What Straight, Forward & Partners does

Straight, Forward & Partners GmbH is a privately-held German creative advertising agency headquartered in Offenbach am Main, founded in 2024 by four Managing Directors — Carsten Bug, David Emmer, Stefan Schmidt, and Till Wagner — each a veteran of leading global networks including Leo Burnett, JWT, Publicis, Ogilvy, TBWA, Jung von Matt, Serviceplan, and Kastner. The firm delivers brand strategy, campaign concepting, and creative execution across out-of-home, social, digital, print, and experiential channels for enterprise clients (BMW, adidas, Nestlé, Lufthansa, JTI, Knorr), sustainability-focused brands (Recup, nucao, Mudda Natur), political parties and advocacy groups (Grüne Frankfurt, #AfDnee), and public-sector organizations (Stadtwerke Offenbach, Hessen).

The agency's underlying technology is human creative talent rather than a proprietary platform; there is no software product, no AI/ML capability, and no API surface. Service delivery is augmented through two core partnerships: Sensory Minds (digital and interactive execution) and Dunkel Grün (independent media planning and buying), allowing the nine-person team to offer end-to-end campaign production and placement.

Commercially, the firm operates as a professional services business on project fees and retainers, with no publicly disclosed pricing, revenue, or funding. Its documented differentiator is an explicit positioning against 'fake creation' and buzzword-driven advertising, anchored by reference work including the +530% donation lift for #AfDnee, 400+ new partners in a single campaign month for Recup, and campaigns described as Germany's most-noticed OOH work (adidas Spectaculars). The business model is essentially the founders' combined personal client books and reputations, with no external investors, parent company, or institutional ownership disclosed.

Name

Straight, Forward & Partners

Legal name

Straight, Forward & Partners GmbH

Website

https://straightforward.partners

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Straight, Forward & Partners is a nine-person German creative agency founded in 2024 by four senior Managing Directors from top global networks, delivering brand strategy and multi-channel campaigns to enterprise, sustainability, political, and public-sector clients in Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Affiliate & Partner Marketing (Performance Partnerships) (BPAFACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Festival & Live Entertainment Brand Partnerships (MPAAAGAF)

Keywords

• Creative advertising agency
• Brand strategy services
• Campaign development
• Marketing communications
• Out-of-home advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Offenbach am Main

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Creative Agency Services: Professional services model delivering brand strategy, campaign development, and creative execution for clients. Revenue derives from project fees, retainer engagements, and potentially media commissions from placement partnerships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Straight, Forward & Partners is a German creative advertising agency that develops brand strategies and multi-channel marketing campaigns for enterprise clients, sustainability-focused brands, political organizations, and public-sector institutions. The firm's offering consists entirely of client services, including brand strategy development, campaign concepting, creative execution across out-of-home (OOH), social, digital, and print media, as well as brand positioning work delivered through project engagements and retainer relationships.

Product overview

Straight, Forward & Partners is a German creative advertising agency that develops brand strategies and multi-channel marketing campaigns. The firm does not offer a packaged software product; its offering consists entirely of client services — campaign concepting, brand development, out-of-home (OOH) advertising, social media campaigns, print, and related creative production. The portfolio of named client campaigns (e.g., RECUP, BMW 1er Coupé, adidas Spectaculars, nucao, monopol magazine, Techtextil, AfDnee) represents past work delivered under contract rather than standalone product offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Strategy Development
• Multi-Channel Campaign Development
• Out-of-Home Advertising Specialized OOH campaign design and execution, including city-light posters, litfasssäulen (public advertising columns), and large-format spectaculars. Recognized work includes the adidas Spectaculars campaign and the Giessen vs Hitler city-light program for #AfDnee.
• Social Media Campaign Management Social-led campaign concepting and execution on Instagram, Facebook, and Meta channels, including daily social spot programs designed for organic reach and sharing. Delivered for political advocacy (#AfDnee) and brand member-recruitment (Grüne Frankfurt) campaigns.
• Political and Advocacy Campaign Communication Campaign communication for political parties and civic initiatives, including election campaigns (Grüne Frankfurt municipal election 2025), member recruitment, and issue-advocacy work such as the #AfDnee Menschlichkeits-Skalen initiative.
• Sustainability and ESG Brand Positioning Brand strategy and campaign work for sustainability-driven organizations, including reusable packaging (Recup), sustainable snacks (nucao), and organic food products (Mudda Natur). Focuses on communicating genuine sustainability credentials without greenwashing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 400 new partners added for Recup in a single campaign month
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Sensory MindscoreTechnology or IntegrationDesign studio for new media that finds digital solutions touching people. Described as thinking like SF&P but in ones and zeros. Collaborative partnership where competencies are combined for client benefit — learning from each other and together.
• Dunkel GrüncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOwner-operated media agency (inhabergeführte Media-Agentur) that loves good advertising more than tables. Places SF&P's work where it has impact. Campaigns developed together from the start, free from egotism and turf wars.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kempertrautmann: Hamburg-headquartered independent creative boutique. Comparable in scale and founder-led positioning to SF&P, and competes for similar German enterprise brand-campaign work.
• Antoni: Berlin-based German creative boutique of comparable scale and creative-led positioning. Antoni competes for the same German brand-strategy and integrated campaign mandates that SF&P targets, particularly with challenger and lifestyle brands.
• Scholz & Friends: Hamburg-rooted German creative agency group with deep multi-sector brand-strategy credentials. A direct competitor for German enterprise brand-campaign and integrated communications mandates.
• Grabarz & Partner: Hamburg-headquartered independent creative agency renowned for brand campaigns for brands such as Volkswagen and Lufthansa. Closely comparable in size and founder-driven creative-led model to SF&P, and competes directly for German enterprise creative briefs.
• Kolle Rebbe: Hamburg-based independent creative agency known for bold integrated campaigns. Overlaps with SF&P on enterprise German accounts and a creative-leadership-driven delivery model.
• Thjnk: Independent German creative agency with a strategy-led brand-building orientation. Closely comparable to SF&P in independence, founder-driven model, and focus on transformative brand campaigns for European enterprises.

Broad incumbents

• Jung von Matt: Major Hamburg-rooted independent creative network and one of the largest German agencies. SF&P founders Till Wagner and others previously led Jung von Matt offices; it represents the scaled incumbent peer for premium German brand work.
• TBWA Germany: German arm of TBWA's global creative network and prior employer of SF&P MD Stefan Schmidt. Represents the network-agency alternative for clients seeking global creative reach.
• DDB Germany: Berlin/Weinheim-based German operations of DDB Worldwide. Provides a comparable but much larger global-network alternative for the same enterprise German clients SF&P targets.
• Serviceplan Group: Largest owner-managed German creative/integrated communications group. Competes for the same enterprise integrated-marketing mandates but operates at materially greater scale than SF&P.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/straightforwardpartners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/straight-forward-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Straight, Forward & Partners