Function by design: AV in Scandinavia

AV Magazine

High expectations of technology in performance and design characterise the vibrant Nordics market

 https://www.avinteractive.com/features/market-sectors/function-by-design-03-09-2018/

As one might imagine, AV in the Nordics is cutting edge and tech savvy, heavily design centric and driven by the latest and greatest innovations coming out of the US and Europe. That’s not to say they’re not cost-conscious. Overall, the region’s economy has managed to avoid many of the issues faced by other European countries recently, allowing technology and design to flourish and form a key factor in many installations.

“The results speak for themselves,” says Richard Smith, sales manager, Calibre UK. “It has to look good and we are not talking about the product, but the end result. Quality leads the way in many installs, with the customer not needing to know how you get there, so long as it looks good and performs well.”

Tomas Erikson, Maverick’s business development manager for Sweden, says: “The Nordic region is extremely tech orientated and leads in adapting to new technology. On a general level you need to work to the fact that end users have high expectations of tech and the younger generation will enter the workplace expecting their employers to have technology to enable nimble work practices.”

Serge Philippo, Creston’s regional director says its partners and end users are early adopters of high-end technologies: “They often want things that still don’t exist”.

GLP Nordics’ sales manager, Daniel Rüdén also characterises Scandinavians as very technology savvy. “They are constantly looking for new developments and craving to get their hands on cutting edge technology. This reflects the behaviour from end clients and users alike in this region, as they are used to very high standards in advanced AV.”

Channel differences
The business climate in the region is broadly similar but there are notably differences in approach and channel which are worth considering.

“In Denmark and Finland communication is more straight forward: you ask straight questions and you get straight answers,” says Rüdén. “Business in Sweden and Norway is based more on networking, relationships and word of mouth.”

“Norwegian clients are very brand loyal and appreciate the kudos of particular ‘marques’,” reports Dennis Lundell, CEO, Aloud (a CEDIA member). “They are very willing to invest in particular items that are high end and stand out from their contemporaries.”

By contrast, he says, Swedish clients tend to opt for the complete package “and are more willing to draw on our years of expertise and knowledge.” The demand for tailored services and solutions is higher in the Swedish market. “Swedes value and wish to invest in hidden and more integrated systems, quite possibly a direct reflection of the how Swedes appreciate understated presentation.”

Perhaps Denmark sticks out, simply because the small geographic area with short transportation distances makes the market very compact.

“Any reseller can compete all over Denmark,” observes Lars Persen, pedagogical leader for Scandec Systemer, Norwegian distributor for Promethean. “This also creates a less distinct line between distributors and resellers.”

Other Scandinavian countries have clearer distribution channels. “There is need for both warehouse and specialist AV capacity nationally and installation resources and services locally, sometimes very far from the national capitals and warehouses,” says Persen. “In this, the Norwegian AV market is distinguished by its more demanding geography.”

Dataton sales director Trond Solvold, adds, “It’s important for Danish customers to have direct contact with the manufacturer while Swedish and Norwegian dealers are used to working with distributors,” while Melinda Von Horvath, vp sales & marketing for Peerless-AV suggests, “Norway is a geographically segmented market with a lot of dealers. Sweden is similarly a dealer market, Whereas, Finland is more of a distribution market. All need to be treated differently.”

One example of the differences between Denmark and the other Scandinavian countries are the public framework agreements. “While municipalities and counties for all their purchases have local framework agreements based on smaller tender descriptions, Denmark is totally centralized through a nationwide tenders,” explains Persen. “The Danish public market is perhaps easier to dominate – or to be excluded from.

“In short, we can describe the Swedish and Danish market as business driven, while Norway is more conservative. This might have to do with the fact that Sweden and Denmark are EU-members and Norway not.”

The seemingly unwavering growth in the Swedish economy is reflected in the flourishing residential AV and custom installation market.

Oil money
Lundell reports a high level of interest in “truly bespoke integrated solutions and an increase in the uptake of traditional handcrafted products” such as the Parisien metal work light switches of Meljac, paired with the latest functionality of Aloud’s control system.

If Sweden is the Nordic’s biggest AV market, Norway is economically stronger. While the recent slump in oil prices has impacted project investment the nation is awash with North Sea profits, smartly pooling over U$880 billion (€753bn) into a sovereign wealth fund.

Evidence of this can be found in Stavenger, Norway’s oil capital “back on the chart as a marketplace for innovations and communications” since oil prices more than doubled this spring from a low in early 2017. “The oil industry was always very international and because of high demand for efficient meetings across continents, Stavanger is a major force in locating good pro AV solutions, particularly for video conferencing and collaboration, also for offshore communications,” Lundell says.

Crestron is currently supplying kit for a client there. “Their goal is to make the world’s smartest building,” says Philippo, “where the building itself learns to know how its users are working and are adapting to their needs.”

Elsewhere in Norway, Bergen is becoming a major hub for media companies, start-ups, conferences and broadcasting clustered around the Media City which officially opened last November. A new airport terminal in Bergen features large format projectors to create an extended user space through 24/7 projection of tourist-friendly (natural landscapes) visual information. It’s set with a lower brightness to blend in with the wooden and marble interior of the airport.

Twin convention centres
Stockholm and Copenhagen are centres of conventions, conferences and concerts. The rapid expansion in the Fintech market is particularly noticeable in Sweden. Companies such as King, Klarna and Spotify all require AV-smart office space for meeting rooms, entertaining areas and multimedia facilities.

“The demand for AV in Stockholm is huge as the city is rapidly and constantly growing, so there is constant demand from new entertainment and MICE venues,” says Rüdén.

“Event companies have gained in stature and clout across the region,” says Solvold. “They work directly with corporate marketing departments so they exert a lot of influence over what is done and what technology is used. It’s perhaps a result of the “do-it-myself” attitude where many companies initially try to delegate AV requirements to the IT department or developers. When the AV bar is raised, event companies can step in with their expertise.”

Scandinavia hosts a wide variety of events increasing year on year, ranging from music festivals to conferencing. 

For example, touring exhibition Monitor Road Show will tour Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland over the summer; next year Sweden hosts the FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships, which will provide a variety of opportunities for AV. This autumn’s general election in Sweden might also have an impact on AV demand at political rallies.

In the digital signage sector Peerless-AV spies many opportunities for its Xtreme High Bright Outdoor Displays beyond the kit’s weatherproof capabilities. Von Horvath attributes this in part to the rise of electric charging stations that use outdoor displays in custom kiosk solutions.

Iceland small but strong
Let’s not forget Iceland in our tour of the Nordics. With barely 350,000 inhabitants, the market is very small yet modern and surprisingly strong in AV. “Icelandic AV companies such as Origo (previously Nýherji) exhibit strong technical knowledge of new technology and an understanding of digital signage products in particular,” notes Von Horvath.

“Iceland has a very broad entertainment culture, which in turn creates a demand for new technology,” says Rüdén. One example is the Harpa concert hall in Reykjavik, described by Rüdén as a “very forward-thinking venue, both from an architectural and AV equipment perspective.”

Persen reports increasing investments in pro AV in higher education in Norway in particular. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim is spending €70 million on new buildings with construction due to start this autumn. “Demand for video streaming and more interactive communication methods are changing how the Scandinavian universities think, something that will be mirrored in big new campus investments,” he adds.

“A distinct shift is that that there now is little or no separation between AV equipment, such as panels, cameras and sound systems, and IT systems, including student computers, programming robots and software solutions,” says Persen. “There is simply a demand that everything installed in a classroom is able to work together, more and more seamlessly.”

In Oslo there are major investments in public buildings like the new Deichman library, opening in 2019, and a brand new national museum. The latter will, when open in 2020, become the largest museum in the Nordic region.