ON A MISSION FROM THE CREATIVE NATION

An armada of companies has descended on New York to brand Denmark as a hotbed of creativity

When Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik rings the bell to start trading at Wall Street on Wednesday morning, he will also be making a symbolic wake-up call to America.

As part of the Creative Nation trade delegation visiting the United States the Crown Prince and his wife, Crown Princess Mary, will spend the next week telling the Eastern Seaboard that there is more to Denmark than butter cookies and the Little Mermaid.

Looking for an elegant evening gown? Danish design can be found at Takashimaya. Searching for a creative playset for the kids? Stop by Citibabes. Tired of clumsy coffee pots that spill everywhere? Look to Bodum and give up bad design for good.

A total of 42 Danish companies are participating in the Creative Nation campaign to demonstrate that Denmark has the know-how to present advanced solutions when it comes to everything from producing sustainable energy, furniture design and anti-depressants.

Danish business leaders can’t claim their companies are unknown on the American market. Exports to the US increased by 10.9 percent to DKK 18.8 billion (EUR 2.5 billion) in the first six months of this year. With the dollar’s falling value, however, the delegation has to work extra hard to convince American consumers that they have something to gain from choosing Danish products.

The organisers of Creative Nation hope that by bringing attention to the broad selection of products designed and produced in Denmark that a synergetic effect will occur.

‘In an increasingly competitive world, it’s difficult to attract attention as individual actors - especially if you come from a small country,’ said Hans Skov Christensen, president of the Confederation of Danish Industries, which initiated the campaign.

‘With a wide selection of companies, organisations and ministries that work together, the visibility and knowledge about Denmark is significantly increased,’ he added.

Grundfos joined the delegation even thought it is already a world leader in producing energy efficient pumps.

‘We see an interesting perspective in joining large and small companies that can be of aid to each other,’ explained Kim Klastrup, the company’s senior vice president. ‘Creative Nation can help to create new networks and contacts.’

To achieve this aim, Grundfos products will be on display when Danish energy experts contribute to a conference held at the Hilton New York that focuses on ‘Working Together Toward Sustainability’.

‘We hope to get the American public talking about sustainability and energy efficient solutions,’ Klastrup added. ‘We think this will create new combinations for marketing our products.’

In this way, Creative Nation sets itself apart from other trade delegations Denmark has sent abroad to Asia and South America. Rather than hard-line business talks and power lunches designed to secure new contracts, Creative Nation will bring different players from the arts, design, food production, industry and other sectors for networking sections.

The new approach sees a government institution like the Culture Ministry linking up with the business community.

Brian Mikkelsen, the minister of culture, explained that Creative Nation could help Denmark become the most competitive nation in the world.

‘If we are going to reach this goal, we need to take advantage of our creative resources to the full extent,’ said Mikkelsen. ‘And that is not enough. The world has to learn what we are capable of. We need to become world-renowned as a creative nation.’

Anthon Berg Arla Foods Inc Balluff ApS Bang & Olufsen A/S BARITO Design of Copenhagen Bobles BoConcept Bodum A/S Carl Hansen & Søn Møbelfabrik A/S Carlsberg Breweries A/S Cenius & Bach Coloplast A/S CS - Copenhagen Danfoss A/S Dantherm Air Handling A/S DTU - Technological University of Denmark Fritz Hansen A/S Georg Jensen Grundfos A/S Helnan International A/S H. Lundbeck A/S Junckers Hardwood Kopenhagen Fur Det Nationale Netværk for Technologioverførsel Lindberg LOGSTOR A/S Louis Poulsen Lighting Lyngbyg Novo Nordisk Novosymes A/S Pressalit Group A/S Royal Copenhagen A/S Saxo Bank Scandinavian Airlines Solar Cap A/S Skrub á - the scrubbing company Terma Velux A/S Vestas A/S VisitDenmark VS Magazine

The explicit purpose of this event is, naturally, not a political one. In times like these though, I guess a lot of people associate Denmark with the Danish Muhammad cartoon controversy, an issue which, among other things, resulted in shrinking Danish exports to Muslim countries and a giant boost for Danish products in the US and other countries.

Today, a lot of foreign supporters of the US, like me, buy American products in part because we admire the true spirit of America and share the basic believes of the Founding Fathers and the modern day heirs of the great nation that these men laid the foundation of.

But, could US companies become even more successful abroad if they, to a larger extent, adopted marketing methods similar to the one of these Danish firms?

I don’t know for sure, but I guess so. There might be millions of brainwashed Socialists and Muslims out there who boycott American products, but often these people are not the ones with the most of purchasing power in their respective countries. Well off and well educated Europeans, for instance, are seldom hostile to the US.

Anyhow, this weekend I’m buying some American beers for sure (not Budweiser or Miller, but products from smaller breweries you can find here in Sweden) and why not some American wines too (very popular in Sweden)!

Cheers!/Skål!

Some links:

Concerning The Scandinavian Cartoon War on Jihadists:

http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2007/09/join-art-project.html

Support Danish and Worldwide Freedom of Expression through buying this merchandise:

http://www.cafepress.com/holgerdanske

The old legend of Holger Danske, the ‘sleeping Viking king’ who one day will awake anew and rescue Denmark in its hour of maximum danger (The Danish text on the merchandise found on the web site above translates “Holger Danske Awakes”):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holger_Danske

Genuine, ancient advise from the Vikings themselves:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havamal

Support the War on Terror and support the War for Free Speech!

American wines are pretty popular in many European countries. Especially Californian wine makers are respected throughout the continent.

Concerning beers, I’m not sure what beers I’ll buy, but some US beers/ales you can get over here are Anchor Steam Beer, Red Seal Ale, Brooklyn Lager, Samuel Adams, Budweiser and Millers. I haven’t heard of the ones you mentioned, but I’d like to try them of course.

Now I’m going to bed. It’s getting kinda late here in Sweden.

Take care and Greetings from Europe!

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