AV Magazine
Design-conscious and well educated, Scandinavians have high expectations of AV. But don't be at all surprised if they take their time when coming to a decision.
“Scandinavians often raise the bar when it’s a matter of quality and creative design work,” observes Daniel Ruden, GLP’s sales manager in the Nordic region.
“Design is the watchword,” echoes Mads Norskov, sales director at Imago Sonas. “The installation must look good. The demand for minimalistic installation is big.”
Clear-Com’s regional sales manager Christian Eberlein reckons the population in Scandinavia is, on average, better educated than in many other parts of the world “resulting in some very large high-tech installations.” One such involved the company’s connectivity solution, LQ, for a rocket launch site application in Norway.
There are cultural sensibilities toward AV business which apply across the region. For example, there is a tendency for lengthy and thorough decision making. “Scandinavians usually have a very pragmatic way of dealing with AV needs,” says Karl Kahlau, executive director at Powersoft. “One can sometimes argue with the length of time it takes to actually follow through with decisions, and the complexity of such investigations, but at the end of the day most decisions are well thought through. Technology, performance and reliability are factors high on their lists of desires.”
Trond Solvold, Dataton’s sales manager, also notes a tradition of communal decision making which applies to both creative and product development. “In my experience there’s a strong principle of standing by what you say here,” he adds. “This honesty, or transparency, is sometimes misconstrued as naivety.”
While manufacturing economies of scale may make Scandinavia as a whole the most logistically efficient addressable market, it would be inadvisable to lump the countries together from a marketing or sales perspective.
“Viewed from abroad, you will find a lot of similarities and when talking to partners in Sweden and Norway, I see we succeed with a lot of the same things,” says Norskov. “But we are still different, and a lot of companies have failed when they treat Scandinavia as one region. You need to have local presence.”
Solvold agrees on this point. “When it comes to doing business in Scandinavia, a lot of foreign companies make the mistake of seeing the region as a single market,” he says.
Geographically, the market is almost four times the size of the UK, but with just over a third of the population, so it stands to reason that you can’t treat it as one homogeneous zone. “And although the languages are similar, they are not the same. Ask the average Swede how much spoken Danish they understand!” he adds. “The Danes are well known as tough negotiators. Swedes are strong on consensus which can make the decision-making process longer and more time-consuming. In Norway, it has previously been easier to get acceptance for prices, probably because the Norwegian economy has been strong for so long. By being aware of the differences, half the battle is won.”
Separate trade shows
A well-planned and executed event, or an exhibition with a great narrative, will always go down well across Scandinavia, says Solvold, but there are slight variations on this theme. The Danish, he says, are traditionally very strong on creative design and visual thinking; Norwegians are quick to weigh up and incorporate new trends; Swedes have a very open attitude to new technologies and ideas.
These national differences are represented in separate trade shows and seminars focused on local application needs such as LLB Oslo, LLB Stockholm or Monitor Expo Copenhagen.
“The existence of these events gives the opportunity to really spend time with clients, rather than just a few minutes on the show floor,” says Sovold. “It also reflects a tough economic situation: instead of investing a lump sum in a single international show, clients want to spread the investment over the year and bring a more relevant, directed message to different regions.”
As always, investment is attracted to capital cities and the corporate, or industrial, capitals. Scandinavian countries are financially strong enough “to support solution investments to match high expectations,” says Kahlau. “With a smaller population than other regions in Europe it can sometimes be a challenge to motivate high investments, but overall AV solutions are on a par with larger countries such as Germany and the UK.”
Climate effect
It may seem obvious, but it is worth noting that the bitter climate in northern Europe can be a restraining factor on outdoor cultural and audio visual experiences.
“Scandinavians tend to flourish during the short summer months, when it comes to outside touring and theatrical activities,” says Kahlau.
In Sweden, interest rates are low and the economy is stable, but by contrast oil-export reliant Norway is under pressure as the collapse in gas and oil prices impacts all business investments.
“Whereas we greatly benefited from high oil prices, we now see recession,” notes Serge Philippo, Crestron’s regional director for the Nordics, Russia and East Europe. “Norway’s currency is at its lowest for 23 years.”
The ‘Euro versus no Euro’ debate continues to be a discussion, with Finland (in wider Scandinavia) the only country fully adopting the Euro as local currency. “The approach taken by Denmark and Norway, investing in currency stability, seems to be a well-balanced decision, creating a good source of employment and investment,” notes Eberlein.
The Swedish government has embarked on a 10-year road and rail infrastructure spending plan in place worth around €68 billion. The €1.8bn European Spallation Source will be one of the world’s largest science and technology facilities when built at Lund (in the south of Sweden). Kista Science City in Stockholm is already a leading ICT cluster. Businesses in the Swedish capital can also benefit from leasing superfast fibre optic network, Stokab.
“Gothenburg is a hotspot for AV as it has a lot of heavy industry (notably automation),” observes Solvold. “Malmo and Lund are part of the thriving Oresund region (which includes Copenhagen). And let’s not forget Dataton’s own home region, east Sweden, which has become a centre for visualisation technologies.”
SANDVIK COROMANT
Sandvik Coromant’s new global meeting place in Sandviken, Sweden covers 4,500m² and is one of the world’s largest centres for productivity, application, machining and research in manufacturing. Designed and installed by Visuell Design, the project encompasses a video wall, cinema, education rooms, boardrooms, focus points, productivity pods, machine cameras and 80in touch screens.
The infrastructure uses two Crestron 128 x 128 Digital Media switchers and a control system to deliver digital signage control and distribution. Crestron Fusion RV monitors and manages boardrooms and VC rooms and, using Crestron’s Fusion EM, facility managers can analyse energy consumption, control lights, and set actions for when a room is occupied and adjust the heating or cooling.
SUPERNOVAS FOR SYDOSTDANMARK MUSEUM
Recent exhibitions at the Museum Sydostdanmark in the Danish town of Koge have presented physical and visual challenges. Local SI AV-Huset worked with dnp Denmark to specify an 80in dnp Supernova STS and similarly sized dnp Supernova Blade, equipped with 08-85 screen material for a second exhibition. “We wanted to captivate the audience with size and content, and felt projection was more pleasing to the eye than LCD,” explains exhibition designer, Carl-Henrik Hansen.
The Gifts From The Past exhibition recounts the history of the Koge area of Denmark. “The low-ceilinged space demanded ultra-short throw projection from below,” says AV-Huset’s Jens Ravn. The Gunpowder Brothers’ show tells the story of the 1710 Battle of Koge Bay, between Swedish and Danish fleets, via iPads and audio clips. Both displays operate with Panasonic projectors.
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