Sofia Lovisa Gumaelius (8 December 1840 in

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– 23 January 1915 in Stockholm), was a Swedish businessperson.

Early life

She was the daughter of , founder of the

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

Nerikes Allehanda. In July 1877, Sofia Gumaelius founded the

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...

"Nya annonsbyrån, landsortspressens egen annonsförmedlare", generally referred to as Gumaelius Annonsbyrå or Gumaelius. It is known as one of the oldest advertising and communications businesses in the world. In 1877 Sofia Gumaelius rented two rooms in Stockholm’s old town, intended as a temporary office. She borrowed some of the money for the start up from her brother Arvid Gumaelius and started the business off on her own. After a few months she needed to hire people and the first employee was Agda Wilson. The company quickly grew in size and within a year the office location had to be changed. In 1908 the firm built a new building in central Stockholm for their office. During Sofia Gumaelius’ lifetime offices were also established in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...

and Gothenburg.

Career

From 1881 the name S. Gumaelii Annonsbyrå was registered as an abbreviation for Sofia Gumaelius’ Annonsbyrå. In 1883 Sofia Gumaelius also established the firm Gumaelius & Co, for printing supplies. In 1918, both these firms were joint into one firm under the name S Gumaelius. As an advertising person she was known for being strongly in favour of creating truthful messages in advertising to build trust among consumers. She differed her agency at an early stage in relation to her competitors by employing illustrators at an early stage and by focusing on ads with visual elements and slogans.

Social activism

Sofia Gumaelius was socially engaged and had an interest in democracy and free publicity. For some years she was treasurer in the Swedish organisation for women suffrage, National Association for Women's Suffrage. She was active in the Swedish journalist association Publicistklubben where she participated until her death and where she was referred to as ”The first lady of the Press” among her associates. She was the vice chairman of the women's club of her time Kvinnoklubben and was active in the women’s organisation

Fredrika Bremer Association The Fredrika Bremer Association ( sv, Fredrika Bremer Förbundet, abbreviated FBF) is the oldest women's rights organisation in Sweden. The association stands for an inclusive, intersectional and progressive liberal feminism, and advocates for wome ...

Death and legacy

At her death, she was described as the greatest businesswoman in her country. Her business lived on beyond her death.

References

Sources

Sveriges äldsta reklambyrå avvecklas
8 februari 2008 i ''Resumé'' * Article Nerikes Allehanda 28 juli 1977, * Valdemar von Sydow ” S Gumaelius Annonsbyrå” (1927) *

Ellen Fries Ellen Fries (23 September 1855 – 31 March 1900) was a Swedish feminist and writer. She became the first female Ph.D. in Sweden in 1883. She was also involved in founding several women's organizations. Biography She born in 1855 at Rödsleg� ...

: ”Märkvärdiga kvinnor” (1891) * ”Den Svenska Historien” Bonniers Förlag,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gumaelius, Sofia 1840 births 1915 deaths Swedish suffragists 19th-century Swedish businesspeople 19th-century Swedish businesswomen Swedish women business executives 20th-century Swedish businesswomen 20th-century Swedish businesspeople