H & K + S

What H & K + S does

H & K + S is an owner-operated, full-service advertising agency headquartered in Bremen, Germany, founded in 1997 by Harald Schweers. The firm traces its lineage to the 1963 Designatelier Haase & Knels and operates under the legal name H&K+S / Agentur für Werbung GmbH. It serves primarily the German Mittelstand and mid-market segment, plus regional institutions and cultural organizations, with a particular concentration in northern Germany (Bremen, Lower Saxony). The agency's service portfolio spans four core categories: Strategy (market analysis, positioning), Design (brand, corporate, packaging, editorial, photography), Digital (web development, social media, motion design), and Brand (brand development, multi-channel campaigns).

The agency's technical foundation is built on multi-platform CMS implementation (Kirby, Drupal, TYPO3, WordPress), with 125+ delivered websites and specialized enterprise deployments including 20+ Drupal multisite instances for Cordes & Graefe / GC-Gruppe with SAP and Microsoft Dynamics integrations. The 16-person creative team is multilingual (German, English, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Romanian) and draws from diverse backgrounds. A distinguishing partnership with SCIENCE+PRACTICE — a network of six marketing scientists — provides evidence-based brand consulting as a differentiator.

The business model is sales-led professional services: project-based fees and retainer engagements for integrated creative and digital campaigns, with quote-based pricing not publicly disclosed. New business is generated through direct outreach, referrals from long-tenure clients, and the agency's own digital storefront (hks-agentur.de). Marquee relationships span multiple decades (Weserpark 12+ years, Hemelinger 16+ years, Getraenke Ahlers since the late 1990s), and the agency has won the German Design Award 2026 and the One Show New York 2010. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and the company is privately held with no external investors.

Name

H & K + S

Legal name

H&K+S / Agentur für Werbung GmbH

Website

https://hks-agentur.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

H & K + S is an owner-operated, full-service advertising agency in Bremen, Germany, founded in 1997, serving the German Mittelstand and regional institutions with integrated strategy, design, digital, and brand services across multiple CMS platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Product & Brand PR (Consumer & B2B) (BPAFADAH)

Keywords

• Advertising agency services
• Brand strategy consulting
• Corporate design services
• Web development agency
• Marketing campaign management

Headquarters

HQ city

Bremen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services (Project-Based): Project fees for strategy, brand development, design, and digital services. Clients engage for specific campaigns or ongoing retainer relationships. Revenue is generated from creative and consulting project delivery across strategy, design, digital, and brand service lines.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

H&K+S is a full-service advertising agency delivering strategy, brand development, design, and digital services for German Mittelstand and mid-market companies. The agency provides four core service pillars — strategy consulting, corporate and visual design, digital (web development, social media, motion/video), and brand management — executed under a single-roof model with evidence-based strategic grounding via its SCIENCE+PRACTICE cooperation.

Product overview

H&K+S is an owner-managed, full-service advertising agency based in Bremen, Germany, founded in 1997. Rather than a single unified software product, the company offers a portfolio of professional service categories: (1) Strategie (Strategy) for market analysis, positioning, and strategic planning; (2) Design for brand design, corporate design, packaging, editorial design, photography, and motion design; (3) Digitales (Digital) encompassing web development on multiple CMS platforms (Kirby, Drupal, TYPO3, WordPress), social media management, and motion design; and (4) Marke (Brand) for brand development, brand communication, multi-channel campaigns, and brand management. The agency also maintains a Science+Practice cooperation with six marketing scientists for evidence-based brand consulting. Services are delivered through a structured project process and the agency employs 16 creative staff across 6 languages. Notable project references span brand campaigns for Hemelinger beer, AOK Bremen health insurance, Weserpark shopping center, and the Bremer Philharmoniker.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategie (Strategy Consulting) Strategic consulting and market analysis services for mid-market companies. The agency analyzes clients' competitive environment, sharpens brand positioning, and develops strategies for campaigns, products, brands, and entire companies. Evidence-based strategic foundation is provided via the SCIENCE+PRACTICE cooperation.
• Design Visual design services spanning brand design, corporate design, packaging design, editorial design, photography, and campaign design. Creates visual identities from logos to packaging and trade show booths for German Mittelstand and mid-market clients.
• Digitales (Digital Services) Digital services encompassing web design and development, social media strategy and management, motion design and video production. Includes CMS-based web development, social media campaigns, recruiting content, and display advertising.
• Marke (Brand Development) Brand development and brand management services including brand strategy, brand communication, multi-channel campaigns, and ongoing brand management. Covers positioning, naming, and full brand rollouts across channels.
• Webentwicklung (Web Development) Custom web design and development services delivered through a structured 8-phase process (discovery, analysis, construction, design, programming, launch, evaluation, ongoing support). Specializes in individual, future-proof web systems with over 125 realized websites across multiple CMS platforms.
• Social Media Social media strategy, content creation, community management, social advertising campaigns, and employer branding services. Includes ongoing channel management for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Xing, and YouTube.
• Recruiting Campaigns Recruitment campaign services including job postings, social media recruiting, career pages and landing pages, multi-channel campaigns, employer branding, and video and motion design for recruitment purposes.
• SCIENCE+PRACTICE Cooperation (Evidence-Based Brand Consulting) Evidence-based brand consulting partnership with six marketing scientists from SCIENCE+PRACTICE, offering deep brand identity analysis, target group definition, and scientifically validated strategies, complemented by brand positioning sessions led by founder Harald Schweers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 125+ websites delivered across multiple CMS platforms
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SCIENCE+PRACTICEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerH&K+S formed an exclusive cooperation with SCIENCE+PRACTICE, a network of six marketing scientists who conduct evidence-based market research. This partnership enables H&K+S to offer scientifically grounded brand identity analysis and market positioning services. A market research institute also complements the offering. Harald Schweers (H&K+S owner) additionally offers brand constellation sessions as part of the engagement.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• kempertrautmann: Hamburg creative agency with full-service capabilities spanning brand strategy, design, digital, and content production. Comparable to H&K+S as a German independent agency serving brand-driven clients across industries.
• Kolle Rebbe: Hamburg-based full-service creative agency offering strategy, brand design, digital, and campaign work. Comparable to H&K+S in being a German independent full-service shop targeting brand-led clients, though materially larger in scale.
• Grabarz & Partner: Hamburg-based independent creative agency known for integrated campaigns, brand strategy, and digital work for German Mittelstand and international clients. Closely comparable business model and target market to H&K+S.
• Antoni: Berlin-based independent creative agency providing brand strategy, advertising, and digital services. Similar independent, owner-influenced culture and full-service approach targeting premium German and international brands.

Broad incumbents

• Serviceplan Group: Largest independent agency group in Europe, headquartered in Munich. Offers integrated brand, digital, and communications services across DACH and globally — a scaled-up analog of H&K+S's full-service model.
• Scholz & Friends: Major German creative network headquartered in Hamburg with offices across DACH. Offers the same brand, advertising, and digital services as H&K+S but at significantly larger scale with broader geographic and category reach.
• Jung von Matt: One of Germany's largest independent creative networks with strong digital and brand capabilities. Competes for similar Mittelstand and mid-market brand assignments but operates at substantially greater scale and geographic breadth.
• DDB Germany: German arm of the DDB Worldwide network, headquartered in Berlin. Provides advertising, brand, and digital services through a network model — competing with H&K+S for mid-market and enterprise clients in the DACH region.
• TBWA\Germany: German operations of the TBWA global creative network. Offers advertising, brand strategy, and digital services at significantly larger scale, frequently pitching against independent German agencies like H&K+S for major accounts.

Regional players

• Lobeco: Smaller German creative agency operating in the same regional Mittelstand segment. Highly comparable in scale, owner-operated model, and full-service brand offering to H&K+S, though active in different German regions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@hksagentur
• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/hks-agentur-fuer-werbung
• Instagraminstagram.com/hks.agentur
• Xx.com/hks_agentur

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 H & K + S