Scaling up creativity. Finpro Luovimo company internationalization story. More info at http://www.finpro.fi/luovimo/scaling-up-creativity

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Citynomadi Oy - mobile guides for travellers
1. Company overview
Citynomadi is a Tampere based software development company specialised in web and
mobile solutions and services. Citynomadi’s current business solutions are designed for
travelers, who can enjoy the pre-designed and often thematic routes on their smart phones.
The routes can also be created, edited and shared on www.citynomadi.fi, and Facebook also
features dedicated community for the nomads.
The company was selected to Luovimo program thanks to its emphasis on cultural and
thematic routes; the offering goes beyond standard mobile technology in raising awareness
for art, culture and creativity. The mobile application is available on Symbian, Android and
iPhone platforms.
2. Scope and content of the Luovimo project
In Luovimo project the goal was to define the offering, identify the most potential customer
segments and to carry out business opportunity analysis in selected countries. Phase one of
the project focused of workshops and development of the offering, whereas the later stages
the emphasis was on market surveys and operations.
It was seen early in the project that the the success of the concept requires good preparation:
- focus on selected technologies (Symbian, Android and iPhone; touch screen UI’s; QT)
- careful productization to avoid 24/7 support requirements in various countries
- addressing the masses (tourism to large cities, high volume attractions and cultural sites)
- availability and accessibility; easy to access and to use for the end user, easy to deliver
and support for the distributor
- convenience at low costs for the user; data roaming charges minimized with e.g. pre-
loaded maps and site information
The ongoing customer projects in Finland benchmarked the ways to operate abroad, where
the need to strict focus and productization grow significantly.
3. Interviews
The following operators in known tourist attractions were approached and interviewed, at
which the Citynomadi service was presented:
In Spain:
- Mi Nube: social media with focus on tourism
- Tourist Board Valencia
- Hoteles Catalonia: Catalan hotel chain
- Geoplaneta/Grupo Planeta: major madia publisher in tourism (Lonely Planet group)

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In the UK:
- Dance Umbrella: annual dance festival in London
- Edinburgh Fringe: annual art festival in Scotland
- London Design Festival: annual international Design event
- Visit London: London Tourist Board
These actors well represented the industry in terms of trends, technology and service
innovations for tourists in large scale. The key contacts were eager to meet Finpro
representatives after hearing what the purpose of the meeting, and were helpful in evaluating
the concept, competition and challenges in distribution, visibility, communication and earning
models.
4. Key findings
- The acceptance towards mobile applications and guides was positive and enthusiastic;
the competition in mass tourism is fierce and new ways to produce & offer innovative
services to tourists are studied constantly
- There are already a number of solutions for iPhone and Android platforms, so a
succesful market entry requires a thorough understanding of consumer needs and the
corresponding solution (e.g. brand intergration to the event: visuals, themes and
interactive functions)
- Most of the internet services and many of the mobile services are free for the end user,
which sets high requirements for a servive with a user fee: it has to be fine-tailored for the
need and bring added value for the service provider, so that they are motivated to offer it
for the end users
- In promising niche segments the challenges relate to the limited volumes, although the
environment may be less price sensitive; also the need for constant content updates may
become laborious for the vendor
- The service (both mobile and web) must speak the local language (text, audio & video)
The service was found intreresting and the acceptance was good. There are, however, a
number of similar or similarly perceived solutions, whose offering, features and value
proposition should be explored closely, so that Citynoadi’s competitive positioning could be
established. The challenges related to distribution are often case sensitive; finding such a
service in the web without linking it to mass tourism one way or the other is a game of
chance.
5. Conclusions & recommendations
The success of Citynomadi service in Finland is based on active personal sales, good
management key accounts and well customised projects (e.g. Espoo “rantaraitti” and Turku
Culture Capitol events). This operational model will not allow fast growth abroad, except in
carefully selected sites with large cash flow potential and slow pace in content updates. In

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larger scale fast international growth will require carefully designed business model, which
utilises integrated partner network in the target segment. Building an earning model for the
partners is essential in this.
Citynomadi’s SWOT-analysis repeats the strengths and weaknesses of a Finnish SME: good
technical competence and focus, but limited resources. The company has good opportunities
to expand the business in Finland and neighboring countries, which will enable new business
development in selected target markets. Every new customer reference is a valuable one, and
should be utilised fully in marketing. And finally, a strict focus is to be maintained to enable
replicability.
Read the 7 findings in internationalizing creativity from Luovimo companies at
http://www.finpro.fi/luovimo/scaling-up-creativity