Ovi People Interviews: Meet Tiina from Ovi Product Marketing

Phew, I survived “Juhannus”! In last Friday’s post I told you about the Finnish Juhannus (or “Midsummer” in English) and what a huge deal it is in Finland. I had the best time; there was, among other things, numerous trips to the sauna involved (like there always is, this is Finland we’re talking about after all, LOL)

But it’s Monday which means it’s time to get back to business! We won’t dwell too far from the topic of Finland, though, because this week we have a Finn – Tiina Suvanto from Ovi Product Marketing – sitting in the interviewee’s bench. Let’s see what Tiina and I got up to during our interview!

Remember to let us know if you come up with a question you’d like to ask our future interviewees! You can, as usual, continue sending them directly to me at niini@ovi.com or in the Comments section.

What do you do here at Nokia, Tiina?

I work in Ovi product marketing, and my work focuses mostly on the Ovi value proposition and communication.

How long have you been working here and what other projects have you been working on at Nokia?

I’ve been working at Nokia for exactly 9 and a half years (!) and I came here directly from Helsinki University of Technology. I started off as a master’s thesis writer for the Strategy and Business Development for Nokia Mobile Phones, where I then worked for a couple of years. I also worked in Games for a number of years, and my last role there was to head marketing for our own games publishing efforts meaning, 1st party publishing globally. My team was located in Espoo and Vancouver back then.

What did you do before you joined Nokia (work + education)?

Studied. And there may have been some student parties that were a part of that student life My major at Helsinki University of Technology was Strategy and  International Business and Telecommunications.

What makes you passionate about what you do?

Learning. I get my kicks from being able to learn all the time. And another thing is the people here at Nokia; we have some truly brilliant people working here. This has probably been mentioned a million times already, but I also really love the fact that at Nokia you’re able to make a difference and have a say in things. That’s really important for me.

What word is the first word that comes to your mind when you think about Ovi?

People.

What’s your favorite thing you’ve downloaded from Store? Why?

Absolutely and without a doubt: the Sports Tracker. I couldn’t live without it anymore. Actually, the last time I used it was when I was in Cape Town just a while back and we hiked to Table Mountain. The highest, flattest part of the mountain is 1000 metres high, so you can just imagine what my scores looked like with those altitude changes =) I also use the Facebook application quite a bit.

What was your very first Nokia device?

1630 was my first phone, back in 1996.

What devices do you use right now and what do you mainly do with them?

I use the N97 mini, but I use my E75 occasionally. I use my phone for the basic functions such as calling, email, text messages, calendar… I also listen to a lot of music, radio (sometimes) and of course use Maps quite a bit.

What were you looking for the last time you used Maps?

I was going to a picnic in Pikku-Huopalahti! Found the place. And the picnic was gooood. Another time when Maps came in handy recently was when I was on that trip in South Africa, and (of course) I couldn’t remember any of my friends’ addresses or wasn’t organized enough to have them with me, you know, to send postcards to. I did, however, remember how to drive to each of my friends’ places, so I just went to Ovi Maps to look the places up I could find postal codes and everything!

What are your top three favorite blogs/websites?

Well, Facebook is on the top of my list, of course. I also tend to follow a bunch of news outlets, both foreign and domestic ones, and tech blogs such as Engadget. I also follow a couple of travel blogs, such as the blog of this one group who documented their climb to Mount Everest. Every now and then I check out some fashion blogs… and get newsletters from for example Net-a-Porter.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I have two main things that I spend my free time with: first of which is exercise. I play tennis , for example. And yes, I know you’ve interviewed Katja, Ovi’s own tennis champ, before me! And no, we haven’t had a face-off on the tennis court yet.

You don’t know if I was going to ask you that

Hehe, of course not… But yeah, no battle on the tennis field yet. I do believe she would kick my butt, though. But anyway, this is a challenge, Katja! Next time you’re Finland: bring your racket and I’ll book the tennis court. It’s on

The other thing is traveling, which is my ultimate passion. I love it; and the farther the country, the better! Mountainous areas are my favourite places to travel since hiking is one of my favorite things and I really enjoy the view of snow peaked mountains! It’s also truly eye-opening to travel in, for example, 3rd world countries. You see how the rest of the world lives, and you see how different people’s lives are from the lives of, for example, most Finns. You just appreciate what you have so much more after those trips!

Is there anything you’d like to tell our readers here at the Ovi Blog?

Stay cool, everyone! No, just kidding. I’d like to repeat what many have said already: keep trying out our services and learning more about Ovi (we can teach you =), and let us know what you think! All feedback is appreciated. Really.