Skellefteå, September 24th, 2019

Founded in Skellefteå, a small town in the north of Sweden, North Kingdom is a digital creative agency with a strong focus on creative freedom, quality of work and curiosity. The agency likes to see itself as small, flexible, fast-moving and with big ideas.

North Kingdom started in 2003 and since then has been expanding quietly and without compromising its core values, working with clients such as Google, Lego, Mojang and EF. Each of the team members are specialized in their own way, creating a strong dynamic. The agency now has offices in Skellefteå, Stockholm and Los Angeles.

Mia Berggren is North Kingdom’s Managing Director, a position she describes with passion on this interview with TIA. While she was working with music videos, she met the founders of the agency and was amazed by their ideas. Since then, she has been a key element of the agency. Berggren highlighted North Kingdom’s diverse team with mixed skills and personalities. As they expand, she seeks the agency to stay curious and creative, with clients and end users playing together to create the best products.

Could you describe what’s one of your regular working days like?

My day is filled with conversations. Usually I start the day with a really tricky negotiation with my 5-year-old regarding if a jacket is needed or not. After listening to her many arguments, I often find myself defeated, adding another well-deserved victory to her list.

What I do bring with me to work from my child is her playful mindset. Creative Play, as we call it, has become something we cherish and use as a method at North Kingdom.

We believe that creating and maintaining a Creative Play mindset at work focuses on the process of creating rather than the end result. This gives me the opportunity to reach conclusions and decisions I didn’t see from the start. For example, when you’re playing and building with Lego, it can start out as a spaceship, but end up as a floating home for mermaids – you couldn’t see that result in the beginning, but yet the solution grows into something unique and brilliant when you play and lose the preset expectations.

During lunch we gather and keep the conversations going about subjects such as what the future will look like without screens, and where to find the right talents. If it’s my favorite day, Friday, we will have Friday fika at 15.00 were we might share our latest work and mistakes, and I start to look forward to a Monday morning meeting to kick off the week with new conversations again.

How has your life experience shaped the person you are today?

I was determined to change the world by becoming a journalist until my friend Ragnar called and told me I should make music videos instead – an American band was coming to Skellefteå, a town in the north of Sweden, and the directors collective Popcore needed a producer. It was life changing.

We created amazing worlds and used storytelling to tell these super weird stories that didn’t always make sense. We put every penny we got in front of the camera and had no sleep and bad meals for a long time – and I absolutely loved it. During this time, I learned that If you focus on the right thing – by being brave and curious and quality-focused – you get rewarded.

At the same time a company called North Kingdom – founded by a couple of guys I kind of knew that made really cool stuff I didn’t understand – was working in the studio next to us.

They were shooting a model world for a project called Get the glass – part of the iconic Got Milk concept. They explained how they would make the experience come alive and how they would engage the user through their innovative interactive solutions. I was amazed when I truly realized the power that storytelling can have when you use tech and design to engage people in a meaningful way. North Kingdom were innovative, brave and curious, and their way of working really resonated with me, and inspired me.

What is it like to be a woman at the top?

It’s good, nothing out of place or new. I ́m respected as expected!

How do you work with and lead people who are not like you?

After many years of working with different types of personalities, I can truly say that a diverse team makes any discussion and solution more interesting and fun, and in the end more professional. I believe my job is to create a safe place for everyone to be the best they can be – making sure that everyone knows that the value they are bringing to NK is; who they are, what they stand for and what they want to create.

Do you have a particular methodology to help others achieve their goals?

The goal is to be a company that is listening to the team and offer the employees what they want, and not the other way around. We are always striving to reach everyone’s individual goal – because that’s how passion keeps burning. I encourage input from the team – whether that be on a personal level or a team level, since I know that’s my most important tool for the success of the company. Luckily, I’m surrounded by a team that puts in this effort as well.

How is the Skellefteå’s office different from the rest?

North Kingdom was founded in Skellefteå, a small town in the north of Sweden (and where I grew up), and the difference between our offices aren’t that big due to the fact that the world is globalized by the digital disruption. All the information, tools and ideas are available 24/7 online. We have a close collaboration between the offices and the teams are always mixed from the different offices and consisting of many nationalities.

I think the biggest upside with North Kingdom being founded in Skellefteå is working in a small town on a global scale, which really differs from many digital agency’s foundation and their “digital sameness”. This is a mindset that lives in our other offices in Stockholm and Los Angeles.

The center vs periphery topic is interesting and both sides have their ups and downs; the mix of those differences is what makes us unique. I think that adds to our diversity philosophy where different perspectives, personalities and experiences inspire to think differently.

How we decide to spend our time outside of the office and find inspiration obviously differs in each location, but the core mindset stays the same.

What was the toughest challenge you faced when growing the agency?

The biggest challenges have been, and still is, to foster a culture that embraces diversity and individual expressions and still align the team towards the same goal and direction.

In your opinion, what will North Kingdom look like in 5 years? Any goal in particular that you’re trying to achieve?

We are in constant change and that will continue at an even faster pace in 5 years. I want North Kingdom to be the platform that enables creativity, a place where talents, clients and end users play together. Our goal is to stay curious and bravely navigate the unknown together with other curious companies and talents – which is even clearer now that we are a part of NoA.

What do you love about your job? What don’t you like?

I never searched for a specific Job description or Job title. I always looked for the daily situations I will be in, the people I meet, the discussions I have, the mindset and the solutions we create. For me, balance is very important. I’m honestly looking forward to every morning at the office – but I also love to leave, go back home and refuel my brain with new input in the afternoon. North Kingdom gives me that balance; flow and energy. But most of all I love to work with people I’m extremely proud of.

Three things I wish I knew when I left school…

The work you should aim for might not exist yet, so relax. Focus on what makes you happy and comfortable on a daily basis instead of chasing a job title.

Listen and learn – it makes you so much more interesting to be around.

Know where you are in life:
10-20: you grow and learn.
20-30: you fuck up to then stabilize.
30-40: you find your passion or focus.
40-50: you develop your skills.
50 – onwards: you harvest!

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Film producer!

Thanks Mia!

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Agency LifecultureDigital agencyLeadershipmanaging directorMia BerggrenNorth KingdomSweden