C3

What C3 does

C3 Creative Code and Content GmbH is a German content marketing agency headquartered in Munich, operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hubert Burda Media. Founded in the early 2010s, the agency employs approximately 350–500 staff across 8 offices in 5 European countries (Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, London, Ljubljana, Zagreb, and Prague), representing 40 nationalities and more than 30 specializations including strategy, editorial, design, motion, data analytics, and technology.

C3's core offering is integrated content marketing delivered through a 'Client Pod' model that combines content strategy, creation, technology platforms, marketing intelligence, channels, and performance under a single engagement. Service lines span corporate publishing, social media management, content ecosystems, digital storytelling and scrollytelling, digital annual reports, newsroom operations, mobile applications, and campaign development. Two in-house sub-brands extend the offering: Hooray (video/motion production launched 2022) and CYAN (strategic communications consulting launched 2020). The agency does not operate a proprietary software platform; its technology competencies sit in content creation tooling, marketing intelligence platforms, and channel/SEO performance tools.

C3 generates revenue through B2B agency retainers and project-based professional service fees from enterprise and mid-market clients. Named blue-chip customers include Volkswagen, Porsche, Bosch, Telefónica o2, Lufthansa, ProSiebenSat.1, KfW Bankengruppe, IKK classic, Wintershall Dea, Continental Tyres, and the German Armed Forces. Distribution is exclusively direct enterprise sales with competitive pitches, relationship-based account management, and a consulting-led mid-market motion through CYAN. The agency has received multiple Best of Content Marketing Awards (including a 2021 Grand Prix), a Red Dot Award (2020), and was named among Germany's most innovative companies by Capital Magazine.

Name

C3

Legal name

C3 Creative Code and Content GmbH

Website

https://c3.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

C3 Creative Code and Content is a Munich-headquartered B2B content marketing agency and subsidiary of Hubert Burda Media, employing ~350–500 staff across 8 European offices and serving enterprise clients such as Volkswagen, Porsche, Bosch, and Telefónica o2 with integrated content ecosystems, video production, and strategic communications consulting.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Content Marketing Agency Services

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (541820), Postproduction Services and Other Motion Picture and Video Industries (51219)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAFAIAJ

Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams)

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Content Marketing & Production (Copy, Video, Design)

SECONDARYBPAFAAAF

Content Production (Video, Design, Copy, Studio)

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Full-Service Advertising Agencies

SECONDARYMPAAAAAI

B2B/ABM Creative Agencies

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Advertising, Marketing & PR Services/Advertising Agencies (Full-Service/Creative)

SECONDARYMPAAAHAD

Content & Creative Studio for Creators (Concepting/Production)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Advertising, Marketing & PR Services/Influencer & Creator Marketing Agencies

SECONDARYBPAFADAI

Technology & B2B PR

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Public Relations & Communications

Keywords

• Content marketing services
• Corporate communications agency
• Digital content production
• Brand storytelling services
• Content strategy consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Services / Agency Retainers and Project Fees: C3 generates revenue through long-term agency retainer contracts and project-based engagements with enterprise clients. Services span content strategy, creation, technology implementation, and performance across digital and print channels. Revenue is derived from professional service fees, typically structured as monthly retainers or fixed project budgets for B2B clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

C3 Creative Code and Content is a European content marketing agency that delivers integrated content ecosystems for enterprise B2B clients, combining content strategy, editorial creation, technology platforms, marketing intelligence, and channel performance under a single agency model. The firm operates production sub-brands including Hooray for audiovisual/video production and CYAN for strategic communications consulting, executing campaigns, corporate publishing, social media operations, newsrooms, and digital reporting for clients such as Volkswagen, Porsche, Bosch, Telefonica o2, Lufthansa, KfW, and the German Armed Forces.

Product overview

C3 Creative Code and Content is the leading European content marketing agency that operates as a unified agency rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The company offers comprehensive content marketing services encompassing strategy, content creation, technology platforms, marketing intelligence, channels, and performance. Key products and services include: Content Marketing Services (core offering), Hooray (video/motion production unit), CYAN Consulting Unit (strategic communications and organizational design), Newsroom Services (multimedia content operations), Mobile App Development, Digital Reporting solutions, and Scrollytelling/Infographic Design. The agency maintains offices across Europe including Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Stuttgart, London, Ljubljana, Zagreb, and Prague.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CYAN: The C3 consulting unit providing strategic communications consulting, sustainable organizational design, and digital performance management
• Hooray

Products and services

• Content Marketing Services Core integrated content marketing offering spanning strategy, concept, content creation, technology and platform competencies, marketing intelligence, channels, and performance optimization. Designed for large enterprise B2B clients seeking a single agency partner for multi-channel content ecosystems across markets and languages.
• Hooray Video Production C3's in-house audiovisual production label delivering end-to-end video services from TV commercials and branded content to social-only formats, including creation, direction, production, post-production, and data-driven video performance and distribution. Serves enterprise clients needing integrated video production capabilities alongside broader content marketing mandates.
• CYAN Consulting Strategic communications consulting offering through three practices: Narrative Consulting, Organizational Excellence, and Digital Impact. Provides strategic communications, sustainable organizational design, and digital performance management services to enterprise and mid-market clients.
• Newsroom Services Comprehensive newsroom operations including content planning, SEO-optimized editing, multimedia content production, community management, and syndication network distribution. C3 operates a 16-person newsroom for ProSiebenSat.1 between 5 AM and midnight producing 1,200 videos and 25,000 articles annually.
• Mobile App Development Development of interactive mobile applications combining 3D models, virtual tours, and multimedia content for client brands and campaigns. Targeted at clients needing branded app experiences such as the official Michael Schumacher App.
• Digital Annual Reporting Digital annual reports, corporate publishing hubs, and interactive reporting solutions featuring animated graphics, interview content, and multimedia elements. Demonstrated for enercity AG and Giesecke+Devrient with measurable engagement (5+ new articles/month, sub-2-second loading).
• Scrollytelling and Infographic Design Interactive scrollytelling content experiences and infographic design services combining infographics, animations, and multimedia for client campaigns and corporate communications. Designed for complex subject matter such as B2B technology, manufacturing, and industrial clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 52% increase in website visits and 36% longer website sessions from organic search for IKK classic
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Standard Chartered FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026Standard Chartered Foundation partnered with Village Capital and C3 to launch the eighth edition of the Women in Tech Accelerator in the UAE, supporting women-led startups with funding and network access. The program has supported 61 startups in the UAE since its inception.
• Village CapitalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026Village Capital co-partnered with Standard Chartered Foundation and C3 for the Women in Tech Accelerator program in the UAE, supporting women-led startups with funding and network access.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Kolle Rebbe: Hamburg-based creative and content agency (part of TBWA). Comparable to C3 as a German integrated creative/content agency with strong brand storytelling, campaign, and digital content capabilities serving enterprise clients.
• Jung von Matt: One of Germany's largest independent creative agencies with offices across Europe. Directly comparable to C3 as a German-headquartered, multi-disciplinary content and creative agency serving enterprise clients with integrated brand, content, and digital storytelling services.
• Serviceplan Group: Largest independent agency group in Europe, headquartered in Munich. Comparable to C3 as a full-service, integrated agency with strong content marketing, digital, and brand storytelling capabilities serving enterprise DACH clients across multiple verticals.
• Scholz & Friends: Berlin- and Hamburg-based creative agency group with deep automotive and B2B experience. Comparable to C3 as a German content-and-creative agency serving enterprise clients including Volkswagen Group and other major industrial/automotive brands.
• Territory: German agency network formed from merger of territories including Webguerillas (a known C3 talent feeder). Comparable as a content marketing and digital storytelling agency serving major German enterprise clients across content, social, and commerce.
• denkwerk: Cologne-based digital agency with strong content, technology, and digital product capabilities. Comparable to C3 as a German mid-to-large digital and content agency serving enterprise clients with integrated strategy, creation, and platform work.
• LOOPING Group: Hamburg-based digital agency recently supplying senior talent to C3 (Eckert, Batke-Lachmann). Comparable as a DACH-headquartered digital content and creative agency serving enterprise clients with similar storytelling, content strategy, and digital capabilities.
• UDG United Digital Group: Hamburg-based digital agency group (now part of Accenture Song). Comparable to C3 as a German full-service digital and content agency serving enterprise clients with strategy, content creation, technology, and performance marketing.

Broad incumbents

• Accenture Song (DACH): Global consulting-led experience agency with significant DACH presence following UDG acquisition. Comparable to C3 as a large-scale, integrated content, marketing, and digital transformation services provider competing for the same enterprise mandates in Germany.
• Deloitte Digital (DACH): Global consulting digital practice with substantial DACH operations. Comparable to C3 as an enterprise-focused, integrated content, creative, and digital transformation services provider increasingly competing for large German enterprise content mandates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cope_io
• Facebookfacebook.com/C3content
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/c3-creative-code-and-content

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about C3