Photo taken by Gorm K. Gaare.

Last month, Oslo’s business development agency announced that they were relaunching themselves to reflect their broader remit. The new name (and accompanying website, socials, and visual identity) of Oslo&Co makes a clear statement about the importance of collaboration to Oslo’s success and creates a new opportunity to unite voices from across the city behind one place narrative.

We sat down with CEO Siw Andersen to understand what prompted the shift in organisational branding and what the team intends to do next. 

You've recently relaunched yourselves as Oslo&Co, rather than Oslo Business Region. Does this reflect an evolution in the purpose of your organisation? How so?

Yes, absolutely. Oslo&Co reflects something broader. That positioning a city requires collaboration across business, culture, tourism and civic life. The "&Co" is deliberate. It signals that we aim to collaborate and work together.

What prompted the change?

Oslo has got all the assets such as a good quality of life, an impact driven business sector and a capital connected to urban and nature. But we lack the co-ordination, shared narrative, and scale to communicate that effectively on the global stage. Our owner, the City of Oslo, recognised this and made a decision to invest in a new approach. This is Oslo choosing to compete.

Has this changed your governance? Presumably you're now working with a wider pool of stakeholders – how did you ensure they supported your vision for Oslo's growth?

We brought 50 stakeholders into the strategy process, across the public and private sector. People who have a genuine interest in supporting their company as well as their business area, sector, and city, in addition to an international perspective and strategic mindset. Buy-in was built into the process from day one.

We're now in the second phase, building and testing a partnership structure based on insight on our key sectors, competitive advantages and the Oslo brand. A partnership is a core operating function across our organisation.

What overlap do you have with VisitOslo? How will you manage this relationship going forwards?

Oslo&Co covers Oslo's global positioning across sectors and target groups on behalf of the City of Oslo. VisitOslo is one of our most important partners, and our two organisations share a fundamental goal: to boost Oslo's global relevance and economic growth. We take an active role in areas that matter to Oslo, and we co-ordinate with VisitOslo and other actors where our work overlaps. The opportunities for Oslo are significant, and there is more than enough to go around. What matters is that we pursue them in a co-ordinated way.

In practice, we meet regularly at both leadership and working level to align on roles, communication and new opportunities. Right now we are working on clarifying our roles to other stakeholders. Will new questions arise along the way? Probably. But the relationship is strong enough to handle that and our teams are always close at hand.

Your website quite prominently leads with Oslo's democratic credentials. At a time of geopolitical instability, what role do cities play in safeguarding international cooperation and democratic exchange?

By some projections, over 80% of the world's population will live in urban areas within decades. In this context, we see Oslo's democratic values not as a political statement but as a competitive advantage. They signal stability, transparency, and trust, things that matter enormously to talent, visitors, investors, and partners deciding where to find opportunities. In an unstable world, that's not a soft message. It's a strategic one.

As AI-generated misinformation erodes trust online, what can place brand teams do to establish themselves as credible sources?

Trust is earned through consistency and evidence. For us that means grounding everything in insight and with credible sources: not just saying Oslo is a great place to visit, invest, or live, but showing it with substance.

Do you have any upcoming projects you're most excited by?

The work we're most excited about is building Oslo's brand communication platform and activating it with the stakeholders who matter most. A brand platform only has value if the people and organisations shaping Oslo's image are actually using it and contributing to a shared story.

We also want it to do something culturally. Norwegians are not natural self-promoters. We're a humble nation. Part of our job is giving people the permission to be a little prouder, and the language to express why this city matters.

It all sounds very exciting! We’re looking forward to seeing what comes next.