainability.

However nothing is forever and nothing can be taken for granted in any aspect of life. The field of technology proved to be no exception to this rule.