The Content Universe

Does every company really need a big emotional story?

In this conversation, host Mikkel Svold sits down with Fredrik Hillerbrand, creative producer at Open Door and head of growth at Connie, a company handling contracts mainly for the creative industry. With 18 years as CEO of Danish production companies and deep experience in television storytelling, he brings a different lens to branding.

They explore what storytelling actually is, when it works for brands, and when it becomes hollow. They also dig into consumer versus B2B brands, changing narratives when the world shifts, and why attachment might matter more than attention in a world flooded with AI content.

1. Storytelling requires real values, not boardroom inventions
2. Branding is strategy plus identity, storytelling is expression
3. Conflict drives emotional attachment
4. Multiple stories can orbit one core value
5. B2B emotions exist, they just look different
6. You can’t fake values without being exposed
7. Attention is abundant, attachment is scarce
8. Transparency and credibility will matter more

00:00 – Welcome to the Content Universe 02:16 – What storytelling actually means 06:40 – Branding versus storytelling 10:10 – One brand many stories 13:16 – Consumer brands versus B2B 18:16 – Building blocks of a strong story 25:59 – Changing your story without losing credibility 30:12 – From attention to attachment

“If you don’t have it, don’t try to get one.” “A stuffed story that is superimposed will get exposed.” “Branding is strategy plus identity, storytelling is expression.” “Conflict is the base of every story.” “You must prove that the story we told about you is bulletproof.” “Attention will drive everything from that.” “It has to be replaced by a true attachment.” “If you want to stand out, you have to be transparent.”

storytelling, branding, conflict, emotional attachment, brand values, purpose, Simon Sinek, consumer brands, B2B marketing, authenticity, attention economy, attachment, AI generated content, long form storytelling, credibility, strategy and identity, boardroom discussions, brand narrative

Marketing departments in large industrial companies are sitting on enormous untapped potential.

They have the engineering depth, the application knowledge, and the long-standing customer relationships that every B2B marketer dreams of. And yet many of them are still caught in a pattern that undermines all of it.

The big-bang campaign. A flashy product launch. A beautiful video production. Then silence. Then another campaign.

Dorthe Borup Sindberg has spent 14 years at Danfoss across different roles in marketing communications, with the last three years as Senior Director of Global Marketing Communications for Danfoss Drives, one of the most recognisable names in industrial technology.

In that time, she has watched the marketing function evolve from a product-first, campaign-driven discipline into something considerably harder to execute but far more valuable.

A consistent, always-on presence that earns buyer trust long before anyone is ready to talk to a salesperson.

In this conversation, Dorthe and Mikkel dig into the real shifts happening inside large industrial organisations.

• Why always-on content is still a genuinely difficult sell internally, despite the logic being clear.
• Why prioritisation matters even more in the age of AI than it did before.
• And why the companies getting thought leadership right on LinkedIn are not the ones posting most frequently.

They also get into the growing importance of showing up in AI search results, and why the tried-and-tested work of SEO turns out to be a solid foundation for that too.

This is a candid, experienced conversation about what B2B marketing in complex, long-cycle industries actually requires to work.

00:00 Introduction and Danfoss Drives context

00:55 The two big shifts in industrial marketing right now

04:18 Why marketing is becoming more human and less product-led

07:06 Opportunities Dorthe is paying attention to right now

10:03 Why consistent content is so hard to sustain internally

13:24 Whether AI removes the need for prioritisation

17:24 How to build and maintain a genuine point of view

19:02 How to produce content with subject matter experts

27:24 The biggest struggles ahead, including proving marketing's impact

36:50 Closing reflections

Questions, topic ideas, or guest suggestions: [email protected]

Find more episodes at montanus.co

What if the reason your content isn’t working has nothing to do with ideas, and everything to do with ambition?

In this episode of The Content Universe, host Mikkel Svold goes solo and argues that the superpower of content marketing in 2026 is a slightly uncomfortable combo, being overly ambitious, and then being brutally pragmatic about how you’ll pull it off. He uses a prospect conversation as the trigger, three to four blog posts in six months, and breaks down why that kind of ambition quietly kills content before it even starts.

This matters if you’re in a large B2B or engineering company, because your constraints are real, time, tools, quality checks, the whole thing. The point isn’t to ignore them. It’s to set the bar high enough that you’re forced to build a system that can actually keep up.

1. Ambition sets direction, pragmatism makes execution possible
2. Low output often comes from low ambition, not lack of ideas
3. Fresh content still matters, even when repurposing works
4. Global audiences require higher publishing frequency
5. Constraints help shape better, faster workflows
6. Perfection slows production more than it improves results

00:00 – The superpower of content marketing

03:04 – Rethinking publishing cadence for global audiences

05:59 – Time, quality, and practical compromises

09:27 – Daily podcasts, daily posts, and bullet thinking

11:35 – Competing with AI through output and personality

How do you communicate when the rules are fixed and not up for discussion?

In this episode, Mikkel Svold is joined by Maiken Riise Andersen, Head of Corporate Communication and Branding at ALK, to talk about what content creation actually looks like inside a highly regulated industry. Where compliance is not a guideline, but legislation.

They discuss how ALK works with clear frameworks, structured approval flows, and mandatory training to make sure employees can communicate with confidence rather than hesitation. Not by tightening control, but by making the rules understandable and usable.

The conversation covers employee advocacy, content planning, and approval processes, and why structure often becomes the foundation for creativity rather than a limitation. Especially when the alternative is uncertainty.

This episode is for anyone working with content, communications, or branding in an environment where you cannot just “post and see what happens”. And for those who are starting to realise that clear boundaries are sometimes what make participation possible.

# In this episode you’ll learn:

1. Compliance is not the enemy. Unclear rules are.
2. Rules work best when people understand what they can do, not only what they cannot.
3. Training creates confidence. Confidence creates participation.
4. Employee advocacy fails when people are afraid of doing something wrong.
5. Clear frameworks turn restrictions into workable boundaries.
6. Planning ahead is not bureaucracy. It is what makes speed possible later.
7. Most content can be prepared long before it is published. Even in regulated industries.
8. When compliance is systemised, creativity does not disappear. It becomes usable.

# Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Marketing Challenges in Pharma

01:54 Differences in Corporate Communication

03:59 Navigating Compliance Regulations

07:10 Training Employees on Social Media Compliance

12:10 Creating a Positive Compliance Culture

18:37 The Shift in Employee Engagement

22:24 Approval Processes in Pharmaceutical Marketing

29:30 Recommendations for Effective Communication Strategies

This podcast is brought to you by Montanus.

Most companies on LinkedIn are doing the same thing: posting whatever comes to mind. A workshop photo here, a quick thought there, a team dinner shot on a Friday afternoon. It feels like staying active. It looks like content. But if you step back and look at the whole feed, there's usually no thread. No pattern. Nothing that tells a potential client what you actually stand for or what you're trying to achieve.

In this solo episode of the Content Universe, Mikkel Svold makes the case for content categories, a simple but surprisingly underused framework for giving your company's social media a backbone. Not a complicated editorial calendar, not a 30-page content strategy document. Just three to five defined buckets of content, each tied directly to what your business is trying to accomplish.

This is a short, sharp episode: part provocation, part practical framework. If your company is producing content that feels disconnected from your strategy, or if you have a nagging sense that your LinkedIn presence isn't doing the positioning work it should be, this one is worth your time.

• Why posting the "idea of the day" is a trap, even when those posts get good engagement
• The strategic logic behind building content categories tied to your business objectives
• The four content buckets Mikkel recommends for most B2B companies
• Why knowledge sharing posts position you as an expert, but social posts don't, and why you need both
• The content category most B2B companies neglect: services and products
• A simple test for whether your clients actually know what you can do for them
• How content categories remove ideation paralysis and make batch content creation possible

"By all means, do all of those posts. But when it comes to building thought leadership, especially on LinkedIn, I find that these one-off idea-of-the-day kind of posts, they are a little bit insufficient just by themselves."

"I don't actually sell what I'm doing right now. I'm not selling doing this video. I'm not earning money doing this video. I earn money from selling marketing, helping marketing departments for producing content for them."

"I bet you they only know that single thing because what you do only takes up like one percent of their daily work, and what you do takes up 100% of your daily work."

Mikkel Svold is the founder of Montanus, a B2B content production agency based in Aarhus, Denmark. He works exclusively with knowledge-driven engineering, technology, and science companies, turning a single monthly expert interview into a full content universe: podcasts, videos, blog posts, LinkedIn posts, email newsletters, and more. The Content Universe is his personal thought leadership channel: a space to share the frameworks, tools, and thinking he applies daily with his clients.

Questions, topic ideas, or guest suggestions: [email protected]

Find more episodes at montanus.co

In this episode, Mikkel Svold engages with Senior Communication & Marketing Manager at Ramboll Energy, Susanne Wellington Hansen, to explore the evolving landscape of thought leadership in knowledge-driven companies.

They discuss the shift from traditional technical focus to a broader societal relevance, the importance of activating thought leadership through various channels, and the challenges of measuring its impact. Susanne emphasizes the need for visionary leadership and the role of personal branding in establishing credibility. The conversation also touches on the integration of AI in content creation and the future of thought leadership in an increasingly complex world.

The takeaways from this episode are:

• Thought leadership has evolved from a technical focus to societal relevance.
• Activating thought leadership requires a multi-channel approach.
• The primary goal of thought leadership is to address client pain points, not direct sales.
• Gathering feedback from clients and stakeholders is vital for refining strategies.
• Training and support for personal thought leaders enhance their effectiveness.
• The future of thought leadership will emphasize experience and personal connection.

Episode content:
00:00 Introduction to Thought Leadership in Knowledge Companies
02:51 Evolution of Thought Leadership: Past vs Present
06:32 Activating Thought Leadership: Beyond LinkedIn
10:28 The Goals of Thought Leadership: Understanding Client Needs
14:31 Measuring Success in Thought Leadership
18:29 The Role of Leadership in Thought Leadership Strategies
22:43 The Importance of Personal Branding for Thought Leaders
26:05 Rapid Fire Questions: Insights on Thought Leadership
30:22 The Future of Thought Leadership and Content Sharing 

I’m sorry.
But thought leadership is not about you .
It never was.

It’s a mistake that many companies do when they try to promote a thought leadership strategy in their marketing .

And even that sentence doesn’t really make sense. Because thought leadership is not marketing thought leadership is branding.

So stop trying to sell your products .
Stop trying to push your services.
And start delivering industry specific value.

In today’s episode you’ll get my approach to tackling thought leadership.

how long should my podcast episodes be?
How often should I release a new episode?
Should I have guests or not?
And really, why do I need a podcast at all?

These questions are the foundation of every podcast and they are questions that you should be able to answer before starting the first recording.

In this episode, I give my view on these four questions so jump in and get your answers so you can get started tomorrow.

all across different kinds of media, different kinds of channels, different business areas and industries we see the same trend.

A trend pointing out that we are already as a consumer, as a client, and as a human being, tied out from reading and watching AI generated content.

Maybe it’s just me? Maybe you feel it too?

But yet another shift in how we produce content is around the corner - let’s hope we can rehumanize stories and content.

we’re at the doorstep of 2025 and that means budgets. It also Means that many marketing departments have to cut down.

But how do you handle budget cuts in your marketing?

And how do you prioritise the remaining resources you have?

They have four bullets I wanna go through with you to maximise your value for money on a tight marketing budget.

This is what we talk about today in this episode of a The Content Universe

See you inside.