Creativity in Copenhagen: The Lean Clean Making Machine
With fifty percent of the top ten happiest countries being Nordic, it seems that it’s far from rotten in the state of Denmark. Moreover, Scandinavian creativity from the songstresses of Oslo to the outlying design output of Stockholm seems to be enough to make the rest of the world stand back, rub its eyes and take notes.
On my last trip up there in December I was fortunate to meet some of the young talent working at leading edge design agencies such as Snøhetta (who designed Norway’s currency and Oslo’s awe-inspiring Opera House) and Bielke&Yang. Their passion for all things design and general workflow was all consuming, not to mention their commitment to the hypiest new Nike trainers - truth be told I felt like a bit of a dick in my tattered up vans.
Martin Peters Ginsborg, ECD of Uncle Grey in Copenhagen and true native, seems to think it’s about ”Nordic sensibility and global ambitions”. Having also worked in New York and Amsterdam he shares his feelings on staring into fires with a glass of wine, music, fashion, nordic design and of course advertising.
Jake> Denmark came third in the list of happiest nations - would you agree with that, and in your experience why do you think this is?
Martin> There is, generally speaking, a very positive can-do spirit in Denmark, plus a good balance of work ethics combined with a respect for family life. We have words like ‘hygge’, which means something to the effect of ‘lighting a few candles and staring into the fireplace over a glass of wine with someone you love’. You don’t invent words like that unless it is important to your culture.
Jake> Work-life balance is supposed to be better in Nordic countries; do you think this applies to the creative industries as well? Or is it business as usual?
Martin> Having worked in a few cities around the world, I can say for sure that there is a much better life balance in the Nordic states than in cities like New York for instance. That said, the best Nordic agencies have a global perspective and manage to mix the best of both worlds. You take a few Danes, some Swedes, a couple of Brits (not too many), and an Italian or two for good measure, and then you put them together in a city like Copenhagen and you get the perfect mix. Nordic sensibility and global ambitions.
Jake> Do you think Scandinavian design heritage has a big influence on commercial work in Nordic countries?
Martin> There is ugly commercial work being produced everywhere. The Nordics included. But I do think the Scandinavian creative industries are pushing each other forward. There is a great surge of Nordic fashion, gastronomy, art, and of course that rubs off on the commercial industry as well. I feel inspired as much by the past, as the way everyone else in interpreting our heritage.
Jake> I got the impression agencies have a very strong collaborative workflow when it comes to their clients - would you agree? And would you say Copenhagen and the likes are outliers in this regard?
Martin> One of the reasons behind the success of some of the Scandinavian agencies has to do with the fact that we, because of our size, are forced to punch above our weight. As a result, you have a lot of great, small Nordic shops, who think nimbly, have flat structures and are used to collaboration not just internally, but with clients, and also across the Nordics. As an example, we work quite closely with INGO in Stockholm, TRY in Norway and SEK In Helsinki, which is a great collaboration of like-minded folks.
Jake> How does it compare living and working there with Amsterdam (which also found itself in the top 10) and New York?
Martin> When I moved from New York to Amsterdam, it was a relatively big culture shock. Although we were working with global clients, the pace of the city was just much slower than I had been used to in New York. But as the agency grew from a just few people to more than 17 different nationalities, we got that vibe just right. There are a lot of similarities between living in Amsterdam and Copenhagen, and I believe that in both cities the best agencies are the ones that manage to retain that local sensibility, but manage to translate that to something that works for global brands.
Jake> With the sun shining out Scandinavia’s arse this year in social and economic terms, is there anything that other countries could learn from you?
Martin> In terms of creativity a lot of people are looking at Scandinavia right now, and rightfully asking ‘how are so many great ideas and projects coming from such small group of crazy vikings?’ (And with relativity limited budgets.) The short answer is: we have less fat. Our US based clients are always surprised when they realise that people who pitch the work, and sell the work, are the same ones actually doing the work. There are no layers it has to trickle through, so fewer things gets lost in translation. A piece of advice? Cut the fat. Get back to the ideas you want to sell, and surround them with a few talented people who are to fight for them.
Jake> Scandi-pop is influencing contemporary music in a big way currently - are you a fan? And do you see a trend when it comes to music briefs at Grey?
Martin> There is a big wave of Scandinavian ‘everything’. Food, TV shows, directors or Hygge. You name it. As for music, the Swedes have always been great at exporting pop, but the rest of Scandinavia is slowly catching up. The fact that there are so many great local bands to work with who have a global profile just makes our jobs more fun. We worked with Alex Vargas last year on Diesel, and right now we are working on an interesting collaboration between Danish multi-talent, Ohland and the Scandinavian furniture design brand, Bolia.
Jake> What are your favourite creative hot shops up in Copenhagen?
Martin> There are oldies but goodies, like Bacon, who continually make some of the best films in the world. But they are getting good company from up-and-comers like Newland, Octopuss and HobbyFilms. There are innovators and incubator shops like Rainmaking that are setting the start-up scene on fire. There are architects like BIG, who show how Nordic creativity can redefine cities around the world. In music you have heavy hitters like Copenhagen Records, and one-man armies like music stylist Jesper Gadeberg. Frame is doing an excellent job at mixing design, motion graphics and animation with a stylish sensibility. And in fashion Cecilie Bahnsen is exporting that whimsical feeling it is to be fashionably Danish.
