How do we use data in advertising?

April 22, 2024

We use data to drive customer-oriented marketing and improve the customer experience. Transparency in the use of data in advertising is an important part of responsible data use.

"We are open about what we use data for, who our partners are and what sort of targeting we do. We do not share users’ locations with our partners and only collect data from Sanoma’s own services. The consumer also has the option of opting out of the use of cookie data, resulting in them seeing advertising without personal data-based targeting or optimisation. Contextual targeting is an effective way for advertisers to reach consumers who have opted out of using cookie data," says Jaakko Kuivalainen, director of B2B digital business at Sanoma. 

A significant proportion of visitors to our site already use a Sanoma account on a regular basis. As a result, we know Finnish consumers and their media consumption very well, which sets us apart from other players in the industry. By combining their own data with the high-quality first-party data from Sanoma, advertisers can target their messages to their own audiences and tailored segments.

"We are actively involved in industry associations to develop the EU's privacy and data protection mechanism to make the market work better. One of our goals is to make data protection standards equal so that international giants play by the same rules as others," Kuivalainen says. 

How do we ensure brand safety in advertising? 

Brand safety in advertising refers to all the practices and tools that ensure the safety of the media environment for the brand.

"We know that advertising is not suitable for all news content. This includes news items about human suffering caused by disasters and wars, for example. We automatically identify this inappropriate content and remove any advertisements," says Kuivalainen. 

In all our journalistic content production, we follow the journalistic guidelines of the Council for Mass Media in Finland. The quality and reliability of the media environment is also positively reflected in the advertised brand (Source: The AdTrust Study, ThinkNewsBrands 2019).

How do we ensure that the use of AI in advertising technology and targeting is ethical? 

We also use artificial intelligence as part of advertising technologies and targeting. Sanoma has now defined ethical principles for the use of artificial intelligence to ensure the responsible use of artificial intelligence and minimise risks associated with it. By following the principles, we aim to monitor the safe, appropriate and responsible use of artificial intelligence.

"When using AI, we apply the principles and practices for the protection of personal data and privacy contained in Sanoma's data protection policy, and we have already anticipated the upcoming AI regulation in the EU in our ethical principles," Kuivalainen says.

Sanoma is involved in a joint litigation by European media companies concerning Google’s anti-competition activities in the field of online marketing technology.

Sanoma follows the marketing rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the EU Framework for Online Behavioural Advertising self-regulation principles developed by IAB Europe and the self-regulation guidelines of the Data & Marketing Association of Finland (ASML) in all its marketing activities. The Council of Ethics in Advertising monitors advertising in Finland to ensure it is responsible.

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   Further Reading

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July 2, 2025
Video advertising is one of the most effective ways to make an impact. These three research facts gathered by Video Commercial Manager Tuomo Sinkkonen show that the attention value of video advertising in Sanoma’s news media environment beats social media giants.
By Pia Hauskaviita June 26, 2025
The survey results are also good news for advertisers. 75% of Finns say they trust most of the news they follow and 67% believe that most news can be trusted, according to the Digital News Report 2025 survey by the Reuters Institute at Oxford University. In Finland, trust in news has been more common than in other countries throughout the survey's measurement history. High-income and highly educated people are more likely to trust the news than low-income and less educated people. Sanoma's news media reach the majority of Finns on a weekly basis. We have a high-quality, free media and an uncompromising professional ethic. Our news media are respected and Finns typically find their news by visiting directly to mediasites or apps. "For advertisers, this is good news. In addition to reach, a safe media environment also strengthens the message of the ad," says Pia Hauskaviita , Marketing Manager at Sanoma. Finland also has a higher share of people interested in news than most other countries in the comparison. 63% of Finns are very or quite interested in the news. Men (71%) are more interested in news than women (56%). The share of people with a high level of education and high income who are interested in news is also higher than average. Finns want to be up to date on current events. They also enjoy the news for a long time. For example, our biggest news paper, Helsingin Sanomat, is read for about an hour a day on average. "For advertisers, this means that advertising also gets more attention. Reading and browsing the news media is slower and more concentrated than on social media," says Hauskaviita. In most of the countries surveyed, text has remained the most popular form of online news presentation. This is particularly the case in Finland, where people are far more likely to read online news than to watch or listen to it than in other countries. On the other hand, Finland is the only country in the comparison where news videos are more typically viewed on news sites than on social media. "The video format in news media is therefore a great choice for advertisers. When you use the Katselutakuuvideo (viewing guaranteed -video), we promise that your video ad will be watched until the end and you will only pay for the final views," Hauskaviita sums up. The Reuters Digital News Report compares news consumption in 48 countries. The data is based on a survey of around 2,000 respondents in each country. The survey is conducted annually and Finland has been participating since 2014. The report is funded by the Media Research Foundation. This year's survey was conducted in January and February as an online survey by the YouGov research institute. Read more about how Juustoportti’s bold and colourful video advertising stopped thumbs in Sanoma’s news media.
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Dairy company Juustoportti’s eye-catching campaign boosted the launch of their new protein products. Outstream video advertising in popular news media is a perfect match for a TV campaign and a productive next step after focusing on social media.
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Kia’s front-page advertisements have resulted in plenty of earned media and boosted their brand as a forerunner in electric cars. Helsingin Sanomat, a trusted icon of Finnish media, lends both visibility and reliability to advertising on its pages.
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