How does Unruly work in the Nordics?

At Unruly we have offices across the world in some of the world’s most iconic cities including London, Hamburg, New York, Chicago, Singapore, and Sydney.

In each city, Unruly has experts who know their local market inside out. In this ‘Around the world’ series, we’ll chat to Unrulies across the globe to find out what makes them tick, what exciting things they’ve been up to, and the challenges and opportunities they face in their part of the world.

This week we talk about the power of emotions, the value of outstream video, and growing business in the Nordics, with our fun-loving and down to earth Commercial Director, Mikael Englund.

Q: Hi, first of all, could you introduce yourself, tell us where you’re based, and talk a bit about what you do at Unruly?

I’m Mikael Englund and I’m the Nordic Commercial Director, here in our lovely Nordic office in Stockholm. My role at Unruly is to lead the Nordic hub, help grow our business in this corner of the world, and inspire and help my co-workers succeed in their roles.

Q: How did you find out about Unruly?

Before Unruly I held the position of Commercial Director and Head of Growth at the digital advertising company, Widespace.

I found out about Unruly through an article I read in the press about how they won best sales team at the IAB awards. This piqued my interest, and I thought that Unruly looked like an amazing place to work. So, I did some research, contacted the office, and the rest, as they say, is history!

Q: What draws you to the type of work you do?

I’ve always had a passion for business and seeing colleagues grow, thrive and succeed at what they do. Unruly is an amazing place as they are focussed on helping each and every employee discover what they are passionate about, and then helping them grow their skills in that area.

I also love the challenge of growing our business within the Nordics. Through doing this I get to meet lots of fascinating and amazing individuals.

Q: Tell us something interesting about the Nordics market…

The Nordics often get used as the test market for many brands. We are early adopters and as a result, new technologies and solutions often get tried here before they are launched in bigger markets, which is really exciting for us! This helps us predict, early on, what will take off in other markets around the world.

The trends we are currently seeing are the growth of online video and the emergence of agencies that just focus on creating short-form video. This is due to the amount of time consumers now spend on the go, looking at their phones.

We see a big trend in understanding consumer behaviour and for media platforms to make sure that they can help clients to understand not only how to deliver the message, but how they can, and should, build their content and data strategy.

I would say that the biggest difference with the Nordic market compared to the rest of the world, is that most companies are not using outstream video, there’s still a heavy focus on instream. A big focus of mine has been communicating the advantages of using both instream and outstream in ad campaigns in order to maximise your reach.

Q: Tell us about something you’ve learned while working at Unruly?

I’ve learnt about the power of emotions in advertising, and how misjudging them can make or break an ad!

Q: It’s the weekend: what do you like to do in your spare time?

I usually wake up early and run down to the bakery with my son. The days consist of lots of different activities with him and sometimes I might get a chance to do a workout or play ice-hockey. In the evenings I enjoy eating out or cooking meals for family and friends.

Q: What’s your favourite ad?

All ski and hockey video ads. Give me skis and a nice video and I’m yours 🙂