Clever

What Clever does

Clever AB is a privately held Swedish management consulting and advertising agency headquartered in Stockholm, founded in 2002 by Christer Udd, who remains owner and CEO. The firm operates as a hybrid combining two service lines: a consulting practice focused on business strategy, corporate development, financing advisory, project management, crisis management, and board/advisory work; and a full-service advertising agency offering brand strategy, positioning, image development, creative production (online and offline), web design, SEO, mass email, and social media management. The stated value proposition is the integration of strategic consulting thinking with practical marketing execution under one roof — a model positioned as the "best of two worlds."

The company serves a horizontally segmented client base ranging from small and medium businesses to large corporations and conglomerates, spanning diverse verticals including real estate (Magnolia Bostad, Faluhus, HagaBlue, Copper Building), banking (Handelsbanken), private equity (Mengus), healthcare (Fotvården), mobility (Eloflex), and technology (TracTechnology). GTM is sales-led direct engagement with no intermediaries or channel partners; engagements are quote-based and customized. The company also maintains a secondary office in Mougins, France (Cannes area), indicating limited European geographic reach beyond Sweden. Historically, Clever founded and operated HyrHus.se, a Nordic vacation rental platform that reached 140,000 monthly visitors before being sold to HomeAway in 2014.

The business model is professional services with two revenue streams: management consulting engagements and advertising/marketing services. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; engagements appear to be project-based and custom-quoted. The firm operates with 1-10 employees, has never raised external capital (no institutional investors, PE, or VC), and is wholly owned by the founder. No AI/ML capabilities, no proprietary technology platform, no API, and no productized SaaS offering are evidenced — the offering is services-led and human-delivered. As of 2015, Clever had built 100+ client websites; no material data points post-2015 are available in the input, limiting visibility into current operational scale.

Name

Clever

Legal name

Clever AB

Website

https://clever.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Clever AB is a privately held Swedish management consulting and advertising agency founded in 2002 by Christer Udd, providing integrated strategy, business development, brand, and full-service digital/traditional marketing to small businesses and large corporations across Sweden and France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting & Advertising Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Graphic Design Services (54143)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Creative & Brand Campaign Development (BPAFAAAB), Creative Concepting & Campaign Development (BPAFAEAD), Innovation, Product & R&D Consulting (BPAHACAM)

Keywords

• Management consulting services
• Advertising agency services
• Brand strategy consulting
• Business development advisory
• Digital marketing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

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

Revenue model

1. Management Consulting Services: Strategic business development consulting including business analysis, business plans, brand strategy, project management, financing advisory, crisis management, and board work.
2. Advertising and Marketing Services: Full-service advertising agency including brand strategy, positioning, image, communication, advertising production (digital and traditional), web design, SEO, social media, and creative services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Clever is a Swedish management consulting and advertising agency that operates in two integrated business areas. Its consulting practice provides strategic business development, business analysis, business plans, marketing/communication plans, project management, financing advisory, crisis management, and board/advisory work. Its advertising practice delivers brand strategy, positioning, image, and profile development along with full production of traditional and digital marketing materials including web design, SEO, social media, mass email campaigns, and PR/CRM.

Product overview

Clever is a Swedish management consulting and advertising agency hybrid, combining two business areas: consultation services (management consulting for strategic development, business analysis, organizational change, project management, and board advisory) and marketing services (brand strategy, positioning, image, and production of both traditional and digital marketing materials). The company also offers digital services including web design, SEO, and social media management, having built over 100 websites for clients. Services are offered as a unified full-service offering rather than as separate modular products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Management Consulting (Konsultation) Strategic management consulting services including business analysis, business strategy, business plans, marketing and communication plans, brand strategy and positioning, development/action programs, project management, financing advisory and capital raising, crisis management and corporate restructuring, and board/advisory work. Targeted at companies and organizations seeking strategic development and change for value growth and performance improvement.
• Marketing/Advertising Agency (Marknadsföring) Full-service advertising agency offering brand strategy, positioning, image and profile development, and production of both traditional and digital marketing materials. Includes creative work, advertisements, advertising materials, logo and profile, PR and CRM. Targeted at companies and organizations seeking effective marketing and communication combined with concrete production and simple processes.
• Web Development Services Website design and development services. Clever has built over 100 websites for customers as of 2015, working with clients across real estate (e.g., Magnolia Bostad, Faluhus, HagaBlue, Copper Building, Solna One for Handelsbanken), private equity (Mengus), healthcare (Fotvården), technology (TracTechnology), and mobility (Eloflex) sectors.

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• HomeAwaymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2014HomeAway, the world's largest online marketplace for vacation rental properties, acquired HyrHus.se from Clever in summer 2014. HyrHus.se was founded by Clever in 2005 and became one of the Nordic region's most popular vacation rental platforms with 140,000 monthly visitors. The acquisition gave HomeAway a quick start in the Swedish market.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Great Works: Stockholm-based creative and digital agency working across brand, content, and digital experiences. Comparable in geography, scale range, and integrated service offering to Clever.
• North Kingdom: Swedish digital creative agency known for immersive and digital-first experiences. Overlaps with Clever's digital services arm (web design, SEO, social) and serves similar Nordic enterprise and brand clients.
• Forsman & Bodenfors: Leading Swedish creative agency offering brand strategy, advertising, and digital production. Directly comparable to Clever's full-service agency offering, though typically operating at larger scale and with more international brand clients.
• Åkestam Holst (NoA): Swedish creative agency (part of The North Alliance / NoA) with integrated brand strategy and creative campaign capabilities. Closely mirrors Clever's positioning as a Sweden-based full-service creative shop with strategic depth.

Broad incumbents

• McKinsey & Company: Global management consulting leader. Comparable to Clever's consulting arm (strategic business development, transformation, board advisory) but operates at vastly greater scale and breadth across industries.
• Ogilvy: Global full-service advertising and brand network. Comparable to Clever's advertising and brand-strategy services but at global scale with a much broader service portfolio.
• Accenture: Global professional services firm spanning strategy, consulting, technology, and creative (via Accenture Song). Mirrors Clever's integrated consulting-plus-marketing-execution model at hyperscale.
• Deloitte Digital: The creative and digital arm of Deloitte, combining consulting heritage with creative execution — the closest scaled analog to Clever's hybrid consulting-plus-agency model.

Regional players

• Hyper Island: Sweden-based creative business and innovation education provider. Adjacent to Clever's strategic/innovation mindset services and shares Nordic creative-industry DNA, though it operates in education rather than client services.
• Valve (Nordic consulting): Nordic management and digital consulting firm combining strategy, technology, and creative services. Comparable regional consulting-plus-execution positioning, though with deeper technology capabilities than Clever.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/chrisudd
• Facebookfacebook.com/cleverab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/clever-ab

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 Clever