Six German Digital Agencies Merge to Form Friends Digital Group
Updated: 3 days ago
Friendventure founder Julian Hansmann has bundled six owner-managed German digital agencies into a new network, Friends Digital Group, launching with more than 150 staff and over €15m in combined fee revenue.
What happened
Friendventure founder Julian Hansmann has bundled six owner-managed German digital agencies into a new network, the Friends Digital Group. The verbund launches as a mid-sized digital player positioned against the holding groups, uniting six agencies across six locations with more than 150 employees and combined fee revenue exceeding €15 million.
It arrives as the German agency market splits ever more sharply between global giants and tiny independents.
Why it matters
The agency market is polarising. At one end sit the global holding companies; at the other, tiny independents. The squeezed middle — capable owner-managed shops too big to be boutique but too small to compete for holding-company briefs — is exactly where consolidation like this makes sense.
Our read: this is the independents' answer to scale. By bundling into a 150-person, €15m group, six agencies gain the heft to pitch bigger accounts and share overheads while keeping owner-managed culture. It is a bet that clients want independent thinking at a scale that can actually deliver.
What businesses should do
If you brief agencies, watch the consolidating middle. A newly-bundled independent group can offer holding-company scale with founder-led attention — often a better deal than either extreme, provided the integration is genuine and not just a shared logo.
And if you run a mid-sized agency, read the signal. Standing alone in the squeezed middle is getting harder; bundling, partnering or specialising are the routes through. The agencies that thrive will be the ones that pick a strategy before the market picks one for them.
Quick FAQ
What is Friends Digital Group?
A new German agency network bundling six owner-managed digital agencies, founded by Friendventure's Julian Hansmann.
How big is it?
More than 150 employees across six locations, with combined fee revenue exceeding €15 million.
Why merge?
To gain the scale to pitch bigger accounts and share overheads while keeping owner-managed culture, positioned against the holding groups.
The agency market is polarising into giants and boutiques, and the capable middle is getting squeezed. Bundling six shops into a 150-person, €15m group is the independents' answer to scale — a bet that clients want founder-led thinking that can actually deliver at size. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
The squeezed middle of the agency market is consolidating — a bundled independent group can offer holding-company scale with founder-led attention.
When you brief agencies, are you defaulting to giants or boutiques — and missing the consolidating middle?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Horizont, Presseportal.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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