Throughout the last year, Majenta has been supporting London based Danish furniture company, Icons of Denmark with BIM Content Creation, BIM Object Hosting and full implementation of the BIMobject Platform. On our last visit down to their office in Clerkenwell, we sat down with Jesper Jensen, Owner of Icons of Denmark, to hear about the journey we’ve been on together.
Who are Icons of Denmark?
Icons of Denmark are a London based Danish furniture company, who bring Danish furniture to the UK market. Established in 2009, Icons of Denmark were a traditional furniture agency, introducing Danish furniture brands to the UK. Over the last few years, they have gone into production and are creating their own furniture.
“This year we’ll be doing the full rebrand of our company where we will go from a house of brands to becoming our own Brand, and showcasing what Icons of Denmark’s values as a company are.” – Jesper Jensen.
Icons of Denmark’s foundation is based on their partnership with their suppliers and clients. They partner with various collaborators in order to make their business work functionally.
“It’s very much a partnership based on trust, we need to work with people that are professional, who listen and who understand our business. That’s why Majenta has been a good partner for us.”
Where did the journey between Icons of Denmark and Majenta begin?
Icons of Denmark’s main route to market is through architects. They first initiated contact with Majenta, when they saw the increased demand and questions regarding BIM compliant models.
“There’s a growing demand for BIM in this sector. We recognised the need to learn more about it and the growing demand.”
This is when Icons of Denmark began to take a more serious approach to the idea of BIM modelling and decided to do something about it. Finding Majenta through various research avenues, they had a meeting to kick off the process.
In Discussion with Jesper
What do you think the demand of BIM is on companies like yourself?
“We’ve been working with architects for six to ten years and this is our route to market. So what we offer are the tools to specify our furniture and make it easier for the architect. Therefore it’s absolutely crucial that we are speaking their language and we offer them the tools that they are already working with.”
What was it you thought that Majenta would be able to help you with?
“Well, we didn’t know anything about Revit and we didn’t know much about BIM as such we have some very close collaborators among the architects and design industry that helped us identify what’s important and how others have been doing it in the past.”
Jesper Continues,
“We needed to apply that to our business and we wanted to make sure that we could offer our audience an option to use something they already understand. Majenta helped us to understand how to create the models and geometries in the correct format and how to make sure we applied the right data for the objects. Majenta has also helped us get a better understanding of BIM, not just now, but for the future.”
The Next Step… The BIMobject Platform
After creating the models, making sure that Icons of Denmark had the families, and the geometry trees correct. The next step was to figure out what to do with these models? How can we publish this information, and reach their audience?
“Majenta offered a solution to actually host and publish our products on the BIMobject platform.”
How do Icons of Denmark use the BIMobject Platform?
Initially, Icons of Denmark thought that the BIMobject Platform was going to be a lead generator for them, but actually, they discovered they could use the analytics to gather data on the users who were downloading their products.
“This has proven to be extremely valuable, using the BIMobject Platform, we can instantly identify which products are in demand from our audience.” Shares Jesper, “When we go and present our collection to an architect, a few days later, we can actually see which products they’ve then gone on to download.”
This has given Icons of Denmark a very strong understanding of which products in their collection are the most successful, and also when and how you can gain intelligence from the platform and how this can be utilised throughout their business.
How do Icons of Denmark Manage Their Lead Process on the Platform?
Being on the BIMobject platform has enabled Icons of Denmark to take a more holistic approach when it comes to contacting their customers. They understand that no one wants a phone call the minute that they download something, so Icons use the platform analytics to collect data, which allows them to make a more informed and less abrupt approach.
“We get a better understanding of which products are being used. You are told two things; one is what the market tells us to our face, the second is the analytics from the platform which tells us what they actually do when we have left their office.”
What success Have Icons of Denmark had on the BIMobject Platform?
“It was a surprise to me that our models were so popular from the very beginning but, not just our most iconic products, even our upholstery products were successful.”
Icons of Denmark also had two products in the topmost downloaded products for two weeks running across the platform consisting of 1.6 Million active users.
What’s next for Icons of Denmark in their continued Digital Transformation journey?
“We started on the platform and we want to develop this further. Right now, we are one of the leaders in BIM, and we want to make sure that we continue to be one step ahead.” Shares Jesper, “So, we’re exploring new ways of using this technology as well as discussions about introducing VR into our processes.”
Advice for Building Product Manufacturers looking to start their BIM journey
“The best advice I can give to someone starting their BIM journey is to understand your own client and your own needs.”
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