Kernbrand

What Kernbrand does

Kernbrand AG is a privately held, bootstrapped Swiss full-service creative agency headquartered in Gossau SG (relocated from St. Gallen in December 2025), founded in 2013 and operating with 11-50 employees. The agency delivers communication services across four pillars: Brand (Marke), Strategy, Design, and Digital, covering branding, web design and development, campaign creation, print, social media, video production, and animation. Its core value proposition is emotional, human-centered communication built on the "Make People Feel" (makepeoplefeel) philosophy, deliberately positioned against AI-generated creative output. Kernbrand also operates a small portfolio of named sub-products: Gefühlsaudit (emotional impact audit), Brand in the Box (fixed-price branding module), QR-Tool (a self-developed dynamic QR code SaaS at qrtool.ch), KI-Hilfe (AI consulting), the Monday Five weekly newsletter, and the Kreativ-Shot branded marketing campaign.

The technology stack is conventional agency tooling rather than proprietary platform: WordPress with YooTheme for marketing sites, Matomo for self-hosted web analytics, ACY Mailing for newsletters, and Livingdocs CMS for government-grade projects such as armee.ch. The go-to-market is sales-led and direct, with all client engagement routed through [email protected], +41 58 255 13 00, or the website contact form; pricing is project-based and not publicly disclosed. Customer concentration spans Swiss federal, cantonal, and municipal government (Schweizer Armee, BAZG, ARE, Kantonales Steueramt SG, Kanton St.Gallen), educational and trade associations (KMU-HSG, Berufsverband Sozialbegleitung), and private SMEs and enterprises (WLW Bauingenieure, Thurbo AG, Wellnesshotel Golf Panorama). The firm is led by Oliver Fehr (principal/owner) with a small team that includes digital project management, graphic design, and Interactive Media Design apprentices, and operates exclusively in the Swiss Ostschweiz market.

Name

Kernbrand

Legal name

Kernbrand AG

Website

https://kernbrand.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kernbrand AG is a privately held Swiss full-service creative agency based in Gossau SG that provides branding, design, digital, and campaign services to SMEs, enterprises, and government clients across Switzerland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Agency Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430), Graphic Design Services (54143)

akta.pro primary industry

Packaging & Brand Identity Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Naming & Verbal Identity (Taglines, Messaging) (MPAAAEAB)

Keywords

• Creative agency services
• Brand development
• Digital marketing
• Campaign management
• Web design services

Headquarters

HQ city

Gossau

HQ country

Switzerland

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 - Creative Agency: Kernbrand generates revenue through project-based professional services including branding, web design, web development, campaigns, print design, content creation, video production, and social media management. Services are delivered to clients of various sizes across Switzerland.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kernbrand is a Swiss full-service creative agency delivering brand strategy, design, and digital communication services to businesses, government entities, and organizations of all sizes across Switzerland. Its offering spans four pillars — Brand (Marke), Strategy, Design, and Digital — covering branding, web design and development, campaign conception, print design, video production, and social media content. The agency also operates self-developed products and modules including the Gefühlsaudit emotional audit, Brand in the Box fixed-price branding, QR-Tool, KI-Hilfe AI consulting, and the Monday Five newsletter.

Product overview

Kernbrand is a creative agency based in Gossau, Switzerland, offering a comprehensive suite of communication and marketing services. Their core offerings span four main areas: Brand development (Marke), Strategy (Strategie), Design (Design), and Digital (websites and campaigns). The agency also provides several named service offerings including the Gefühlsaudit (emotional audit), Brand in the Box (fixed-price branding), KI-Hilfe (AI consulting), and QR-Tool (dynamic QR code generator). Their work encompasses branding, campaign development, web design, video production, and print materials across diverse sectors including government, hospitality, healthcare, education, and trade associations. The agency maintains a weekly Monday Five Blog newsletter and has developed a branded ginger shot product as a marketing initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Brand in the Box: A fixed-price brand development module offering affordable professional branding for businesses with limited resources.
• Gefühlsaudit
• QR-Tool
• KI-Hilfe
• Monday Five

Products and services

• Brand in the Box Fixed-price brand development package that delivers a professional brand identity at an affordable rate for businesses and organizations with limited budgets needing to launch a brand quickly.
• QR-Tool Self-developed, Switzerland-based dynamic QR code generator enabling users to create QR codes with customizable designs, change destination links retroactively, and view real-time usage statistics in a privacy-compliant way.
• Gefühlsaudit (Emotion Audit) Analysis service that evaluates a client's advertising materials for emotional impact and differentiation, then provides concrete optimization recommendations to strengthen brand impact.
• KI-Hilfe (AI Help) Consulting service that helps businesses identify and integrate suitable AI tools into their operations, advising on how to use artificial intelligence meaningfully to enhance client processes.
• Kreativ-Shot Branded ginger-based shot drink launched by Kernbrand in collaboration with SWISS PRODUCTION as a self-marketing initiative that uses a tangible product to demonstrate the agency's full-service creative capabilities.
• Monday Five Blog/Newsletter Weekly Monday newsletter published by Kernbrand that delivers five minutes of marketing, branding, design, and creative inspiration to subscribers as ongoing content marketing.

Named customers10 records

Segments4 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.

• SWISS PRODUCTIONminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2024Collaboration for the 'Kreativ-Shot' ginger shot product and campaign. SWISS PRODUCTION collaborated with Kernbrand to produce the creative shot product as part of an unusual self-marketing campaign. The shot was created to promote the agency's full-service capabilities in a memorable, creative way.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Jung von Matt: Swiss-origin international creative network with a strong emotional and brand-positioning heritage. Larger and broader portfolio than Kernbrand, but overlaps heavily on emotional brand campaigns for Swiss and DACH clients.
• MetaDesign: International branding and design firm with deep roots in corporate identity. Overlaps with Kernbrand on brand strategy, naming, and visual identity work for larger organizations.
• Serviceplan Group: Large European independent agency group with Swiss presence offering full-service communication. Provides a useful incumbent comparator for Kernbrand's full-service creative ambitions.
• Landor & Fitch: Global specialist branding and design consultancy. Operates in a similar branding/design category as Kernbrand, but at much greater scale and typically serving enterprise and government rebrands.
• WIRZ Group: One of the largest Swiss-owned advertising and communications groups, providing advertising, branding, and digital services. Comparable offering footprint to Kernbrand at significantly greater scale.

Direct peers

• Rod Kommunikation AG: Swiss full-service communications agency with offices in St.Gallen and Zurich, offering branding, campaigns, and digital services. Closely comparable as a regional Swiss creative/branding agency serving government and commercial clients across similar service lines.
• Velvet Creative Society: Zurich-based independent creative agency offering branding, campaigns, and content. Comparable size and service mix to Kernbrand in the Swiss agency market.
• Spillmann Pfister Kommunikation: Boutique Swiss creative agency known for integrated campaigns, branding, and design. Compares as a similarly sized, design-led Swiss agency serving cultural, public, and commercial clients.
• NEUHAUS Communication & Experience: Swiss agency specializing in branding, communication, and immersive experiences across brand, digital, and content. Mid-sized peer competing for similar Swiss brand and digital mandates.

Emerging players

• Notch Interactive: Swiss digital and creative agency focused on web, brand, and digital experiences. Similar size and Swiss orientation to Kernbrand, with stronger emphasis on interactive and web specializations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@agentur-kernbrand
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kernbrand
• Instagraminstagram.com/kernbrand
• Xx.com/kernbrand1

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Kernbrand