CarlNann

What CarlNann does

CarlNann GmbH is an independent, full-service German advertising agency headquartered at Am Sandtorkai 50 in Hamburg (Am Sandtorkai 50, 20457 Hamburg). Founded by Michael Carl and Christoph Nann, the firm operates as a privately held GmbH with no external investors, holding companies, or network affiliations, and employs approximately 40 people. Its core offering is integrated brand campaign work — encompassing brand strategy, creative concepting, social media activations, and multi-channel storytelling — delivered on a project-based, quote-based professional services engagement model to enterprise clients across food/beverage, tourism, financial services, cosmetics, automotive, public sector, and nonprofit categories.

The agency's client roster includes globally recognized brands such as Nivea, Yamaha, Costa, and Eppendorf alongside German mid-market and trade-association clients including Rügenwalder Mühle, Hela, Smava, Das Handwerk, Hochbahn, Vilsa, and Hochland. The company differentiates through a proprietary 'Zeitempathie' (time empathy) methodology that focuses on the collective zeitgeist rather than individual consumer insights, and through a deliberately selective client acquisition policy that prioritizes strategic brand work over volume-based service delivery. Notable work includes a viral Hela social media campaign that triggered server overload and won the Art Directors Club 'Laugh of the Year' award, and the 'Monument der Zuversicht' Minecraft project for Das Handwerk developed with Rocket Beans TV in 2025.

CarlNann pursues new business through direct enterprise outreach ([email protected]) and reputation-driven referrals. The agency has formed a joint venture, Artgroup CN, with Turkish agency group FCB Artgroup — the first agency with Turkish-German roots — providing creative access to the Turkish-German demographic and the Istanbul creative hub. Additional partnerships include School of Ideas Hamburg for emerging talent development and patron support of Welcoming Out, an LGBTIQ+ advocacy initiative. Revenue is generated through professional services fees under custom project contracts; no public pricing, revenue, or financial disclosures are available.

Name

CarlNann

Legal name

CarlNann GmbH

Website

https://carlnann.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CarlNann is an independent Hamburg-based creative advertising agency (~40 staff) that delivers integrated brand campaigns, social media activations, and strategic creative services to enterprise clients across food/beverage, tourism, consumer goods, and public sectors, with a selective client model and a Turkish-German joint venture (Artgroup CN).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Experiential, Event & Sponsorship Marketing (BPAFAAAH)

Keywords

• Advertising services
• Brand strategy
• Creative campaigns
• Integrated marketing
• Social media activation

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Brand Strategy and Creative Services: Full-service advertising agency providing brand strategy, creative campaigns, integrated marketing, and social media services to clients across various industries including food/beverage, tourism, financial services, and public sector campaigns.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CarlNann GmbH is an independent Hamburg-based full-service creative advertising agency that delivers brand strategy, integrated creative campaigns, social media activations, and brand communications for German and European brands. The agency serves enterprises across sectors including food and beverage, tourism, financial services, skilled trades, public sector, and consumer goods, producing emotionally resonant, strategically grounded creative work built around the proprietary 'Zeitempathie' methodology.

Product overview

CarlNann is a full-service creative advertising agency based in Hamburg, Germany. The agency specializes in integrated brand campaigns, social media activations, and strategic brand communications. Their core offering is creative services including campaign concepting, content creation, and multi-channel brand storytelling. They work across diverse sectors including trade/skilled trades promotion, tourism, food/branding, financial services, and social causes. The agency positions itself around the concept of 'Zeitempathie' (empathy for the times) and making brands 'less irrelevant' through emotionally resonant, strategically grounded creative work. As a service-based agency rather than a software product company, their offering is delivered through client collaborations and creative campaigns rather than a defined product portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Artgroup CN: Joint venture with FCB Artgroup - first agency with Turkish-German roots, providing direct connection to Istanbul and Caucasus markets and serving 3.5 million Turkish citizens in Germany

Products and services

• Brand Strategy and Creative Services
• Social Media Activation
• Integrated Marketing Campaigns

Quantifiable outcome

• Viral social media success with Hela campaign causing server overload and social media earthquake
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers21 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

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Rocket Beans TVcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Collaboration on 'Monument der Zuversicht' interactive Minecraft project for Das Handwerk campaign. Live Twitch broadcasts engaging gaming community in building construction representing trades industry.
• Artgroup CNcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst agency with Turkish-German roots. Joint venture between CarlNann and Turkish agency group FCB Artgroup providing direct creative access to Istanbul and Caucasus markets, as well as reaching 3.5 million Turkish citizens in Germany.
• School of Ideas HamburgflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner agency of School of Ideas Hamburg - a one-year program for emerging talent in the creative industry. Students work 4 days per week at partner agencies with 1 day weekly development at the school.
• Welcoming OutflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerCarlNann serves as 'Patron' and 'First Supporter' of Welcoming Out initiative - a social cause reversing the coming-out concept to promote universal commitment to openness and tolerance for the LGBTIQ+ community.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Grabarz & Partner: Hamburg-based independent creative agency of similar profile. Competes for the same German enterprise creative mandates with comparable size and independent positioning.
• kempertrautmann: Hamburg-based independent creative agency with similar cultural positioning and mid-size scale. Direct competitor for integrated brand campaigns and creative services for German enterprise clients.
• Antoni GmbH: Berlin-based independent creative agency with award-winning positioning comparable to CarlNann's creative ambitions. Competes in the same German enterprise and consumer brand creative marketplace.
• Jung von Matt: One of Germany's largest independent creative agency networks, headquartered in Hamburg. Comparable as a high-profile German independent agency competing for the same brand strategy and integrated campaign mandates, but with significantly greater scale and headcount.
• Thjnk: Hamburg-headquartered independent creative agency with comparable positioning around integrated brand work and selective client rosters. Direct competitor for similar mid-tier enterprise mandates in the German market.
• Scholz & Friends: Hamburg-headquartered creative agency offering integrated brand campaigns. Direct competitor for German enterprise clients and similar mid-size creative positioning, though part of a broader group structure.
• Kolle Rebbe: Hamburg-based independent creative agency comparable in size and culture. Competes directly for brand strategy and integrated campaign work across the German enterprise market.

Broad incumbents

• DDB Germany: German arm of the global DDB network, offering integrated creative and communications services. Overlaps with CarlNann's brand strategy and campaign work but benefits from global network scale, tools, and cross-market capabilities.
• Serviceplan Group: Europe's largest independent, partner-managed agency group headquartered in Munich. Provides full-service integrated communications including creative, media, digital, and technology—overlaps broadly with CarlNann's brand strategy and campaign offering but at much greater scale and breadth.
• TBWA Germany: German operations of the TBWA global creative network, providing full-service advertising including brand strategy and integrated campaigns. Comparable in service offering to CarlNann but with international network backing and broader geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CarlNannAgentur
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carlnann
• Instagraminstagram.com/carlnann

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 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 CarlNann