Anderson & Lembke
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Advertising |
| Founded | 1 January 1963 in Stockholm, Sweden |
| Founder | Bengt Anderson, Rolf Lembke |
| Defunct | 2001 |
| Fate | Ceased operations (original agency) |
| Headquarters | Stockholm , Sweden |
Area served | International (Sweden, Finland, United Kingdom, United States, Netherlands, France) |
Key people | Hans Ullmark, Steve Trygg (US management buyout leaders) |
| Products | Business-to-business advertising services |
Number of employees | 340 (US branch in 1995) (1995) |
Anderson & Lembke (A&L) was a Swedish agency specializing in business-to-business advertising, established in 1963. The company grew its international presence from the 1970s through the 1990s, with the final agency operating under the original name ceasing operations in 2001.
History
A&L was created in Stockholm in 1963 by Bengt Anderson and Rolf Lembke. They recognized an opportunity in the market where industrial products were promoted using materials of lesser quality compared to those for consumer goods. Their approach involved adapting marketing methods typically used for consumer products to target professional and industrial clients. Initial customers included SKF and Esab.
Expansion
During the early 1970s, A&L opened a branch in Helsinki, followed by additional offices in London in 1979 and Stamford, Connecticut in 1982, catering to technology companies such as Microsoft and Sun Microsystems. By 1984, the agency group had expanded to locations including Stockholm, Gothenburg, Helsingborg, Helsinki, Oslo, London, and Stamford, employing around 170 staff members and generating approximately US$65 million in annual revenue.
The UK division underwent a management buyout before expanding its operations to Basingstoke and Bristol; it eventually merged with McCann-Erickson in 2001. In the United States, Hans Ullmark and Steve Trygg led a management buyout of the agency in 1985, later selling it to Chiat/Day/Mojo. The US branch further extended its reach by opening offices in San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong. Ullmark and Trygg reacquired the agency in 1992 and subsequently sold it to McCann Erickson in 1995. At that time, it ranked as the fifth-largest advertising firm in San Francisco with approximately 340 employees.
Both the US and UK A&L agencies independently closed their doors in 2001. Meanwhile, La Rochefoucauld, Anderson & Lembke based in Paris merged with Publicis group’s Territoires division in 2000. The Helsinki office declared bankruptcy in 1991 but continued operations under the names A&L Advertising and later A&L Grey until the late 1990s.