CAW Media

What CAW Media does

CAW Media is an independent German media agency founded in 1992 and headquartered in Bünde, North Rhine-Westphalia. The firm advises, plans, and books media placements across outdoor, online, TV, radio, cinema, and print channels, primarily for German SME (Mittelstand) clients, franchise networks, and political/non-profit organizations. It is led by Managing Directors Christian Finkemeier and Tim-Nico Finkemeier and employs approximately 45 people. CAW positions itself as independent from billboard space providers and agency networks, with impartiality and regional reliability as core brand attributes.

The company's core technology is a proprietary online booking platform (Webdispo) that underpins 123Plakat.de, launched in 2007 as Germany's first online billboard booking tool and now covering approximately 300,000 outdoor locations nationwide; 123OnlineWerbung.de, launched in 2020 for online banner advertising; and 1-2-3-Kinowerbung.de for cinema advertising booking. Additional proprietary tooling includes customized franchise portals with pre-designed poster templates that preserve shared corporate identity, and a fundraising portal that lets supporters directly book approximately 200,000 out-of-home advertising spaces for political and non-profit campaigns. Distribution channels integrate Google Ads, Google Analytics, and Google Maps; the firm is a registered Google Partner.

CAW operates a hybrid go-to-market combining self-serve product-led booking (PLG) through its online portals with personalized media consulting via dedicated account managers (Key Account, Sports Sponsorship, Media Planning). Revenue is generated primarily through transaction fees and commissions on booked media placements. The firm has tracked 211 cumulative booking customers since 2004 and reports that over 1 million users have accessed the 123Plakat.de portal since launch. The company is GDPR-compliant, holds no disclosed external funding, and operates exclusively within Germany.

Name

CAW Media

Legal name

CAW Media-Werbeagentur GmbH

Website

https://caw-media.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CAW Media is an independent German media agency providing media planning, booking, and advisory services across outdoor, online, TV, radio, cinema, and print channels, serving Mittelstand SMBs, franchise networks, and political/non-profit clients via self-serve booking portals and dedicated media consulting.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising & Media Planning Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Media Buying Agencies (541830)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Media Barter & Trade Media Buying (BPAFABAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Media Auditing & Contract Compliance (MPAAABAM)

Keywords

• Outdoor advertising services
• Media planning agency
• Billboard booking platform
• Online display advertising
• Cinema advertising booking

Headquarters

HQ city

Bünde

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Media Planning and Booking Commissions: CAW Media acts as an independent media agency advising, planning, and booking media placements (outdoor, online, TV, radio, cinema, print) for clients. Revenue is generated through commissions and fees from media space providers and advertising networks.
2. Online Self-Serve Portal Booking Fees: Through 123plakat.de and 123OnlineWerbung.de portals, CAW Media charges fees for the complete outdoor advertising workflow including poster design tools, printing, and location booking for approximately 300,000 billboard locations nationwide.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CAW Media is an independent German media agency that advises, plans, and books advertising placements across outdoor, online, TV, radio, cinema, and print channels for SME and enterprise clients. The company operates proprietary self-serve online booking platforms — 123plakat.de (billboards), 123OnlineWerbung.de (online banner ads), and 1-2-3-Kinowerbung.de (cinema) — covering approximately 300,000 billboard locations nationwide. It also delivers personalized media consulting via dedicated account managers and provides customized franchise portals and fundraising portals for political and non-profit campaigns.

Product overview

CAW Media is an independent media agency offering a portfolio of media planning, booking, and placement services for outdoor advertising, online advertising, TV, radio, cinema, and print. The portfolio is structured around two core product lines: (1) the CAW Media online booking platform (Webdispo), which provides direct access to ~180,000 billboard spots across Germany via the 1-2-3-Plakat.de portal (Germany's first online billboard booking tool, launched 2007), the 1-2-3-OnlineWerbung.de online banner platform (launched 2020), and the 1-2-3-Kinowerbung.de cinema booking platform; and (2) customer-specific tools including customized customer portals for franchise organizations and a fundraising portal for political/non-profit campaigns that allows supporters to directly book out-of-home advertising. The company also offers full-service media consulting and planning across all traditional media channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 123Plakat.de: Online booking platform for billboard/outdoor advertising in Germany, offering over 300,000 advertising spaces nationwide.
• 123OnlineWerbung.de
• 1-2-3-kinowerbung.de

Products and services

• CAW Media Independent Media Agency
• 1-2-3-Plakat.de Online Billboard Booking Portal
• 1-2-3-OnlineWerbung.de Banner Advertising Platform
• 1-2-3-Kinowerbung.de Cinema Advertising Portal
• Kunden-Portale (Customer Portals for Franchise Organizations)
• Fundraising Internet Donation Tool
• Außenwerbung (Outdoor Advertising) Service
• TV-Werbung (TV Advertising) Service
• Funkwerbung (Radio Advertising) Service
• Printwerbung (Print Advertising) Service

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1 million regional businesses have used 123Plakat.de since its launch in 2007
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mediaplus Group: Germany's largest independent media agency, part of the Serviceplan Group. Operates as an independent, multi-channel media planning and buying shop serving German and international brands — directly comparable to CAW Media's positioning as an independent media agency for the German market.
• JOM Group: Independent German integrated communications and media agency based in Hamburg. Comparable to CAW Media as an independent, multi-channel media and communications agency serving German enterprise and SME clients with similar agency services.
• Pilot Group: Independent German media agency offering media planning, buying, and digital marketing services to enterprise clients. Direct peer as another independent, multi-channel media agency serving the German market with comparable GTM and customer base.
• Ströer SE & Co. KGaA: Germany's largest out-of-home advertising operator, controlling a major share of the billboard and DOOH inventory that CAW Media books on behalf of clients. Vertically integrated media sales organization competing for the same OoH advertising budgets and increasingly providing media services in Germany.

Broad incumbents

• Omnicom Media Group (OMG): Omnicom Group's media agency division (including OMD, PHD, Hearts & Science) operating in Germany. Competes with CAW Media for media planning and buying budgets with global capabilities and significantly greater resources across creative, media, and digital services.
• GroupM (WPP): World's largest media investment group, operating WPP's media agency brands (Mindshare, Wavemaker, Essence, GroupM Nexus) in Germany. Competes with CAW Media for media planning/buying budgets with significantly greater scale, global client relationships, and proprietary technology.
• Havas Media Germany: Global media agency network (Havas) with German operations. Competes with CAW Media in media planning and buying for German enterprise clients, offering integrated creative and media services at greater scale than CAW.
• Publicis Media Germany: Global media agency network (Publicis Groupe) with German operations including Starcom, Zenith, and Spark Foundry. Competes with CAW Media for media budgets with multinational scale, integrated data and technology capabilities, and global client relationships.
• Dentsu Germany: Major global media and creative agency network with significant German operations including Dentsu Media. Competes with CAW Media in media planning and buying for German enterprise clients with global reach, broader service offerings, and multinational scale.

Others

• JCDecaux / Wall GmbH: One of the world's largest outdoor advertising infrastructure operators, with significant German presence including the Wall GmbH street furniture network. Indirectly comparable to CAW Media as a key OoH space provider whose inventory CAW books on behalf of clients — adjacent rather than directly competing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

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 CAW Media