This is my marketing history.

 

 

I began as a freelance creative in 1978 and two years later I was taken on as a copywriter for Norgren/Gumælius in Malmö.

 

In 1981, Hans Grevelius and I broke away to establish the Bruhn Grevelius Advertising Agency. Our major clients included Färgtema (now Colorama), Nolan Helmets, Emil Byggvaruhus and Sparbanken Malmöhus.

 

After a few years, I chose to move on to a larger operation, becoming a partner in Benner & Co, one of Malmö’s most successful agencies at the time. Our largest clients there were Felix, Duni, Zoegas, Gambro, Fazer and Facit.

 

The agency was purchased by Intermarco (Publicis) in 1987 and shortly afterwards I was recruited by McCann Malmö as a copywriter and creative strategist.

 

Gambro chose to follow me to to McCann and eventually became one of the agency’s largest clients. During my time at McCann, I also worked a great deal with the agency’s various media clients, including Sydsvenskan, Impact and Morgonpressen (DN, SvD, GP, SDS).

 

Five years later, the legendary Blanking agency made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I spent many years here working with Sydsvenskan and the famous campaign “Haur du sitt Malmö haur du sitt varden” [If you’ve seen Malmö, you’ve seen the world]. However, I also actively worked with brands such as Scandlines, GolfStore, SABO, Ricoh and Scandinavian Airlines.

 

Towards the end of 1995, I was asked by McCann to take the creative lead with Opel Sweden, which had just been landed by the agency. The challenge was too enticing to turn down, and over the next few years I was involved in a range of product launches, events, TV campaigns and digital projects for General Motors Nordic.

 

Alongside the Opel account, I was also copywriter and creative strategist for Spalding, one of the biggest names in golf products at the time, with Top-Flite, Ben Hogan, Etonic and Strata in its brand portfolio.

 

Come 2001, the time was ripe for me to set up on my own, and so Bruhn Reklambyrå was established on Södergatan in Malmö. Joining me in the move were Spalding Sports and a colleague from McCann, Åsa Elleström.

 

The agency grew and quickly became known, not unreasonably, as the “golf agency”. With Spalding developing at supersonic speed, the agency was put in charge of communications for the Ben Hogan, Strata, Top-Flite and Etonic brands across the entire Nordic region. Other major clients ranged from Eurobib, Lammhults, and Academic Search to Wistrands Advokatbyrå.

 

In 2005, Spalding sold its golf brands to the US giant Callaway Golf, which centralised the whole European business in London. However, they still kept on Bruhn Reklambyrå in Malmö, expanding the brief and giving the agency pan-European responsibility for marketing the Ben Hogan and Top-Flite brands.

 

After a few years, Callaway Golf changed its brand strategy, focusing all its efforts on the master brand, which brought the London adventure to an end.

 

At the same time, the agency was employed by Stadium as part of its drive to become a stronger presence in the golfing world, giving us a fantastic couple of years together. However, a new CEO decided to concentrate on the company’s core business and so Stadium disappeared from the client list.

 

It was around this time that I wound up the agency and continued working solo as a creative consultant.

 

Fashion company Abacus, which coincidentally also has a golf focus, became a major new concept and production assignment.

 

Acushnet, a giant of the golfing world which owns the brands Titleist and Foot-Joy, was the next challenge, involving strategic retail development and product campaigns.

 

Although many of my clients have been international players, I have always had an interest in developing the communications and identity of local entrepreneurs.

 

For CA Andersson in Malmö, one of Sweden’s oldest printing firms, I launched a new visual identity and communications strategy to bolster their position as a dynamic, full-service media company. And for Trägårdh Advokatbyrå, I created the image of a modern commercial law firm that everyone would want to do business with.