Frank & Earnest

What Frank & Earnest does

Frank & Earnest is a privately held Swedish communications agency (Kommunikationsbyrå) headquartered in Göteborg, Sweden, founded in 1998 and operating with a core team of approximately six employees supplemented by a bench of keylancers (freelancers). The agency's stated positioning centers on 'results that last' (Resultat som lever länge), with a service portfolio built around two interconnected offerings: Place Branding (Platsvarumärken) — strategic development of brand identities for urban districts and properties — and Place Activation (Platsaktivering) — experiential campaigns, events, and community engagement that bring branded locations to life. Supporting services include brand strategy, visual identity design, campaign film production, social media management, annual report design, and occasional digital products such as the Fickfakta Kemi mobile app for Svenska Kemisamfundet.

The firm's client base is concentrated in western Sweden and split between real estate developers (Riksbyggen, CA Fastigheter, Stena Fastigheter, F O Peterson, Platzer & Bockasjö, Södra Änggårdens konsortium) and public-sector organizations (Göteborgs Stad, Trafik Göteborg, Göteborgs universitet, Västra Götalandsregionen, Jämställdhetsmyndigheten), with occasional commercial work for firms such as CellMark. Delivery is enabled by a recurring external partner network — web developer Fully Studios, film producer Oh No Gravity, photographer Philip Liljenberg, and several smaller production studios — which allows the agency to scale production capacity without expanding fixed headcount.

Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees and retainer arrangements, with quote-driven pricing and no publicly disclosed pricing tiers. The go-to-market motion is sales-led, relying on direct client engagement, referrals, a public case archive, and visibility from project activations. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors or funding rounds, holds GDPR-compliant data practices, and carries a 2021 environmental certification (Miljöcertifiering). Notable campaign outcomes include Trafiken.nu app downloads exceeding target by 63% and 100%+ in different campaigns, and the Poolklar behavioral-change campaign spreading to 15+ additional Swedish municipalities and to Iceland.

Name

Frank & Earnest

Legal name

Frank & Earnest

Website

https://frankandearnest.se

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Frank & Earnest is a privately held, 6-person communications agency in Göteborg, Sweden, founded in 1998, specializing in place branding and place activation for real estate developers and public-sector clients across western Sweden.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing Communications Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Creative Concepting & Campaign Development (BPAFAEAD)

Keywords

• Place branding services
• Place activation
• Marketing communications agency
• Brand strategy services
• Creative campaign production

Headquarters

HQ city

Gothenburg

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Communication and Marketing Services: Project-based fees for brand development, visual identity, campaigns, and marketing communications. Likely includes retainer arrangements for ongoing client relationships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Frank & Earnest is a Gothenburg-based communications agency that provides place branding (Platsvarumärken) and place activation (Platsaktivering) services for real-estate developers, public-sector bodies, and commercial clients. Core offerings include building place brands for urban development projects, executing experiential and event-based activations, running social media accounts, producing campaign films and visual identities, and supporting web presence for clients across western Sweden.

Product overview

Frank & Earnest is a communication agency (Kommunikationsbyrå) headquartered in Göteborg, Sweden, specializing in strategic marketing and brand communication with a focus on long-term effectiveness. Their core service portfolio centers on two main offerings: Place Branding (Platsvarumärken), which involves building place brands for urban development projects and areas, and Place Activation (Platsaktivering), which encompasses experiential marketing, events, and community engagement to bring locations to life. Additional services include social media management, campaign film production, and web development support. The agency works primarily with public sector clients, real estate developers, and urban planning organizations across Sweden.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Place Branding (Platsvarumärken)
• Place Activation (Platsaktivering)
• Social Media Management (Helhetsansvar för sociala medier)
• Campaign Film and Content Production
• Brand Strategy and Visual Identity Development

Quantifiable outcome

• Download increases for Trafiken.nu app exceeded target by 63% and 100%+ in different campaigns
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Fully StudioscoreTechnology or IntegrationWeb development partner responsible for website development on multiple projects including The Parkside and Lomma Norra websites. Long-term collaboration on digital presence for client projects.
• Oh No GravitycoreTechnology or IntegrationFilm production company that has collaborated on multiple video projects including traffic information content and the 'Ur vägen!' campaign film for Trafik Göteborg.
• Philip LiljenbergcoreTechnology or IntegrationPhotographer who has worked on multiple agency projects including Lomma Norra, CellMark annual reports, and various real estate marketing campaigns.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Garbergs: Stockholm-based communications agency with strong brand strategy and creative capabilities. Comparable as a Swedish creative shop competing for similar brand and communications briefs, but with national rather than regional orientation.
• Forsman & Bodenfors: One of Sweden's most awarded creative agencies, headquartered in Gothenburg with offices in Stockholm. Comparable as a Swedish full-service creative shop with similar client profile (major brands, public sector, place/brand work), but at significantly larger scale and broader national/international reach.
• Volontaire: Swedish purpose-driven creative agency focused on brand strategy and communications for clients with sustainability or social mandates. Comparable in scale and Swedish-market positioning, with similar brand/creative execution profile.
• Great Works: Stockholm-based independent creative agency working across brand strategy, campaigns, and digital. Comparable Swedish competitor targeting similar mid-to-large brand briefs, with broader national reach than Frank & Earnest.
• Stendahls: Gothenburg-based creative agency with a long-standing focus on brand strategy, communication, and design. Directly comparable regional Swedish peer operating in the same geography and overlapping real estate, public sector, and B2B client base.
• Acne (Acne Studios' agency arm): Stockholm-headquartered creative agency known for integrated brand, digital, and production work. Comparable as a premium Swedish creative competitor for the same enterprise and public-sector client pool, but with significantly larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• DDB Stockholm: Swedish office of DDB network, providing integrated advertising, brand, and digital services. Comparable as a larger established agency network competing for the same Swedish enterprise and public-sector communications budgets.
• Wiedland (Wieden+Kennedy Stockholm operations): Swedish office of Wieden+Kennedy creative network. Comparable as a large creative incumbent competing for premium brand briefs in Sweden, with greater international resources than Frank & Earnest.
• TBWA\Stockholm: Swedish arm of global TBWA network, offering full-service advertising and brand communications. Comparable as a larger incumbent with broader service portfolio competing for the same enterprise client briefs across Sweden.

Emerging players

• Snask: Stockholm-based independent creative agency focused on brand identity and design. Comparable as an emerging Swedish creative competitor with similar brand-identity capabilities, but smaller scale and a more design-led positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/frankandearnest
• Facebookfacebook.com/frankandearnestgbg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/frank-&-earnest
• Instagraminstagram.com/frankandearnest

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Frank & Earnest