Åkestam Holst – From Zero to Fame

After a rough start in the 1990s, the Swedish advertising agency Åkestam Holst has become one of the leading exponents of the clever and internationally admired Swedish approach to advertising in the intersection of traditional and digital communication. Since 2004, Åkestam Holst has been named Swedish Agency of the Year seven times, and received more than 500 Swedish and international advertising awards. What was the thinking that led to the campaigns? What is down to luck, and what is the result of planning? And how to preserve the profoundly value-driven culture when the agency expands? From Zero to Fame is the first comprehensive monograph on a Swedish advertising agency. Captured in the moment but with interesting reflections on both the past and the future.

The author of the book is Carin Fredlund, who followed the agency’s work and interviewed coworkers and clients during the spring and summer of 2014. She has covered and analysed advertising and marketing for more than 25 years.