komma

What komma does

komma Forschungs- und Beratungsgesellschaft mbH is a privately held German boutique market research and consulting firm headquartered in Munich, founded in January 2013 by Uwe Braun (former Deputy Executive Director at TNS Infratest) and Prof. Dr. Stefan Tuschl (professor at HAW Hamburg and former Head of Applied Marketing Science at TNS Infratest). A third Managing Director, Stefan Braun (former Swarovski manager), joined in April 2020 to extend the portfolio into brand management for consumer goods. The firm specializes in communications research, advertising research, and brand research, serving German enterprise clients across banking (TARGOBANK, DZ-Bank, BW Bank), retail (REWE, Lotto, Swarovski, airup), automotive and mobility (ADAC, ADFC), energy (E.ON, MVV), telecommunications/classifieds (Kleinanzeigen, Immoscout24), publishing (Cornelsen), travel (TUI, Holiday Extras), and QSR (Church's Texas Chicken), as well as institutional clients and management consulting firms (Oliver Wyman, InterNations). Service offerings span advertising and brand tracking, advertising pre-testing, brand positioning and strategy, concept testing, touchpoint and customer experience analysis, and data analytics.

The company's core technology is its research methodology stack rather than a software product. It combines traditional survey methods with digital behavioral data analytics through proprietary frameworks including the komma Customer Journey Approach (integrating survey and digital behavioral data into customer journey insights), the Wow-Index methodology (measuring advertising effectiveness across the Wow-Effect and Shift dimensions, plus Heart, Intellect, Attention, and Joke scores), and the komma Brand Cockpit dashboard for data-driven brand management. The firm publishes thought leadership through books (Springer Gabler), webinars (including AI-related research topics), marktforschung.de interviews, and a BVM corporate membership.

Revenue is generated entirely through bespoke, project-based professional services engagements — there is no disclosed subscription, licensing, or productized SaaS model. Pricing is quote-based per engagement, depending on scope, methodology, sample size, and reporting. The go-to-market is sales-led and consultative, combining direct enterprise sales, management consulting referrals, association/NGO project commissions, and demand generation through thought leadership and webinars. The company has ~1-10 employees (per firmographics), three managing directors, and a recently expanded leadership team including a VP Business Development hired in February 2026. komma is profitable on an operating basis with no external funding, parent company, or M&A activity disclosed.

Name

komma

Legal name

komma Forschungs- und Beratungsgesellschaft mbH

Website

https://komma-forschung.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

komma is a Munich-based German boutique market research and consulting firm specializing in communications, advertising, and brand research for enterprise clients across banking, retail, automotive, energy, and consumer goods.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Marketing Analytics & Measurement Strategy (Attribution, MMM, KPIs) (MPAAAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Performance Analytics, Attribution & Measurement (MMM/MTA) (BPAFACAJ), Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting (BPAHACAG)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Brand research
• Advertising research
• Customer experience analytics
• Concept testing

Headquarters

HQ city

München

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Market Research Projects: komma generates revenue through bespoke market research and consulting projects commissioned by corporate clients. Projects span advertising pre-testing, brand tracking, concept tests, customer journey analysis, and data analytics. Revenue is project-based and likely varies in size depending on scope, methodology complexity, and sample requirements. No subscription or recurring licensing model is described.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

komma provides custom market research and consulting services focused on communications and brand management. The firm delivers advertising pretesting, brand tracking, concept testing, touchpoint and customer experience analysis, and data analytics to corporate clients. Work combines classical survey methods with digital behavioral data, supported by proprietary frameworks such as the Wow-Index for advertising effectiveness and the komma Customer Journey Approach.

Product overview

komma is a market research and consulting firm specializing in communication and brand research. The company offers a unified portfolio of research services organized around core competencies: Advertising and Brand Tracking (Werbetracking und Markentracking), Advertising Pretest (Werbemitteltest), Brand Positioning and Strategy (Markenpositionierung und Markenstrategie), Data Analytics, Concept Tests (Konzepttests), and Touchpoints/Customer Experience. These services are supported by proprietary methodologies including the komma Customer Journey Approach (combining classical surveys with digital behavioral data) and the komma Brand Cockpit dashboard for data-driven brand management. The company also offers free educational webinars covering research insights and AI-related methodological innovations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advertising and Brand Tracking Tracking and monitoring of advertising effectiveness and brand performance over time for corporate marketing teams and brand managers, measuring key metrics such as awareness, perception, and market positioning.
• Advertising Pretest Pre-testing of advertising materials before launch to evaluate their effectiveness, emotional impact (Wow-Effect), persuasive performance (Shift), and potential success with target audiences.
• Brand Positioning and Brand Strategy Strategic consulting services to define and optimize brand positioning, develop brand strategies, and ensure consistent brand communication across touchpoints for consumer goods and corporate clients.
• Data Analytics Advanced data analysis services combining quantitative and qualitative methods with digital behavioral data to extract actionable insights for marketing and brand management decisions.
• Concept Tests Testing of new product concepts, marketing concepts, or creative ideas with target audiences to assess appeal, viability, and potential success before full rollout.
• Touchpoints and Customer Experience Analysis and optimization of customer journeys and touchpoints across all channels to ensure consistent brand experience and maximize customer satisfaction and loyalty, using the proprietary komma Customer Journey Approach.

Quantifiable outcome

• Top placement in 6 out of 9 evaluation criteria in marktforschung.de image survey 2024 (category 'Smaller Agencies') — including NPS recommendation score, service orientation, consulting competence, quality, methodological competence, and price-performance ratio.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers19 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• InterNationscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014komma partnered with InterNations to conduct one of the most extensive global expat studies, surveying nearly 14,000 expats from over 160 countries on living conditions abroad. Topics ranged from quality of life and cost of living to partnership and family. The study generated significant media coverage and positioned komma's research capabilities in international comparative research.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Toluna: Toluna operates a global digital panel and provides advertising research, concept testing, and brand tracking solutions — comparable to komma in service categories but differentiated by its platform-based, automated delivery model.
• YouGov: YouGov is a data-driven, panel-based research company specializing in brand tracking, advertising research, and consumer intelligence — overlapping with komma's tracking work but leveraging a syndicated panel model rather than bespoke project design.

Direct peers

• link Institut für Markt- und Sozialforschung: link Institut is a long-established German market research company offering brand, communications, and social research — directly comparable as a German boutique-vs-boutique competitor to komma in similar service categories.
• SKOPOS GROUP: SKOPOS is a German market research firm offering brand tracking, customer experience, and digital research — a direct mid-sized German peer to komma with comparable boutique positioning and similar service portfolio in DACH.
• Rogator AG: Rogator is a German market research and analytics firm offering brand tracking, customer experience, and concept testing services — a like-sized DACH peer competing for similar enterprise marketing-research engagements.
• Psyma Group: Psyma is a Germany-based market research firm with strong automotive and B2B research expertise, frequently cited alongside komma in DACH market research rankings and competing for similar corporate research budgets.

Broad incumbents

• GfK: GfK is a German-headquartered global market research firm offering consumer panel, brand tracking, and advertising effectiveness services — directly comparable to komma's communications and brand research scope but at vastly greater scale across multiple continents.
• Nielsen: Nielsen is a global measurement and data analytics firm covering advertising effectiveness, audience measurement, and consumer research — comparable to komma's effectiveness measurement work at the broadcast and digital layer, with substantially larger proprietary data assets.
• Kantar: Kantar is a global research leader with deep specialization in brand tracking, advertising pre-testing, and consumer insights — overlapping with komma's core Werbetracking/Markentracking and Werbemitteltest services but serving multinational clients with integrated technology platforms.
• Ipsos: Ipsos is a global market research and consulting firm with strong advertising research and brand equity offerings, operating a portfolio approach similar to komma's communications-and-brand focus but with far greater geographic footprint and technology infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/komma-research

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 komma