Manamana and Cartel Agency are not merging

Cartel Agency and Manamana are entering into an exclusive, long-term collaboration. ‘Something interesting is happening in our market’, says Tom Van den Bergh, CEO of Friends of Cartel. ‘On the one hand, agencies are evolving into groups with serious scale and structure, like us. On the other, smaller agencies with their own culture and niche are getting stronger in their field, like Manamana.’

‘But brands want all of that at once. To meet that demand, Manamana is becoming an Agency in Residence. Think of it as a creative superpower inside our modular ecosystem of agencies, helping us win more pitches and serve clients even better.’

The partnership starts from what makes the two agencies different, not from melting everything into a single mould. In fact, that difference is being actively nurtured. ‘The value of this model lies in the sum, not in some kind of blend’, says Wout Neys, Managing Director of Manamana.

‘The idea is that we become even more ourselves, so we can unapologetically focus on and invest in creative excellence, without having to build a broad support structure around it. Cartel Agency, in turn, can fully show up as a creative business partner, with real weight behind both words: business and creative.’

‘Cartel Agency remains an autonomous creative agency with a strong strategic backbone’, adds Micha Appermans, Managing Director of Cartel Agency. ‘Manamana brings extra creative intensity and culture to the table. The result? Creative boldness plus strategic structure and proven effectiveness.’

The Agency in Residence partnership is set up as a growth trajectory with clear ground rules, governance and shared objectives. Both parties commit to creating long-term value for clients and for each other. Hence the open design: we start by working together and strengthening each other, and then jointly decide how to deepen the relationship over time.

Tom Van den Bergh: ‘This collaboration model is not a one-off. The old agency model has been bumping up against its limits for a few years now and feels largely played out. Growing together like this simply fits the reality of today – and tomorrow – much better.’