How we promote Norwegian businesses abroad

When we in Norway find new ways to create value, we must also make sure the rest of the world knows about them: while oil sells itself, other exports need more appealing packaging.

That is why we work to position Norway's emerging export industries internationally: offshore wind, hydrogen, batteries, health technology, aquaculture and much more. We focus our strategic positioning efforts on areas with significant opportunities – and where Norwegian businesses are well placed to succeed.

We bring together Norwegian 'national teams' for emerging export industries, identify shared export ambitions and create campaigns that showcase the strengths of Norwegian business.

In international competition, companies with strong positions are the ones that succeed.

Compared with our neighbouring countries, Norway has fewer well-known brands. We do not have Ikea, Volvo or Spotify. But Norway still has a strong reputation – and we actively use Norway's 'national brand' to raise the profile of Norwegian companies.

Read more about our international promotion work here

We run a range of physical and digital channels that support Norwegian businesses. We bring Norwegian companies to international events and trade fairs. We also organise large business delegations that accompany the Royal Family and the Government on state visits abroad.

Would you like to join us at international trade fairs and events? Click here!

At the same time, we run digital advertising aimed at carefully selected audiences in Norway's key export markets – before, during and after events. This helps us build awareness and understanding of each of Norway's emerging industries. We also tailor our communications to specific events, calls for proposals and other opportunities to generate leads and create new business opportunities.

This gives us an integrated approach, with digital and physical channels working seamlessly together. The key is not the channels themselves, but that they all work towards the same goal: positioning Norwegian businesses as attractive business partners.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this promotion work is building data segments of relevant and engaged audiences in international markets. We can use these audiences for 'retargeting' – in other words, new and repeat campaigns aimed at people who have already shown an interest in Norwegian exports.

Repeated campaigns like these have a significant impact over time. We can already see that people who have seen our digital campaigns are more positive about green and sustainable technology from Norway. The campaigns also reinforce the perception of Norwegian technology as advanced, responsible and high-quality.

Over the past year, we have also explored how individual companies can benefit even more from the shared value these campaigns create. We offer companies the opportunity to purchase tailored marketing campaigns targeting the data segments we collect. This enables them to reach engaged audiences in new markets that might otherwise be difficult to access.

Would you like to test digital campaigns through our international platforms? Get in touch today!

To position Norway and Norwegian businesses successfully, we need to recognise some broader changes in how business is done, particularly in the business-to-business market.

Digital sales channels now dominate. This trend did not begin with the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has accelerated and become firmly established over the past two years. According to an international McKinsey survey, 96 per cent of sales teams have moved wholly or partly to digital remote selling. Eight out of ten companies say this will not be reversed after the pandemic.

In digital sales channels, buyers find sellers, not the other way around. This means buyers do more of their own research than before. According to research by Boston Consulting Group, buyers now complete as much as 60 per cent of the sales journey themselves. This has changed the role of salespeople and made digital visibility more important than ever. The question is: How can you make it easier for buyers to research your company?

This is the question we help you answer through our positioning work.

At the same time, we need to coordinate all our export-related work with Norway's other official representatives. These include embassies, industry organisations and others representing Norway and Norwegian interests around the world. Internationally, we stand together as 'Team Norway', under the umbrella of 'Brand Norway'.

Team Norway's members vary from country to country. We are present in more than 20 of Norway's key export markets. Together with the rest of Team Norway, we help Norwegian companies raise their profile and seize new opportunities.

For Team Norway, it is vital that we speak with one voice and give international businesses a shared gateway to Norwegian industry. Around the world, we all represent Norway, rather than individual organisations within Norway's business support system. That is why we talk about Norway's national brand.

The opportunities for green growth and exports are significant. But to seize them, the public and private sectors must stand together in export markets with one shared message.