The Brand Group

What The Brand Group does

The Brand Group is a privately held, founder-led marketing consultancy based in New Braunfels, Texas, operating as a fractional marketing department for small and mid-sized organizations. The company was founded by Steve Brand, who brings 20+ years of marketing, design, and production experience concentrated in retail chains, restaurants, and food & beverage brands since the mid-1990s. Its core offering is structured around three publicly disclosed tiered monthly retainer plans — Web + Social Essentials at $1,500/month, Growth Partner at $2,500/month, and Strategic Partner at $5,000/month — providing 10 to 40+ hours of integrated strategy, design, and execution services.

Underlying the service are three operational pillars: Strategy & Planning (research, SWOT, brand promise, calendars), Design & Production (corporate branding, graphics, video, WordPress sites, UX), and Tactics & Logistics (print management, media buying, fulfillment, promotion logistics). Beyond the retainer engine, the firm has developed specialized products including a Menu Production Portal for restaurant chains and a Customer Franchise Portal for franchisor-franchisee marketing coordination, both built on database-driven design systems with variable data population. Additional service lines span podcast production, video/audio production, employer branding, and culture consulting, targeting consultants, podcasters, content creators, and company cultures alongside its restaurant and franchise base.

The go-to-market is sales-led and direct: clients are acquired through the company website, referrals, and personal outreach, with strategy calls booked via Google Calendar. Revenue mechanics are subscription-style monthly retainers complemented by project-based work. Notable named clients include Wingstop (enterprise, menu portal), (512) Brewing Company (craft beverage branding and packaging), NAO at the Culinary Institute of America (restaurant branding), and The Culture Coach (SMB digital and content). The firm is registered as The Brand Group with DBA 'Ala Carte Marketing', maintains no disclosed external funding, and operates exclusively in the United States.

Name

The Brand Group

Legal name

The Brand Group

Website

https://thebrandgroup.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Brand Group is a founder-led, New Braunfels-based fractional marketing consultancy offering tiered monthly retainer plans spanning strategy, design, and production services to SMBs, franchises, consultants, podcasters, and restaurant brands across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New Braunfels

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Monthly Retainer Services: The company generates revenue through three tiered monthly retainer plans offering marketing department services including strategy, design, production, web maintenance, and social media management. Services are sold in blocks of hours (10, 20, or 40+ hours/month) with flexible usage across services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Brand Group operates as a fractional marketing department, selling tiered monthly retainer plans that bundle brand strategy, creative design, production, web and social media services, and employer branding. In addition to recurring retainers, it delivers project-based engagements such as company rebrands, podcast and video production, and proprietary portals (e.g., menu production and franchise portals) for restaurant chains and franchise systems.

Product overview

The Brand Group is a fractional marketing department offering á la carte marketing, design, and execution services. The company operates as a single integrated offering with three tiered monthly retainer plans (Web + Social Essentials at $1,500/month, Growth Partner at $2,500/month, and Strategic Partner at $5,000/month) that provide increasing levels of strategic marketing support, design production, and campaign management. These plans are built on three core service pillars: Strategy & Planning (research, goal-setting, calendars, advertising strategy), Design & Production (branding, graphics, video, websites, UX), and Tactics & Logistics (collateral management, media buying, fulfillment, promotions). The company also delivers specialized project-based services including Company ReBrand, Podcast Production, Video & Audio Production, Customer Franchise Portal development, Menu Production Portal for restaurant chains, Restaurant Branding, Website Design, and Packaging Design. The product portfolio is centered around custom marketing consulting and creative production rather than a software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Web + Social Essentials Monthly retainer providing 10 hours/month of marketing services for businesses that need a consistent, professional online presence: website updates and maintenance, 8 social media posts, brand-aligned visuals and messaging, and light performance tracking and adjustments.
• Growth Partner Monthly retainer providing 20 hours/month of on-demand marketing for organizations wanting consistent, strategic marketing without hiring in-house staff: strategy and execution, design and production, web, print, and promotion work, monthly marketing team meetings, social media management, and brand management with flexible usage across services.
• Strategic Partner Premium monthly retainer providing 40+ hours/month of marketing support for organizations ready to scale or undergoing transformation: campaign builds, launches, brand overhauls, deeper strategy and leadership, and quarterly planning sessions with flexible usage across services.
• Company ReBrand End-to-end company rebranding service delivering brand strategy development, visual identity redesign, and rollout across all marketing materials and touchpoints.
• Podcast Production End-to-end podcast production service for podcasters and content creators covering audio recording, editing, mastering, and distribution support.
• Video & Audio Design and Production Video and audio production service delivering online course content, corporate presentations, interview production, web videos, presentation titles, slideshow intros, and portfolio slideshows with motion graphics and sound design.
• Customer Franchise Portal Custom-branded online portal built for franchisees of franchisors: order marketing materials, access support services, receive news, view customized web-store, request needs-based custom material design, and communicate with the franchisor and other franchisees, with compliance management.
• Menu Production Portal Web-based portal for restaurant chains that collects store-level pricing data, formats in-store menus, and delivers customized in-store menus with variable data fields and proof generation. Used by Wingstop to streamline workflow for price updates across Texas locations.
• Restaurant Branding Full-service restaurant branding engagement delivering brand identity development, menu and collateral design, photoshoots, and web and social media strategy for new restaurant concepts.
• Website Design and Development Website design, development, and ongoing maintenance service covering interface design, WordPress backend development, and integration with company systems.
• Employer Branding Employer branding service helping organizations create intentional company culture through culture consulting, operationalized values, and inside branding initiatives.
• Advertising & Design Advertising campaign design and production services creating brand-aligned visual advertising materials across multiple formats.

Named customers4 records

Segments5 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

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Sagefrog Marketing Group: Boutique B2B and consumer marketing agency offering branding, web, digital, and traditional marketing services to SMB clients. Closely comparable integrated marketing services offering and small/mid-market target.
• Chief Outsiders: Fractional CMO/marketing services firm providing part-time executive marketing leadership to SMBs and mid-market companies. Closely comparable business model as a fractional marketing department delivering strategy and execution on retainer.
• BrandExtract: Houston-based boutique branding and marketing agency that works with restaurant, franchise, and consumer brands on identity, web, and integrated campaigns. Similar Texas roots, comparable boutique scale, and overlapping F&B/retail client focus.
• Trevelino/Keller: Mid-sized boutique agency offering brand strategy, public relations, digital and creative services on retainer to growth-stage clients. Comparable boutique integrated agency model with fractional/embedded engagements.
• Luquire: Independent integrated marketing and advertising agency providing brand, digital, and media services to mid-market and enterprise clients. Similar full-service strategy-design-execution offering and comparable client segment.
• LYFE Marketing: Social media and digital marketing agency offering subscription-style packages to small businesses. Comparable recurring-fee service tiers and SMB target customer, though with a narrower digital/social focus.

Broad incumbents

• Walker Sands: Larger integrated marketing agency with PR, creative, and digital practices serving B2B and consumer brands. Comparable service breadth but operates at greater scale and with broader geographic reach than The Brand Group.
• Tombras: Large independent full-service advertising agency delivering creative, media, and digital services. Overlaps with The Brand Group's offerings but operates at significantly greater scale and as part of a wider portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/theBrandGroup
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCxvw4HE1NZPymMw73m2DJHg
• Facebookfacebook.com/thebrandgrp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thebrandgroupllc
• Instagraminstagram.com/brandgroupllc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 The Brand Group