A change partner for artful growth and cultured impact

ABOUT

Poem is more than just a strategy consultancy. Creative enterprises, art museums, concert halls, research institutions, and progressive brands partner with us to create systems change, to do well and do good.

Our edge

We are strategists, researchers, and creatives who explore the existing worlds and build new ones with you. Our methodologies come from systemic design, social sciences, economics, cultural studies, strategic foresight, and business transformation.

Our story

Our origins trace back to 2011, when we emerged as a strategy consultancy in New York. Over a decade and more than a hundred of successful client projects later, we now advance art, culture, science, and technology from Helsinki.

APPROACH

We specialize in artful growth and cultured impact. Two parallel journeys guided with strategy, designed to enhance the meaning, speed, and scale of change.

Artful growth

Facing increased competition and decreased funding, cultural and creative organizations can only thrive with new revenue streams.

Artful growth journeys upgrade organizations with most fitting means for value creation, provide new resources, and enhance long-term fundraising.

A growth journey can involve exploring the new customer preferences, forming a vivid vision, redesigning business models, forging corporate alliances, and leveraging digital service offerings.

Cultured impact

Confronted with social and environmental polycrises, organizations need to realign their relationships with ecology, society, and people.

Cultured impact journeys evolve organizations’ understanding of impact, enrich their work with meaning, and create beneficial results for all involved.

An impact journey can include exploring impact from the (post)human point of view, creating a moving mission, envisioning impact transition, refining work culture, and reanimating community engagement.

SERVICES

Change happens with adaptive strategies: clear directions and shared actions, based on deep insights and responsive learning.

  • Vision & strategy

    Collaborative and inclusive visions, strategies, and goals to lead organizations forward.

    | Strategy journeys
    | Strategic foresight
    | Vision formulation
    | Organization design
    | Goal setting

  • Business strategy

    New opportunities, business models, and services to create more value and revenue.

    | Opportunity identification
    | Business model innovation
    | Fundraising programs
    | Service concepts
    | Company partnerships

  • Transition strategy

    Bold plans and steps to realign relationships with ecology, society, and communities.

    | Sustainability leaps
    | Transition journeys
    | Regenerative opportunities
    | Ethical guidelines
    | Impact metrics

  • Experience strategy

    Inspiring directions and engaging concepts that resonate with diverse people.

    | Brand platforms
    | Exhibition concepts
    | Communication plans
    | Community engagement
    | Culture development

CLIENTS

Aalto University — Archinfo — Ateneum Art Museum — City of Helsinki — City of Turku — Craft Museum of Finland — Design Forum Finland — Design Museum — EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art — European Commission — Europeana — Finna — Finnish Museum of Photography — Finnish Heritage Agency — HAM Helsinki Art Museum — Helsinki Biennial — Helsinki City Museum — Helsinki Metropolitan Area Libraries — House of Visual Arts — Iittala — Lahti City Museums — Maritime Centre Vellamo — Museum of Finnish Architecture — Museum of History and the Future — Sitra — Startup Refugees — Suunto — Turku Music Hall Fuuga — University of the Arts Helsinki — Yle — and many others.

  • THE HOUSE OF VISUAL ARTS / Vision & Strategy, Business Strategy

    Building the concept, strategic directions, business model and services for the new visionary center for visual arts in Helsinki.

  • EMMA, ESPOO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART / Business Strategy

    Creating the vision and business model for new growth with the leading Finnish contemporary art museum.

  • TURKU MUSIC HALL FUUGA / Vision & Strategy, Business Strategy

    Developing the strategy, business models, service portfolio and governance model for the new music hall opening in 2026.

  • CRAFT MUSEUM OF FINLAND / Experience Strategy

    Designing the concept for the new main exhibition that explores the virtual, actual, and intensive dimensions of craft.

  • IITTALA / Business Strategy

    Developing the design strategy and portfolio model for the essential design brand, to drive change from the human perspective.

  • THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND THE FUTURE / Vision & Strategy

    Creating the museum concept, strategic directions and operational model for the new museum opening in the Turku harbor in 2030.

  • THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND THE FUTURE / Experience Strategy

    Creating the concept for the main exhibition ‘Startling Lives’ that builds empathy for life's complexity and diversity.

  • HELSINKI METROPOLITAN AREA LIBRARIES / Transition Strategy

    Supporting the libraries with a vision and directions for increasing equality, equity and inclusion in their operations.

  • SUUNTO / Vision & Strategy

    Developing the purpose and strategy to transform the 80-year-old wearable sports tech company for the future.

  • DESIGN MUSEUM / Experience Strategy

    Crafting the strategy and concept for the Utopia Now main exhibition that tells the story of Finnish design.

  • DESIGN MUSEUM / Experience Strategy

    Curating the exhibition Enter & Encounter to explore the emerging directions and new possibilities for Finnish design.

  • ARCHINFO, THE INFORMATION CENTRE FOR FINNISH ARCHITECTURE / Vision & Strategy

    Building the strategy with the board and personnel for the organization to operate and create impact across society.

  • MUSEUM OF FINNISH ARCHITECTURE / Vision & Strategy

    Advising on strategy to help the museum prepare for the multi-year transition to a new building.

  • YLE, THE FINNISH BROADCASTING COMPANY / Transition Strategy

    Developing the social impact strategy for Yle to co-create deeper value across digital channels.

  • AALTO UNIVERSITY / Experience Strategy

    Supporting the leadership teams and educators with strategies that help design education to face the future.

  • VENICE BIENNALE, FINNISH PAVILION FINALIST / Experience Strategy

    Co-creating the concept of Hyperwater to explore the cultural and architectural properties of water, the source of all life.

PEOPLE

Our team is a blend of strategists, researchers, and creatives. We collaborate with diverse experts, forming ensembles that bring deep perspective to every endeavor.

Ville Tikka
Strategy Lead

Ville advices the leadership, strategy, and creative teams in diverse sectors, including art organizations, tech companies, progressive museums, creative brands, concert halls, and NGOs.

Prior to founding Poem, he gained extensive experience in tech sector in New York and Helsinki, leading strategy, innovation, and research projects alongside global business, design, and brand teams. His work involved conducting foresight and ethnographic research on five continents.

Ville has written books on circular and contemporary design. His expertise extends to curating and designing exhibitions, as well as pioneering explorations in AI/ML and web3 world-building.

He holds an MA in Psychology and Media Studies from the University of Turku.

Jasmina Amzil
Strategist

Jasmina is devoted to guide organizations to bridge their mission with relevant social issues and transform their position in their markets and conversations.

She has worked as a project researcher at Aalto University studying ethnic discrimination, director and editor of Ruskeat Tytöt (‘Brown Girls’—a non-profit digital media platform and writing academy centering underrepresented voices), as well as a strategist in PR and communications.

Jasmina holds an MA in Economics and Business Administration, International Marketing Management from LUT School of Business and Management.

Vilja Achté
Strategist

Vilja is a researcher, creative and strategic thinker, interested in the possibilities of digital storytelling and the cultural sector at large.

She is excited about developing meaningful and sustainable paths towards better co-existence through conceptual design and cultural research.

Her artistic practice is focused around creating 3D narrative environments that translate into videos, web works, projections and images.

Vilja holds an MA in Visual Communication from the Royal College of Art, and is currently a PhD student at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture.

get in touch

get in touch

Ville Tikka
Strategy Lead
Phone +358 4068 40656
Email ville@poem.company