Cultural Agencies: A Symptom of Creative Agencies Neglecting Their Core Task?

The founding of cultural agencies has surged in recent years. These specialized shops dive deep into subcultures such as music, fashion, gaming, or art to anchor brands authentically within those worlds. Names like PRESENCE, Serviceplan Culture, The Ambition, thjnk Zeitgeist, or DRAVT stand for this new kind of brand communication.
But the real question is: why does this trend exist in the first place? Isn’t cultural grounding supposed to be the very core responsibility of creative agencies? Have we, as established agencies, perhaps lost sight of our original mandate?

Traditionell war es Aufgabe von Agenturen, zwischen den Interessen der Marken und den Konsument*innen zu vermitteln. Um diese Aufgabe zu erfüllen, mussten Agenturen schon immer in den Subkulturen unterwegs sein, Trends erkennen und den Zeitgeist verinnerlichen. Nur so konnte Werbung nicht nur funktionieren, sondern auch begeistern. Doch in den letzten Jahren scheint dieser Kultur-Kompass bei vielen Agenturen abhandengekommen zu sein.

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One reason for this shift is the growing focus on what Germans call the bread-and-butter business. Performance marketing and high-volume asset production—where efficiency takes center stage and creative freedom is scarce—have led many agencies to lose sight of strategic and cultural depth. This fixation on what is “well-paid” and “efficient” may have distanced us from our original mission: delivering cultural competence and creative storytelling in the context of subcultures.
Cultural agencies are stepping in to fill exactly that gap. They immerse themselves in subcultures, speak the language of their communities, and create a sense of closeness that traditional agencies have increasingly lost. Instead of dismissing this trend, the industry should be asking a more fundamental question: why aren’t we doing this ourselves anymore? The rise of these new agency models is less a sign of innovation than a symptom of established agencies neglecting a core part of their mandate.

One striking feature of many cultural marketing agencies is their focus on authenticity—combined with a deliberate rejection of growth-at-all-costs. Many of these agencies consciously choose not to pursue exponential growth, because they know where that path leads: efficiency would come first, and with it the risk of losing cultural depth and real connection to the community.
That’s a lesson established agencies urgently need to take to heart. Constant pressure for growth and efficiency has pushed us to the brink, where the pace of mass production seems to dominate everything. But subcultural authenticity and brand anchoring cannot be reduced to efficiency KPIs.
In subcultures, one thing matters above all: credibility. It comes from a deep understanding of the community and the ability for a brand to participate authentically without being intrusive. This is closely tied to the growing demand for street credibility. Brands often try to gain a foothold in a scene through gatekeepers—influencers, artists, or tastemakers. But instead of relying solely on external gatekeepers, agencies themselves should be able to build those cultural bridges. Street credibility isn’t something you can just buy; it has to grow organically and become part of the agency’s culture.

The rise of cultural agencies is, at its core, a sign that major creative agencies have neglected a fundamental question: how do we understand culture—and anchor brands authentically within it? Cultural insight and the ability to stage brands within the zeitgeist should be central to what agencies do. Cultural marketing is nothing new; it has always been part of our mandate. But we’ve allowed this competence to be outsourced, instead of asking ourselves why we’re no longer fulfilling it.
At the same time, consumer engagement has changed dramatically. Target groups are no longer defined primarily by traditional demographic categories such as age or income, but by interests and communities. The question is: which values, which passions, which subcultures connect people? Classic audience models are losing relevance. Today, brands must find more individualized ways to anchor their messages in different subcultures—without corrupting their own brand DNA. That requires not only creativity, but also a deep understanding of each community

For this shift to be authentic, agencies also need to change internally. Diversity within teams is a decisive factor in building cultural connections that feel credible. Different backgrounds, interests, and communities provide the foundation on which cultural marketing can thrive. It’s not just about having diverse teams, but about making their subcultural expertise visible.

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Subculture experts within an agency shouldn’t just be formally included—they need to have their expertise actively recognized and applied. It’s not enough for them to simply be part of the team; their role must be clearly defined and made accessible within the agency. This not only benefits brands but also strengthens the agency’s internal creative culture.

Die Gründung von Cultural Agencies sollte für die etablierten Player ein Weckruf sein. Es geht nicht darum, diesen Trend zu kopieren, sondern sich die Frage zu stellen, warum diese Lücke überhaupt entstanden ist. Cultural Marketing ist keine Modeerscheinung – es war immer Teil der Markenkommunikation. Die Rückbesinnung auf Kreativität, kulturelles Verständnis und Authentizität sollte wieder im Zentrum dessen stehen, was wir als Kreativagenturen tun.

Wenn wir uns dieser Aufgabe stellen, können wir nicht nur die Relevanz von Werbung wiederherstellen, sondern auch das Vertrauen und die Nähe zu den Konsument*innen
zurückgewinnen. Das erfordert Mut und den Willen, sich von rein effizienzgetriebenen Modellen zu lösen und wieder kreativ und kulturell tief verwurzelte Arbeit zu leisten. Denn wenn wir es nicht tun, wird sich die Frage stellen: Wofür braucht es uns dann noch?