SEK

What SEK does

SEK is a Helsinki-based creative brand house founded in 1935, operating as a third-generation family business within Salomaa Group, the largest family-owned marketing communications group in the Nordics. The firm employs approximately 130 professionals and delivers brand, experience, advertising, communications, design, motion, social, coaching, and B2B branding services to enterprise and public-sector clients across Finland and, through partner networks, the wider Nordics and Baltics. Its client roster spans consumer goods (Valio, Fazer, HK), travel (Finnair, a client since 1935), technology and industrials (Nokia, UPM, ABB), public sector and healthcare (HUS, Visit Finland), gaming (Veikkaus), and NGOs (UNICEF, Diak).

The business model is a professional services model: SEK earns revenue through project fees, retainers, and production engagements scoped to client marketing and brand objectives, with no disclosed proprietary technology platform or software product. Service delivery relies on multidisciplinary creative teams, augmented by a dedicated AI & Digital practice that incorporates AI tooling into motion, digital, and coaching offerings. Geographic reach is extended through Salomaa Group affiliations with global networks (WPP, AKQA, GREY) and the Nordic+ alliance with INGO, UNCLE, and TRY across Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Latvia, and Estonia, allowing SEK to serve cross-border mandates without proportional fixed-cost expansion.

SEK has no disclosed ARR, headcount growth trend, or external funding; financial standing is inferred from three consecutive years of Platinum certification as a top 3% Finnish company, an award record spanning Cannes Lions, SABRE, and Finnish Comms Awards, and continued enterprise client retention. There are no announced acquisitions, M&A activity, or capital structure events in the input data.

Name

SEK

Legal name

Oy SEK Ab

Website

https://sek.fi

Company type

Private

Founded year

1935

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

SEK is a Helsinki-based creative brand house founded in 1935 and part of Salomaa Group, employing ~130 professionals to deliver brand, advertising, design, motion, social, coaching, and B2B branding services to enterprise and public-sector clients across Finland and the wider Nordics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Advertising & Brand Communications Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Lead Generation & Performance Media (B2B/B2C) (MPAAACAK)

Keywords

• Creative brand agency
• Advertising and communications
• Brand strategy services
• Marketing communications
• Design and motion graphics

Headquarters

HQ city

Helsinki

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Services: SEK generates revenue through comprehensive creative and marketing services including brand strategy, advertising, communications, design, motion, social media, and coaching. The agency operates on a professional services fee model serving enterprise clients with project-based and retainer engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

SEK is a full-service creative brand house offering nine integrated professional services: Brand (strategic brand development and positioning), Experience (brand experience design and customer journey mapping), Advertising (creative campaigns and content), Comms (strategic communications, PR, crisis, and stakeholder communications), Design (brand identity, packaging, visual communication), Motion (motion graphics and video production using 3D and AI), Social (social media and influencer marketing), Coaching (communication skills training and media coaching), and B2B (business-to-business branding). The agency serves enterprise clients with project-based and retainer engagements primarily in Finland and internationally through network partnerships.

Product overview

SEK is a full-service creative brand house offering a comprehensive suite of professional services organized around nine core disciplines: Brand (strategic brand development), Experience (brand experience and customer journey design), Advertising (creative campaigns), Comms (strategic communications and PR), Design (visual and packaging design), Motion (video and motion graphics), Social (social media and influencer marketing), Coaching (communication skills training), and B2B (business-to-business branding). The agency works with clients across various industries including food and beverage (Valio, Fazer), travel (Visit Finland, Finnair), telecommunications (DNA), industrial (ABB, UPM, Abloy), and public sector organizations. SEK operates as a creative services firm rather than a software product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand
• Experience
• Advertising
• Comms
• Design
• Motion
• Social
• Coaching
• B2B

Quantifiable outcome

• 2500+ media hits across 190 countries with 11.1 billion potential reach for Visit Finland Masterclass campaign
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WPPcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWPP is the world's largest advertising company with 109,000 people in 110 countries. SEK is part of this global network providing international reach for Finnish clients and local expertise for WPP clients.
• AKQAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRenowned global design and innovation agency. AKQA Sweden visited SEK for creative inspiration, indicating close collaborative relationship for design and innovation projects.
• GREYcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGREY ranks among the world's top advertising and marketing organisations, serving one-fifth of the FORTUNE 500.
• INGO (Stockholm & Hamburg)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Nordic+ network collaboration between leading local creative agencies in the Nordic region for integrated regional brand services.
• UNCLE (Copenhagen & Århus)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Nordic+ network collaboration between leading local creative agencies in the Nordic region.
• TRY (Oslo, Bergen & Riga)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Nordic+ network collaboration between leading local creative agencies in the Nordic region.
• Salomaa GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEK is part of Finland's largest family-owned marketing communications group. The group companies serve all modern marketing needs combining creativity, data, and technology. SEK operates as part of Salomaa Group which is also part of AKQA Group and GREY internationally.
• DAGMARcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Salomaa network, providing integrated marketing communications services in Finland.
• QURUminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Salomaa network, analytics and data services.
• RADLYminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Salomaa network, providing specialized marketing services.
• Visit FinlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term strategic partnership for Finnish tourism marketing. Collaborated on Masterclass of Happiness, Helsinki Happiness Hacks, and Rent a Finn campaigns that generated significant international media coverage and tourism growth.
• Helsinki PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Helsinki Happiness Hacks campaign with Visit Finland and SEK, targeting global travelers to discover Helsinki.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TBWA Helsinki: Helsinki office of TBWA, a global advertising network, providing full-service creative and advertising services to Finnish clients. Directly competes with SEK in the Finnish advertising market.
• Folk Finland: Helsinki-based creative agency offering brand strategy, advertising, and design services to Finnish and Nordic clients. Directly comparable in scale, geography, and service mix to SEK.
• Dagmar: Helsinki-based marketing communications agency that is part of the Salomaa Group alongside SEK. Provides integrated marketing services in Finland and serves overlapping enterprise and B2B clients with similar full-service capabilities.
• Uncle Grey: Copenhagen-based creative agency and SEK's Nordic+ network partner, offering brand, digital, and advertising services. Directly comparable as a Nordic full-service creative agency.
• Kurio: Finnish creative and digital agency based in Helsinki providing brand, advertising, and digital experience services. Competes with SEK for similar Finnish enterprise clients in B2B and consumer categories.
• TRY Apt: Oslo-based creative agency and SEK's Nordic+ network partner, providing brand strategy, advertising, and communications services. Comparable in scale and creative positioning across the Nordic region.
• Hasan & Company: Helsinki-based creative and communications agency operating in Finland with similar full-service brand, advertising, and communications capabilities. Competes for the same Finnish enterprise and public sector clients.
• Nord DDB: Stockholm-headquartered creative agency network serving Nordic and international clients with brand, advertising, and digital services. Comparable in creative positioning and Nordic geographic focus.
• INGO: Stockholm-based creative agency and SEK's Nordic+ network partner. Provides brand, advertising, and communications services with similar full-service creative model serving enterprise and consumer clients.

Emerging players

• Avidly: Nordic marketing and HubSpot solutions partner providing digital marketing, content, and technology-enabled services. Comparable as a Nordic-region marketing agency but more digitally-focused than SEK's traditional brand house model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SekHelsinki
• Facebookfacebook.com/sekhelsinki
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sek/mycompany
• Instagraminstagram.com/sek_dsgn

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SEK