21five Creative

What 21five Creative does

21five Creative, LLC is a privately held strategic marketing and branding agency founded in 2016 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The firm operates as an outsourced marketing department, combining fractional CMO leadership with a full in-house creative team to serve CEOs, founders, and organizational leaders. Service offerings span brand strategy, identity design, messaging architecture, website design and development, content and social media operations, video, podcasting, photography, and marketing automations, organized around its proprietary AmberFire strategic transformation methodology (Clarify–Create–Cultivate).

The agency's core product is a hybrid strategic-and-execution engagement model sold through consultative direct sales: clients initiate via a 'Book a Call' CTA or contact form, scope is defined in proposals, and ongoing work is billed via monthly retainers alongside one-off project fees. Pricing is quote-based with no publicly disclosed rate cards. Revenue derives from professional services project work plus subscription-style recurring retainer engagements, primarily targeting professional services firms, nonprofits and mission-driven organizations, healthcare providers, and SMBs. No proprietary technology platform is offered; delivery relies on third-party tools including Webflow for web development and standard creative and marketing automation software.

The company is founder-owned under Kevin Pleasants Jr. (Managing Director) and Mary Pleasants (Business Manager), with a stated core leadership team of five covering brand strategy, systems/technology, and digital marketing execution. There are no disclosed funding rounds, M&A activity, partnerships, or institutional investors, and no publicly disclosed revenue. Client engagements are concentrated in the Southeast US, with documented projects spanning South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and the DC metro area.

Name

21five Creative

Legal name

21five Creative, LLC

Website

https://21fivecreative.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

21five Creative is a Charlotte-based strategic marketing and branding agency founded in 2016 that provides fractional CMO leadership plus full creative execution for CEOs, founders, professional services firms, nonprofits, and healthcare organizations across the Southeast US.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Branding and Marketing Agency Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430), Graphic Design Services (54143)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Creative & Brand Campaign Development (BPAFAAAB), Creative Boutique Agencies (MPAAAAAB)

Keywords

• Strategic branding services
• Fractional CMO services
• Brand strategy consulting
• Website design and development
• Marketing operations support

Headquarters

HQ city

Huntersville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Project-Based Services: One-time project engagements including brand strategy, visual identity design, website development, and marketing campaigns. Defined in proposals with specified scope, timelines, and deliverables.
2. Retainer and Ongoing Services: Monthly retainer fees for ongoing fractional CMO partnership, marketing leadership, and continued creative execution. Billed monthly unless otherwise stated in agreement. Includes brand strategy, content operations, social media, and marketing support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

21five Creative functions as an outsourced marketing department for CEOs, founders, and organizational leaders, providing fractional CMO leadership paired with full-service brand strategy, visual identity design, website development, content production, social media, and ongoing marketing operations. Services are delivered through project-based engagements and monthly retainer partnerships, anchored by the proprietary AmberFire strategic transformation methodology.

Product overview

21five Creative is a strategic marketing and branding agency offering a comprehensive portfolio of services centered around its proprietary AmberFire methodology. The company operates as an outsourced marketing department providing Fractional CMO Partnership, Branding Services (Identity Design, Brand Guidelines, Strategic Communications, Campaign Development, Messaging), Digital Experiences (Website Design, Social Media Strategy, Video Production, Podcasting, Photography, Automations), and Web Development (Landing Pages, CMS Websites, E-Commerce, Custom Development, SEO, Maintenance). Additional offerings include Vision-to-Execution Roadmapping, Strategic Brand Leadership, High-Efficiency Execution Systems, and Narrative & Messaging Architecture. The integrated approach combines strategic consulting with full creative execution to help leaders elevate their brands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Amberfire: 21five's strategic transformation methodology described as the 'Spark of Strategic Transformation' - the moment vision sharpens, direction emerges, and transformation begins.

Products and services

• AmberFire Strategic Transformation Methodology Proprietary strategic transformation methodology developed by 21five Creative, structured around three phases (Clarify, Create, Cultivate), used to guide brand strategy engagements and ongoing partnerships.
• Branding Services End-to-end branding services covering visual identity design, brand guidelines development, strategic communications, campaign development, and messaging architecture for organizations seeking brand clarity.
• Digital Experiences Digital presence and content production services including website design, social media strategy, video production, podcasting, photography, and marketing automations to elevate digital engagement.
• Web Development Custom web development services including landing pages, CMS websites, e-commerce websites, custom development, SEO optimization, and ongoing maintenance delivered using platforms such as Webflow.
• Fractional CMO Partnership Recurring fractional CMO leadership engagement providing strategic partnership, business goal translation into actionable plans, and alignment of strategy, messaging, and execution for CEOs and founders.
• Vision-to-Execution Roadmapping Strategic planning engagement that helps leadership teams rise above day-to-day operations with structured perspective and direction for intentional brand movement.
• Strategic Brand Leadership Ongoing brand leadership engagement providing workflows, content operations, and systems support to maintain momentum and reduce friction in marketing execution.

Quantifiable outcome

• UP Community Fund increased funding capacity to $19M (up from $9M) with $9.2M funded to businesses across five states over two-year engagement
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Huemor: Web design and branding agency serving B2B and ecommerce brands. Comparable service mix (brand, web design, development) and similarly sized boutique creative positioning.
• Chief Outsiders: Largest fractional CMO firm in the US, placing experienced marketing executives on a part-time basis with growth-stage companies. Directly comparable to 21five's Fractional CMO Partnership offering and overall 'outsourced marketing department' positioning.
• Red Antler: Brand strategy and creative agency known for launching and repositioning challenger brands. Comparable in offering brand strategy, identity, and digital execution targeted at leadership teams driving transformation.
• Modern Species: Brand strategy and design studio for challenger and growth-stage brands. Comparable in offering strategy + identity work to founder-led companies and combining strategic positioning with creative execution.
• BrandExtract: Houston-based branding and marketing agency offering brand strategy, identity, web, and digital services. Comparable in service mix (strategy + creative execution), mid-market positioning, and consultative sales model.
• Focus Lab: Boutique branding and web design agency serving B2B SaaS and growth-stage companies. Comparable as a similarly sized creative agency combining brand strategy with execution, targeting founder/CEO-level buyers.

Broad incumbents

• Droga5: Major creative agency within Accenture Song, offering brand strategy, campaign development, and integrated creative. Comparable in category but serves large enterprise clients; not a direct competitor for 21five's mid-market positioning.
• Wieden+Kennedy: Globally recognized independent creative agency. Operates in the same broad creative/branding category as 21five but at vastly larger scale, with enterprise clients and global reach; useful as a brand-strategy reference point rather than a direct competitor for boutique clients.
• R/GA: Global digital and brand experience agency operating at the intersection of brand, product, and marketing. Comparable in offering brand strategy and digital execution but at enterprise scale and with proprietary technology investments 21five lacks.

Regional players

• Tilt Metrics: Charlotte, NC-based digital marketing agency. Closest geographic peer; offers HubSpot-focused marketing services to SMBs and mid-market firms in the same regional market as 21five.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/21fivecreative
• Facebookfacebook.com/21fivecreative
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/21five
• Instagraminstagram.com/21fivecreative

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 21five Creative