How do certain companies manage to renew themselves and survive for generations? This is a question that business enterprises all over the world ask themselves. Bulls is a good example of a company that has succeeded in this respect.
Bulls has been providing world class content and building on its original business idea since 1929. The founders, Bjarne Steinsvik and Cornelius Bull, wanted to help skilled creators make quality content available to readers throughout the world. Originally concerned with comic-strips and news for the print press, today the company creates digital content solutions for global media, offers content marketing and acts as an agent for a number of global brands, such as Moomin (Mumin). In 2019 the third generation of Steinsviks are running Bulls with an updated version of the original business idea.
The best creators and the best companies
Thanks to good storytelling, relationship building and flexibility, Bulls has succeeded in completing 90 years as a company. Bulls brings together the best creators and the best companies.
“Much of our success is due to the people who’ve been with us for many years,” says Board Chairman Hjalmar Steinsvik. “The loyalty that exists between us and our partners, our customers and our creators has been crucial. In the final analysis, we’re here because people need good narratives. They’ll always need them.”
A powerful idea
It is said that half the companies in the world are going to disappear in the wake of the digital revolution. So what is it that enables certain companies to succeed in redefining themselves decade after decade?
“A company is a number of skilled people who’ve agreed to work together to realise the goals they believe in,” says President Tord Steinsvik. “We’ve had the benefit of inheriting a powerful idea.”
Basically, we match what our creators generate with platforms and companies that need good content. Regardless of which country we work in, we have a set of core values that are natural to us at Bulls. Family feeling, care and concern for those we work with, a curiosity about the world and a desire to develop further.
“Having the form of a family business is especially important during transition phases, I think,” says Tord Steinvik. “It ensures long-term direction and rapid flexibility. Many of the companies we work with are family owned businesses that have grown and changed along with us.”
We have collaborated with Moomin Characters for over 50 years and are now deepening our cooperation in a joint company, R & B Licensing. The aim is to get Nordic rights into the global arena. Bjarne Steinsvik and Cornelius Bull thought internationally from the outset. It was clear to them – as it is to us – that stories and content know no borders. Readers and viewers are to be found all over the world. This means that today we can provide both a Chinese and an American media platform with premium content.
Digitizing for success
The future for Bulls and other companies will be determined by how well we use digitization to strengthen our business idea. We keep up with the development of new technologies and tackle needs as they arise. Through constant learning, the company changes naturally. Digital technology enables us to create simple and relevant content solutions, but the content must always be in focus.
“Digitization offers tremendous opportunities – it democratizes the creative process and enables us to reach out globally,” says Margareta Steinsvik, Bulls’ Executive Vice President and a popular speaker on the subject of the digital transformation.
New technology and startups
At Bulls we experiment with new technology in projects and startups. Bulls People was established to help the new generation of creators and influencers find the right partners and develop the creators’ brands. Bulls People initiates collaborations that are efficient and generate profit for both creators and companies. The cookery competition Influencer Chef is one example. The participants in the program are influencers with numerous followers and committed fans. Companies sponsor the program both because their brands are associated with relevant influencers and in order to reach new target groups.
Bulls also invests in skilled and creative companies that operate in our area and share our mission. Together with them we can develop even faster.
“We’re really looking forward to taking Bulls into the future, to interpreting Bulls’ business idea in the virtual era,” says Margareta Steinsvik.
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