Going global

Sometimes it really pays off to walk a mile in someone else's shoes.

In this case, we walked a kilometer in someone else's snowboots. When we meet Jonas Pinzke, the Creative Director of Knock Communications, and J.C. Fantechi, the Business Development Director at Åkestam Holst, at our hotel in Sweden's capital, Stockholm, we order a glass or two of glögg (Swedish mulled wine) to chase away the chills. Outside, the late afternoon temperature is shivering somewhere below zero, the sun has set long ago, and the frost is already beginning to creep across the lawns in Berzelii park opposite the hotel. We have arranged to meet Pinzke and Fantechi for an informal briefing that evening before we spend a day shadowing them across Stockholm.

Before us sit two trailblazers of the Scandinavian event-planning scene: One a stylish Swede with a straightforward conversational manner, the other an animated Italian-American who emigrated to Sweden eight years ago after stints in London and Milan.When we began our quest to find a suitable international company to profile, we set ourselves some criteria that would focus our search.We were particularly interested in finding a business that was challenging the traditional practices of an established sector, would provide inspiration to any enterprise in any industry back home, and offer the opportunity to immerse ourselves in a foreign culture.

The Nordic regions have always been a hotbed of innovation, with global automotive, telecommunications, industrial design and pharmaceutical industries all heavily populated by pioneering Scandinavian companies. Even their everyday approach to working life and environment is admired and exported the world over. In the World Bank's report Doing Business in 2006, Norway, Finland Denmark and Sweden all feature in the top 15 international countries for doing business, ahead of Germany and France. So, it was with some pride that the boys and girls at Knock extended an invitation for us to spend a day in the life of a Scandinavian events firm.

“We liken our company to the Swedish people — open-minded, welcoming and hard-working,” says Pinzke in an impeccable American accent. “It is our business to connect people.” Knock was conceived ten years ago in association with Stockholm-based advertising agency, Åkestam Holst. Originally Knock was formed as a traditional event-planning company, working with clients that were already on the agency's roster and who are still with Knock today. Knock has evolved over time, however, to become a “worldwide three-dimensional communications agency.” As Fantechi explains: “We're not big on convoluted marketing speak like ‘B2B' (business to business) or ‘B2C' (business to consumer); if we were, we'd have to describe ourselves as ‘P2P' — person to person. In other words, we connect brands and their customers on a personal level.” Pinzke jumps in: “It should be sensual — as humans we communicate via taste, sight, smell, touch and sound. There's no reason why companies can't do the same.”

With that in mind they create customized experiences for international clients cross a spectrum of industries. Through the medium of events, Knock brings brands to life — transforming them from ideas and images into real-life experiences. It may sound new-fangled, but it really does work. If you as a consumer are given the opportunity to interact with a company on a physical and emotional level then you're bound to feel something, more so than you would by simply watching an ad. “We have turned predictable communications methods on their head,” says Pinzke. “We are experimenting to give consumers something to get a kick out of. That's very rare nowadays.”

Knock recently staged an event for Volvo Cars and Volvo C30 in Gothenburg in the south of Sweden to introduce the new C30 model to all 6,000 of their international dealers. Bucking the usual automotive trend of simply setting up a stage where the car could be viewed, Knock created an immersive space which was furnished with objects and film footage representing the interests of the target market. Thirty shipping containers were employed to wall the space and the furniture was modern and white to contrast with the containers. They didn't even showcase the car, the idea was to have the evening's food revolve on a sushi belt, and products that represented the target market were interspersed between the dishes. “Volvo decided that it was more important to educate the dealers about their potential audience, because those were the people they would have to sell to face-to-face,” says Pinzke. “On an overall score of six, the dealers gave the event a 5.8 — taking into account the food, the music, the experience. Quite an achievement.”

The following morning, we arrive at Knock's offices on Kungsgatan, a busy shopping street that runs between Norrmalm and Östermalm, the northern and eastern districts of the city. As we walk through the door of its fourth-floor office, we're welcomed into a very Swedish space populated by very Swedish staff. Knock shares its workspace with Åkestam Holst, so the atmosphere is abuzz with creative types sharing ideas in the open-plan office. We are met by Jonas Pinzke, who leads us past the Knock desks and into a homey kitchen where he offers to prepare us coffee and a typical Swedish breakfast of fruit bread, cheese and caviar in a tube (it's a lot tastier than it sounds).We enjoy it in the company of a steady stream of employees who nip in and out to greet their workmates. We retire to the Knock lounge where Pinzke and the C.E.O. of the company, Jesper Kjærgaard, tell us more about the agency.

Today, there are 12 “Knockers,” the same number of employees the group began with. The company's intention was never to grow, and in turn never to compromise the quality of their work. “We wanted everyone to be able to sit around an average-sized table so we all have an equal say.We'd be too big with any more than 12,” insists Kjærgaard. It is this lack of compromise that characterizes Knock's approach and wins awards; in the reception area there is a shelf full of prizes ranging from American Clios to Cannes Lions. When we compliment the staff on the office design they tell us they remodeled it themselves two years ago. “Everything we do is consistent, from the furniture to the Web site; everything feels like it came from the same stable,” says Pinzke.

With that, he invites us to sit in on an internal briefing meeting, which is for Absolut vodka. They set about brainstorming an event in their lilting Swedish tongue.We don't understand a word, but given the animated reactions and jovial discourse it must have been a resounding success. By the end of the morning we're ready for lunch. Kjærgaard's dog Spike joins us for sushi, but sneezes at the spicy wasabi, sending the team into fits of laughter. Several employees bring their dogs to work, which adds to the laid-back atmosphere around the office. It's certainly a place where you feel instantly at home — everyone seems to have struck that perfect balance between hard work and enjoyment.

Knock is in the process of organizing some events — or “experiences” — for a selection of clients, and days are currently spent dreaming up exciting situations, coordinating details and visiting possible venues. After lunch we head for the Luma Huset, a converted light bulb factory in the south of the city, which has an incredible glass structure perched on the roof.We spend some time at the top overlooking the whole of Stockholm, and the guys at Knock all agree it will make the perfect setting for one of their exclusive events.With another burst of energy we move swiftly from the factory to one of Stockholm's oldest and most revered restaurants, Teatergrillen. We are led through the old-world Italian dining room into the industrial kitchens where the linen-aproned staff are clearing up after the final lunch customers. More booming Scandinavian laughter and backslaps signal another successful meeting with one of the head chefs, and it's only then that we realize that it's well past the end of the working day and we're already late for our flight.

After many handshakes and more backslaps we head for the airport having spent an enjoyable day following Knock around their hometown. Sitting in the departures lounge at Arlanda, we realize that we'll miss the bright and airy Kungsgatan office, the inspiring staff who are more friendly than trendy, and the laidback yet productive work ethic that infuses the company. We leave wishing that every workplace was a little more like this one — open-minded, industrious and a thoroughly enjoyable place to work. As for their philosophy, they've actually given it a name: “cocktail”. The gist? That it's perfectly acceptable to mix in a lot of ingredients as long as you consider the end result and the taste of your drinker. They certainly mixed up a memorable visit for us.