The result

Volvo Cars is one of the brands that define Sweden. With more than one million Volvo cars running on Swedish roads, Volvo Car Sverige is also the major player on its domestic market. They have a proud track record in marketing and communication, and Forsman & Bodenfors Inhouse have been part of their team for as long as 27 years. Actually, that’s how we once started; as communication specialists employed by Volvo Car Sverige.

As the inhouse agency of Volvo Car Sverige (VCS), we work first and foremost with sales activation and digital business development. Another – and equally true – description of our assignment is that we do whatever is needed. We are their service agency, and wherever their marketing ecosystem needs support, we’re there to help.

It’s a close cooperation built on trust and transparency. We work together on a daily basis, and we share the workload rather than act as client and supplier. Briefing and presentation sessions are rare. Instead, we have frequent workshops and touch base whenever called for. Some members of the VCS marketing team even have their own key to our office and use it as their own.

To be able to work like this, shared knowledge is key. We have the same full access to VCS’s information systems as they have to our project management tools, and we at Forsman & Bodenfors Inhouse are regular guests at VCS’s internal product and sales strategy conferences. The cooperative way of working also extends to other stakeholders. Every Wednesday, all VCS marketing partners gather in our office for a weekly marketing meeting. It’s a fairly big session, summing the media agency, the social media experts, us, the VCS marketing people and their product owners when needed. Together we go through the ongoing activities. We share information about our respective scopes of work and discuss how to optimize and move forward. This meeting gives everyone a great understanding of VCS’s marketing system, and it helps us all make a better job. Everyone gets to know what’s cooking and can contribute to an even greater solution. Misunderstandings are brought to a minimum, and duplication of work is avoided. It’s an efficient weekly workshop with a friendly and collegial atmosphere. Swedish management at its best.