adfriends - Social & Display Ads Agentur

What adfriends - Social & Display Ads Agentur does

adfriends is a full-service digital marketing agency operating under the legal entity Friendventure GmbH, headquartered in Cologne with a second office in Berlin (opened 2021). Founded in 2001, the agency delivers seven integrated service lines: Social Ads, Display Ads, Performance Marketing, Google Ads, UGC (User Generated Content), DOOH (Digital Out of Home), and Motion Design. It serves both D2C startups and B2B enterprise clients across the DACH region and selectively across wider Europe and the US, with named customers spanning Yamaha Motor Europe, REWE Lieferservice, Viessmann, Tamron, Jack Wolfskin, Phantasialand, Shop Apotheke, Flagship Pioneering, and others. The agency operates as part of the Digital Friends Group, alongside parent Friendventure (TYPO3/UX/web development), inboundfriends (inbound marketing), and Webmatch (e-commerce/SEO), enabling bundled digital offerings.

The agency's underlying technology stack comprises industry-standard marketing and creative tools — Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Meta Pixel, Screaming Frog, Sistrix, Looker Studio, Slack, Frame.io, Asana, and Adobe Creative Suite — overlaid with proprietary process assets including a centralized Creative Dashboard (brand values, competitive insights, audience insights, creator types) and a real-time DatAds-Slack monitoring layer. AI tools (Midjourney, custom GPTs, ChatGPT) are integrated into creative production for scalable asset generation. The agency monetizes through quote-based professional service fees, combining project-based pricing and ongoing retainer arrangements, with payment terms requiring advance payment within 10 working days; no public pricing is disclosed.

Commercially, adfriends acquires customers via direct website inquiries, free initial consultations, and case study showcases, with earned media amplification through OMR Reviews verification badges in Social Media and Online Marketing categories. A 16-person multi-disciplinary team delivers strategy, creative, and performance under one roof, and the firm has no external VC/PE ownership — the operating company is privately held under Friendventure GmbH, with Julian Hansmann identified as Managing Director of the parent and Julia van Egeren leading the adfriends brand as Managing Director.

Name

adfriends - Social & Display Ads Agentur

Legal name

Friendventure GmbH

Website

https://adfriends.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

adfriends is a Cologne-based full-service digital marketing agency (legal entity: Friendventure GmbH) delivering social ads, display, performance marketing, Google Ads, UGC, DOOH, and motion design to D2C and enterprise clients across the DACH region and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Marketing Services

NAICS

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

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Performance Marketing (SEM, Paid Social, Programmatic) (BPAFAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Paid Social Advertising (BPAFACAB), Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Advertising (MPAAAKAB), Programmatic Display & Retargeting (DSP) (MPAAACAE)

Keywords

• Social media advertising
• Performance marketing
• Display advertising
• User generated content
• Motion design services

Headquarters

HQ city

Köln

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Agency Service Fees: Adfriends generates revenue through professional service fees for social media advertising, display ads, performance marketing, Google Ads, UGC production, DOOH campaigns, and motion design services. The agency offers various pricing models for different needs and provides project-based pricing as well as ongoing retainer arrangements.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

adfriends is a full-service digital marketing agency offering seven integrated disciplines: Social Ads, Display Ads, Performance Marketing, Google Ads, UGC (User Generated Content), DOOH (Digital Out of Home), and Motion Design. The agency connects strategy, creative production, and measurable performance into unified campaigns for brands across the DACH region and broader Europe.

Product overview

adfriends is an online marketing agency based in Cologne, Germany, founded in 2001, offering a unified portfolio of seven integrated digital marketing services: Social Ads, Display Ads, Performance Marketing, Google Ads, UGC (User Generated Content), DOOH (Digital Out of Home), and Motion Design. The agency positions itself as a full-service partner connecting strategy, creation, and performance, serving clients across industries including retail, healthcare, automotive, and B2B. Services are offered both as a complete integrated marketing package and as individual disciplines based on client needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Social Ads Paid social media advertising services across platforms including Meta (Facebook, Instagram), TikTok, and YouTube, focused on brand visibility, reach, and conversion optimization. Targets brands seeking performance-driven paid social campaigns.
• Display Ads Digital advertising services including HTML5 banners and programmatic display advertising for brand awareness and performance campaigns. Targets brands seeking digital display visibility.
• Performance Marketing KPI-driven marketing campaigns with cross-channel strategies, transparent reporting, and media budget optimization for measurable growth. Targets brands seeking performance-driven marketing outcomes.
• Google Ads Search engine advertising (SEA) services including campaign architecture, tracking setup, keyword strategies, and Performance Max campaigns for qualified traffic generation. Targets brands seeking search-driven traffic and conversions.
• UGC (User Generated Content) Authentic user-generated content production featuring creator networks, structured storyboards, and A/B testing for performance-driven social campaigns. Targets brands seeking authentic creator content for paid social.
• DOOH (Digital Out of Home) Digital out-of-home advertising including animated spots, QR code integration, and performance monitoring for brand visibility in public spaces. Targets brands seeking offline digital visibility.
• Motion Design Animated content creation including social media ads, explainer videos, website heroes, product demos, and DOOH animations with strategy, design, and format optimization. Targets brands seeking animated video assets.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70% hook rate achieved for ZOHI brand launch
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration15 records

AI capability6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• WebmatchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWebmatch is an E-commerce agency referenced as a partner for implementing keyword strategy and SEO optimizations for clients like TAMRON Europe. The partnership enables integrated SEO and e-commerce capabilities for clients requiring technical optimization alongside social media and performance marketing.
• FriendventurecoreOthersParent company of adfriends within the Digital Friends Group. Friendventure is a digital agency specializing in TYPO3, UX, and web development. Provides SEO optimizations and website support for integrated client solutions. Shared branding and recruitment (career page) between entities.
• inboundfriendsminorOthersPart of the Digital Friends Group alongside adfriends, Friendventure, and Webmatch. Inboundfriends specializes in inbound marketing services, contributing to the integrated digital value chain of the agency group.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• TERRITORY: TERRITORY is a Hamburg-based digital agency within the Bertelsmann-owned network offering content, social and performance marketing to enterprise clients. It competes with adfriends for DACH brand budgets across social media, display and content-driven campaigns.
• Kolle Rebbe: Kolle Rebbe is a Hamburg-based full-service digital agency offering brand strategy, creative and performance marketing with a similar mid-sized positioning to adfriends and a comparable German premium client roster. Both agencies compete for the same enterprise brand work across paid social, display and integrated campaigns.
• Pilot: Pilot is a Munich-based performance marketing agency specialising in data-driven campaigns across paid social, search and programmatic, offering the same cross-channel performance and media-buying specialisation that adfriends positions as its core.
• Mediaplus: Mediaplus is a Munich-headquartered media agency within the Serviceplan Group providing media strategy, planning and buying including digital and DOOH. It competes with adfriends for media-buying, programmatic display and performance budgets.
• Scholz & Volkmer: Scholz & Volkmer is a Wiesbaden-based digital agency known for integrated brand, social and digital experience work for German enterprises, with overlapping capabilities in social media, display advertising and digital strategy similar to adfriends' portfolio.
• LIGANOVA: LIGANOVA is a Stuttgart-based brand and performance agency combining creative campaign work with measurable activation including spatial and DOOH, overlapping with adfriends' DOOH and integrated campaign offerings for enterprise brands.
• Achtung!: Achtung! is a Berlin/Hamburg-based creative and digital agency combining brand storytelling with performance-oriented digital execution, directly competing with adfriends for integrated paid social, display and motion design engagements from German enterprises.

Broad incumbents

• Serviceplan Group: Serviceplan is Europe's largest independent agency group with integrated brand, digital, media and performance capabilities including DOOH through its Mediaplus and Plan.Net houses, competing with adfriends for the same enterprise integrated mandates at much greater scale.
• Dept Agency: Dept is a large European digital agency offering creative, performance, DOOH and content production with offices across multiple countries. It overlaps with adfriends on paid social, display, motion and DOOH but operates at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Jung von Matt: Jung von Matt is one of Germany's largest independent creative agencies with a broad portfolio covering brand, digital, social and performance. It is a larger incumbent that overlaps with adfriends' services as part of a wider integrated offering to enterprise clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• TikToktiktok.com/@adfriends_official
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/adfriends-agentur

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 adfriends - Social & Display Ads Agentur