Brand Trust

What Brand Trust does

Brand Trust GmbH is a privately-held German management consulting firm headquartered in Nürnberg that specializes in brand strategy and brand-driven growth for enterprise and mid-market clients. The company has operated for over 20 years (with the founding date recorded as both 2000 and 2003 across sources), employs 50 specialists, and reports 500 customers served and 1,400 completed brand strategy projects across 12 industry verticals. Geographic coverage includes offices and representations in Nürnberg, Munich, Vienna, Switzerland, Utrecht, and Slovenia, spanning the DACH region, Benelux, and Southeast Europe.

The firm's offering is a portfolio of 12 integrated consulting competencies: brand strategy, brand positioning, brand implementation, brand architecture, employer branding, corporate culture, brand performance, sustainability branding, pricing, customer centricity, change & transformation, and brand innovation. BrandTrust does not develop proprietary software or technology products; its intellectual property centers on consulting methodologies, most notably the Brand Portfolio System published in Harvard Business Manager and developed with DAX-40 and BASF. Revenue is generated through project-based and multi-year retainer consulting engagements sold via a direct sales motion, with pricing custom and quote-based.

BrandTrust is independently owned with no external investment, no M&A activity on record, and no disclosed subsidiaries. Managing Partners Klaus-Dieter Koch, Jürgen Gietl, and Nicola Baxter lead the firm, with Partner Sebastian Schäfer heading the banking-sector practice. The company has accumulated multiple industry recognitions including FAZ Institut TOP Berater 2026, WirtschaftsWoche Best of Consulting Mittelstand 2025, and consecutive Top 3 Berater 'Marketing & Sales' rankings from Industriemagazin Österreich in 2023 and 2026, alongside ongoing content marketing via podcasts, whitepapers, books, and the BrandLetter newsletter.

Name

Brand Trust

Legal name

Brand Trust GmbH

Website

https://brand-trust.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Brand Trust GmbH is a Nürnberg-based, privately-held management consulting firm with 50 specialists that delivers brand strategy, positioning, architecture, and brand-driven growth services to enterprise and mid-market clients across 12 industries in the DACH region, Benelux, and Slovenia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Brand Strategy Consulting

NAICS

Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Brand Strategy & Positioning (BPAFAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Brand Consulting, Audits & Research (Brand Health, Equity, Competitive) (BPAFAEAJ), Brand Guidelines, Governance & Brand Management (BPAFAEAF), Brand & Portfolio Strategy Consulting (MPAAAFAB), Employer Brand Strategy & Talent Branding (BPAFAEAH)

Keywords

• Brand strategy consulting
• Brand positioning services
• Management consulting
• Brand architecture consulting
• Employer branding consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Nuremberg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: BrandTrust generates revenue through professional consulting engagements focused on brand strategy, brand positioning, brand implementation, and related strategic advisory services. Projects typically involve strategic consulting engagements with enterprise clients, structured as project-based or retainer arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Brand Trust is a strategy consulting firm that advises companies on brand strategy, brand positioning, brand implementation, brand architecture, employer branding, corporate culture, brand performance, pricing, customer centricity, change management, and brand innovation. The firm delivers strategic consulting engagements to enterprise and mid-market clients across 12 industry verticals using proprietary methodologies such as the Spitzenleistungen approach and the Brand Portfolio System.

Product overview

BrandTrust operates as a strategic consulting firm offering a unified portfolio of brand consulting services rather than a software platform. The core offering consists of 12 integrated consulting competencies spanning brand strategy, positioning, implementation, architecture, employer branding, corporate culture, brand performance, sustainability, pricing, customer centricity, change management, and brand innovation. These are delivered through direct client engagements rather than packaged software products. Supplementary offerings include industry-specific whitepapers (Gen Z Banking, Cooperative Banks), published analyses (JPMorgan Chase Uncovered, Chase Germany Entry), professional development programs (seminars, webinars, Web Academy), and proprietary methodologies such as the Brand Portfolio System published in Harvard Business Manager.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Markenstrategie (Brand Strategy)
• Markenpositionierung (Brand Positioning)
• Markenimplementierung (Brand Implementation)
• Markenarchitektur (Brand Architecture)
• Employer Branding Consulting
• Unternehmenskultur (Corporate Culture Consulting)
• Brand Performance Consulting
• Nachhaltigkeit (Sustainability Branding Consulting)
• Pricing Consulting
• Customer Centricity Consulting
• Change & Transformation Consulting
• Markeninnovation (Brand Innovation Consulting)
• Seminare / Webinare / Web Academy (Professional Training Programs)

Quantifiable outcome

• 500 customers served across 12 industries
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Lippincott: Lippincott is an established brand strategy and design consultancy offering brand positioning, identity, and architecture services. Its premium positioning and Fortune 500 client base make it a comparable competitor to BrandTrust's enterprise strategy engagements.
• Prophet: Prophet is a global consultancy combining brand, marketing, and transformation capabilities. Its brand strategy offering competes directly with BrandTrust, and its DACH presence makes it a regional competitor as well.
• Superunion: Superunion (formerly Brand Union) is a global brand consultancy offering brand strategy, architecture, and experience design. It is part of the WPP network and competes with BrandTrust on enterprise brand strategy engagements across multiple verticals.
• Siegel+Gale: Siegel+Gale is a global brand strategy, naming, and design consultancy with a focus on simplicity-led brand positioning. It competes with BrandTrust on strategic clarity methodologies and enterprise brand engagements.
• Wolff Olins: Wolff Olins is a global brand consultancy with strong positioning and brand strategy capabilities. Its offerings closely parallel BrandTrust's, but with broader geographic reach and larger enterprise client roster.
• Landor & Fitch: Landor & Fitch is one of the world's largest brand consulting and design firms, with brand strategy, positioning, and brand architecture offerings directly overlapping BrandTrust's core competencies. It serves global enterprise clients across similar verticals.
• Interbrand: Interbrand is a global brand consultancy with deep expertise in brand strategy, positioning, and valuation. It competes directly with BrandTrust in the German-speaking market but operates at much greater scale globally, serving many of the same enterprise verticals (financial services, automotive, FMCG).
• Kantar (Brand & Marketing): Kantar's Brand & Marketing practice (including BrandZ) provides brand strategy, valuation, and research services to global enterprises. Its data-driven brand strategy offerings overlap with BrandTrust's positioning and brand performance capabilities.

Regional players

• KMS Team: KMS Team is a Munich-based brand consultancy focused on brand strategy, design, and activation. It serves DACH enterprise clients with offerings directly comparable to BrandTrust's brand strategy and positioning services.
• MetaDesign: MetaDesign is a Berlin-based brand and design consultancy with strong DACH presence. It offers brand strategy, identity, and digital brand experience services directly comparable to BrandTrust's portfolio and targets overlapping German-speaking enterprise clients.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCLFoly_4F1H1KaKsMkekedQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/brandtrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3849867
• Instagraminstagram.com/brand_trust/?hl=de
• Xx.com/brand_trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Brand Trust