How did others do it?

A Selection of History Marketing Cases

Companies are increasingly using their heritage to build today's brand or strengthen the organization. This strategic use of history is often referred to as history marketing – and here are some examples where we have helped companies become even more active users of history.

Swedbank – 200 years with the savings bank idea

In 1820, the first savings bank in Sweden was founded. Swedbank wanted to celebrate this in 2020 - so we made a 68-page 200-year magazine about the growth of the savings banks - and the country. The magazine (in Swedish and English) was sent home to all Swedbank employees. Then we made a podcast series, a history site, internal films, and staff quiz. All synced with the bank's advertising campaign.

Bonus: Swedbank's Johan Eriksson talks about the anniversary work in this conversation.
Extra bonus: For the Economic Museum, we made a TV series about the savings banksTriple bonus: In 2026, school magazine Lyckoslanten turned 100. We celebrated with a film.

Olle Engkvist, master builder - in book, web and film

Master builder Olle Engkvist was instrumental in shaping modern Sweden. The Olle Engkvist Foundation asked us to bring his life's work to life - and we answered with the biography Olle Engkvist: master builder by Nils Johan Tjärnlund and the map-based site olleengkvistbygger.se with source material from Olle's many construction projects. All based on research into the archives after Olle Engkvist, which we manage on behalf of the foundation.

Bonus: We also made a short film that introduces the master builder in three minutes.

Boliden 100 years

In 1924, gold was found in Västerbotten - and mining giant Boliden was born. Ahead of the 100th anniversary in 2024, they asked us to do research and hold history workshops at the company’s ten sites in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Ireland. Two years later, we could make a box with four magazines that tell the history of the company and each locality. Plus they highlight the development of the mining industry have evolved through time.

The magazines were published in Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, and English - and distributed to all employees at the staff parties held at each location during the anniversary year.

Bonus: See Boliden’s Klas Nilsson talk about the entire anniversary celebration.

SCA's archive moved in

For over 70 years, the forest group SCA stored its historical material in Villa Merlo, founder Fredrik Bünsow's summer residence in Timrå. When the building was to be sold in 2022, the 6,000 shelf meter central archive needed a new home. We were asked to house it - and everything was moved to our archives in Bromma. There it now stands professionally managed and available both to the company and researchers.

We also made a film about the house's history with SCA's archivist Monica Janson.

Bonus: See our archivists talk about moving 6,000 shelf meters.

Atlas Copco 150 years

Atlas Copco, founded in 1873, has made railway wagons, diesel engines, and mining tools. Today it works with compressor, power, vacuum, and industrial technology. How do you convey such a diverse history? Well, we made the book Atlas Copco Group - 150 years of innovation in 2023 and asked today's employees explain how they build on all their previous colleagues' work. We researched in the corporate archive (which we manage for the company), wrote and designed the book (by the way, just like when Atlas turned 140 years.) The book was given to the employees - and all content was published on the corporate history site!

Bonus: See Linda Ekwall from Atlas Copco share how the anniversary year was used to engage employees all over the world.

Electrolux

Electrolux was founded in 1919 by the legendary Axel Wenner-Gren. Since then, the company has worked with the motto living for the better – a story we told for the 100th anniversary in coffee table book Shape living for the better: The first 100 years of Electrolux by Ronald Fagerfjäll. Plus, we created the content for the Electrolux history site, and built a historical exhibition at their headquarters. One story, many ways to tell it.

Bonus: Electrolux' Martin von Arronet shares his best tips for a successful corporate anniversary.

ICA 100 years

When ICA turned 100 years old in 2017, we told the food retailers story in four special magazines. All that material is also available on the historical site www.ica-historien.se - which also contains source material from ICA's archives that we helped the company create and nowadays manage for them.

Bonus: ICA summarized the anniversary year: "ICA: How we celebrated 100 years" (pdf)

Extra: Watch our film about ICA's history in six milestone in five minutes, made in 2025.

ICA's history was told in many ways during the anniversary year - including in four magazines.

Axfood 20 years - and Dagab 50 years

In 2000, food giant Axfood was formed when Willys, Hemköp, Dagab, and others merged. All with their own long histories. In 2020, this "young company with deep roots" turned 20 years old - and asked us to tell the group's shared story. This became the magazine Stronger Together, which shows how the different brands have developed individually and as a group.

Four years later, the subsidiary Dagab, responsible for the group's range and logistics, turned 50 years old. We took over the year's final issue of their employee magazine and made a special issue about Dagab's history, focusing on what the company takes with it moving forward.

Both magazines were based on the companies' archives that we manage, supplemented with new interviews and new material collection.

Elekta 50 years

In 1972, Professor Lars Leksell and his son Larry founded Elekta to sell the groundbreaking Gamma Knife. When the medtech company turned 50 in 2022, it wanted an external historical account as a starting point for the future. We gathered material, built a historical archive, and conducted about twenty in-depth interviews with long-time employees. Then we wrote a detailed history for Elekta's website about the company's journey with ups and downs - and many employee voices.

Bonus: See Elekta's Mattias Thorsson talk about the history project.

Bergendahls received archive and magazine

In 1922, Mikael Bergendahl started a margarine agency. Three generations later, Bergendahls operates retail and grocery stores across the country, still from Hässleholm. Ahead of the 100th anniversary, the family asked us to collect historical material, conduct in-depth interviews, and create an organized archive. We did that - and everything was then deposited at the Local History Archive in Hässleholm.

We also made a anniversary magazine that brought the company's many transformations over the years to life for the employees - important as they had just sold parts of their business to Axfood.

History of Svenska Bostäder

Since the 1940s, the housing company Svenska Bostäder has been building homes for the people of Stockholm. We combined historical photos from when the areas were built with newly written texts – and created a web-based timeline and map mashup for them: www.svenskabostader.se/var-historia

Clas Ohlson 100 years

When Clas Ohlson turned 100 years old, we scanned all the company's mail-order catalogs since the start in 1918 - and created the book ”Beloved gadgets”, divided into ten chapters based on usage. An exposé of how Swedes have solved their everyday problems for 100 years - and a story only Clas Ohlson can tell.

The book was also reused for the history site www.clasohlson100.com, which also contains all the catalogs as PDFs - and of course the story of the company itself.

The book "Älskade prylar" is based on 100 years of Clas Ohlson catalogs.

The History of Systembolaget

Systembolaget is Sweden's state-owned liquor store chain, with exclusive right to sell alcoholic beverages. For over 70 years, that right has had to be justified and explained - and it's a story the company asked us to share on a website and in films, when it turned 60 years. The history website is open to everyone and visitor stats peak twice a year— when it is introduction time for new employees. The site can be found at www.systembolagethistoria.se.

SF Studios 100 years

In 1919, the film production company Svensk Filmindustri (SF) was founded - and since then, Swedish film talent has all been drawn there to make their films. For the centennial in 2019, today's SF Studios asked us to select the 30 most important productions and describe their creation from the creators' perspective. A history for the industry, but of course fun for all film lovers - and naturally made as a site, to make room for pictures – and all the film clips!

Ruter Dam 30 years

Over 1,200 women have attended the management program Ruter Dam since its start in 1987. The network, which is open to women only, turned 30 in 2017 and asked us to make a jubilee book. It became a summary of how working life has changed over three decades, told by the women and executives who have pushed the development of a more even playing field for women.

Bonus: In 2025 we also made a film where the founder Gunilla Arhén, who led Ruter Dam for 30 years, talks about the development of the program.

Alecta 100 years

The pension company, previously known as SPP, wanted to highlight "the security solution that changed Sweden" and we created for them film, web, book, podcast, and physical exhibition. The historical site, which is a gathering place for this, is located at www.alectashistoria.se.

Marabou 100 years

In 1916, Johan Throne Holst opened a Swedish offshoot of the Norwegian chocolate company Freia. The company was named Marabou – and when it celebrated 100 years, among other things, a historical timeline was made on the company's own site, a historical overview film, and a special edition anniversary chocolate.

LKAB

A coffeetable book about the mining giant LKAB? Is it possible to make one? Yep, it even became "a masterpiece," said the local media afterwards – about the book we made for the 125th anniversary in 2015 which was primarily aimed at its own employees.

More about history marketing

Read "History marketing - The company's history as a strategic asset"

A handbook in business historical use that we released in 2023 from our own Förlaget Näringslivshistoria. Full of both theory and practical examples - all based on our over 50 years of experience in helping companies preserve and tell their history.