Like every year, at History Marketing Summit 2018 we met companies that actively use their own history to grow their business. This year’s speakers were Investor, Absolut, Pixar Animation Studios, BMW, Clas Ohlson, Fazer Group, Astrid Lindgren AB, HarperCollins UK – och Djurgårdens IF.
We filmed all presentations (just like we did for HMS16 and HMS17) so scroll down and watch. Each film is 20-25 minutes long.
Anna Malmhake, ceo of The Absolut Company, talked about how today’s operations at Absolut get their inspiration from how the “vodka king” L.O. Smith, the man who created “absolutely purified vodka”, lived and worked. (In Swedish.)
Jacob Wallenberg, chairman of Investor AB, explained how today’s generation in the family-owned investment company reasoned about the value of history and of actively using it – and how that differs from previous generations. (In Swedish.)
Malin Billing, rights manager at Astrid Lindgren AB (previously Saltkråkan AB) and grandchild of legendary author Astrid Lindgren, shared what it’s like to work at a company where so many have a relationship to its history. While other companies have to work for the public to take an interest in their history, Astrid Lindgren AB almost has the opposite challenge: they have to monitor, safeguard and manage the history, so that the real story of Astrid Lindgren isn’t distorted. (In Swedish.)
Niklas Carlsson, head of communication at retailer Clas Ohlson, explained how the centennial company from Insjön in Dalecarlia makes its history relevant both for today’s customers and today’s coworkers. Spoiler: They do it, for instance, with the historical website www.clasohlson100.com. (In Swedish.)
Ralph Huber, head of BMW Museum and BMW Group Classic Communications, explained how this classic car brand uses its history to support today’s car sales. And all the time while making all historical activities profitable on their own. (In English.)
Ulrika Romantschuk, global head of communication and brand at Finnish food group Fazer Group, explained how the family-owned group uses the strength of its own history when addressing today’s challenges. Among their toolkit is an historical film, with a script by famed Finnish author Kari Hotakainen. (In Swedish.)
Dawn Sinclair, archivis at publishing house HarperCollins UK, shared how a 200-year old company preserves and then activates its history to help guide today’s publishing decisions. (In English.)
Pelle Kotschack, ceo of sports franchise Djurgårdens IF (Alliansföreningen) explained how a sports club, with its constant influx of new players, both on junior and senior levels, has to constantly work to keep its history vivid for everyone. He also wondered why companies don’t honor their previous employees more – like the sports clubs honor their previous key players. When will a company raise an employee’s jersey to the ceiling? (In Swedish.)
More companies are using their own history as a strategic resource. Anders Sjöman, head of communication at the Centre for Business HIstory, opened HMS18 with his annual update on history marketing. This year’s talk, compared to those from HMS16 and HMS17, focused extra on all arguments you may hear against working with your history – and counterarguments for why you still should. (In Swedish.)
