The September edition of Maison&Objet highlighted Scandinavian design trends to international visitors during a round-table discussion, thanks to the involvement of the Promosalons Nordics delegations.  

Each year, Maison&Objet chooses a different theme to be analysed, interpreted and presented by style agencies, and illustrated in the show’s various trend areas. The theme “Enjoy” chosen for the September edition was the topic of a Nordic seminar, organised for the third time at the show. This event, which is not included in the show’s official programme since it is aimed at a restricted audience, is very popular with professionals, who take advantage of the opportunity to exchange ideas and network. New for 2023 was the opening of the seminar to an international audience of retailers, invited by Maison&Objet.

The four delegations from Promosalons’ Nordic zone (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) have worked together to recruit quality speakers in their countries, thanks to their good knowledge of the sector and an active presence on the ground (visits to trade fairs and local events). These delegations have been promoting M&O to visitors for many years, organising local PR missions every year with the show’s managers (breakfast information session, cocktail party).

Four Scandinavian experts spoke on the subject and its interpretation in the context of Nordic way of life:

The Peclercs agency, for its part, has identified the major trends in the theme from a more global and societal perspective.

There was a real consistency in the exchanges between the participants, the Peclers agency, the M&O team and the delegations, thanks to the organisation of two preparatory meetings on Teams. These enabled everyone to have the same level of information and to set up a calendar of actions for better follow-up.

The Promosalons delegations were responsible for promoting the event to retail buyers, specifiers and key accounts in the decoration sector in their country, and encouraging them to visit the show by offering them exclusive and trendy content. A joint communication campaign was carried out in the four countries, with two e-mailings sent out per country, and the delegations made follow-up telephone calls to the major buyers. This organisation ensured consistency and uniformity of messages throughout the Nordic region.

The involvement of speakers and key figures in the sector (trend decoders, trend hunters, renowned designers) also generated a buzz around the show and ensured that their communities were reached (visibility via social networks, articles in the press). The M&O team also worked hard to recruit participants from its major buyers. A dedicated registration platform was set up to monitor registrations live.

The objective was achieved, with around fifty participants from the Nordic countries and other European countries in attendance. The speakers contributed to the excellent promotion and visibility of the show, with numerous publications on social networks before and after the event. The seminar was followed by a convivial lunch for the speakers, the exhibition team and the Nordic delegates.

Thanks to its in-depth knowledge of its markets, Promosalons Nordics is able to put forward innovative, high added-value initiatives in a spirit of collaboration with the exhibition team.

The idea of contextualising our ‘Enjoy’ theme through the prism of different markets (Swedish, Norwegian and Danish) is a very pertinent one. The diversity of perspectives and approaches to analysis enriches the points of view and brings new dimensions to the subject for the participants present. You’ve really succeeded in establishing a framework conducive to sharing and I’m convinced that these exchanges have added real value for the audience, as well as for the speakers present (Agence Peclers).

It was exactly the ‘injection of spirit’ we needed. Anette Eckmann’s talk, in particular, made us re-evaluate the way we visit the show. It was an incredibly educational and inspiring talk. We also visited Formland, but we didn’t come back with the same inspiration (House of Brands).