Every company has a history. A narrative that is unique to their organization. Today, more companies than ever use their own history as a springboard to the future. At the History Marketing Summit 2016, held on September 1 in the Volvo Showroom in Stockholm, marketing and corporate leaders who all work with history marketing met. We filmed all their discussions - and if you haven't time to see the videos, we've also prepared short abstracts.

Del 1. ”Why do we even care about the past?”

This is history marketing – Anders Sjöman from the Centre for Business History in Stockholm, who hosted the summit, opened with a short introduction to the concepts history marketing and heritage management.

Here’s a short write-up of Anders’ introduction (in Swedish). 

”Usages of the Past: History, Reputation and Storytelling”:  professor Ben Wubs from the Erasmus School of History, Culture & Communication in Rotterdam spoke about his research into what makes history so valuable.

Here’s a write-up of Bens lecture.

Del 2. The practioners: “This is how we create business value out of our history.”

The benefits of using history in the fashion business: A talk between Margareta van den Bosch, H&M and Gianluca Pastore, Benetton Group, led by fashion historian Ingrid Giertz-Mårtensson.

Here’s a short summary of the panel talk.

How can history strengthen consumer brands?: Ted Ryan, Coca Cola Archives, and Per Carleö, Volvo Car Sweden, in a conversation led by Anders Hoult from the Centre for Business History in Stockholm.

Here’s a short write-up of the panel.

Using Your Corporate Swedish History on the Global Arena:  Ben de Vries, Ericsson, and Patrik Nygren-Bonnier, IKEA, in a talk led by Anders Houltz from the Centre for Business History in Stockholm.

Here’s a write-up of the panel.

History’s Role in Family Businesses: Melanie Aspey, Rothschild Archives, and Albert Bonnier, Albert Bonniers Förlag, about the generational perspective in family-led corporations.

Here’s a summary of the discussion. 

Del 3. The Veteran: “The Future of History”

History Marketing Summit 2016 closed with a reflection on the future of history by Viveca Ax:son Johnson, chairman Nordstjernan.

Here’s a summary of her presentation.

A few pictures from the summit. See you in 2017!