Funding programmes
Brand Lift

Brand Lift

With our new Brand Lift Accelerator programme, we support brands from the product design sector. Whether you are a start-up or an established brand - we will support you in taking your brand to the next level. Apply now!

Lift up your brand

With the Brand Lift accelerator programme, we promote innovative design brands from Hamburg. We support you in developing your brand so that it will be successful on the market in the long term.

In the Brand Lift programme, experts from the fields of marketing and sales will support you in repositioning your brand. You will test various measures in the real-life laboratory and find the best strategy for you - from e-commerce campaigns to pop-up sales and trade fair appearances.

The goal: With our support, you will optimise your production chains and sales strategies in order to build and expand a successful B2B business. A particular focus here is on professionalising your online marketing and developing and expanding sales channels in stationary retail.

Your benefits at a glance

Four practical workshops on B2B strategies, sales, marketing and brand development
Individual 1:1 coaching sessions (4 hours in total) with experienced experts
1,500 grant as a subsidy for the revision of media presence, presentation and sales documents
Real laboratory with real test phases: E-commerce campaign, pop-up store, design market and trade fair appearance at Nordstil
Joint work and networking with the other brands in the Design Centre
Wrap-up workshop to reflect on and strategically develop your brand

When?
October 2025 - January 2026

Where?
Hamburg

The application phase for this year is over.

The coaches

Elina Artis

Elina Artis has been coaching start-ups in the creative industries, giving workshops, lectures and seminars for over ten years. She is also a lecturer at HAW Hamburg and Macromedia University.

Jennifer Bortchen

Jennifer Bortchen supports founders and companies with confident and strategic communication. Her focus is on positioning, storytelling and the smart use of AI.

Falko Ohlmer

Falko Ohlmer is co-founder and managing director of the Frankfurt agency Arndt Benedikt, which specialises in design-oriented branding. Among other things, the team was responsible for the rebranding of OMR and developed the corporate design of BioNTech.

Annika Fitz

Annika Fitz has been demonstrating her flair for spatial staging in the design of exhibitions for the Design Zentrum for over six years. She previously worked as an industrial designer for many years, supporting design brands from product development to presentation at trade fairs.

Kathrin Harlfinger

Kathrin Harlfinger is an entrepreneur, consultant and lecturer. With POCKETS, she supports entrepreneurs intranslating their ideas into business models and figures, thus creating clarity and a reliable basis for decision-making. Her strength lies in combining creative visions with entrepreneurial tools.

Programme procedure

28.08.25 – 26.09.25

Application phase

29.09.2025

Selection of brands

14.10.2025

Breakfast & Kick-Off (with Kristina Bonitz and impulse by Falko Ohlmer)

The participants get to know each other, introduce their brand and formulate their individual challenges and goals.

16.10.2025

Workshop 1: Customer acquisition, marketing and online presentation (with Jennifer Bortchen)

The aim of this workshop is to identify the optimal digital sales channels and advertising platforms for the brands and to develop strategies on how these can be used profitably. In addition, advice is given on optimising the existing internet presence (website, social media).

Date t.b.a.

Real-world lab 1: Online marketing and e-commerce campaign

Participants develop their own online marketing or e-commerce campaigns. In addition to their own online shop, sales channels such as Instagram and TikTok should also be included. Experts support the participants in individual, independently bookable 1:1 meetings to develop and implement the right advertising and sales strategy for their brand.

10.11.2025

Workshop 2: Product presentation (with Annika Fitz)

In this hands-on workshop, participants learn how to optimise the staging of their products in the physical space. Here, different settings can be tried out and sketched out that are suitable for the various sales scenarios (e.g. concept store, design market, trade fair, etc.). In addition, participants practise how to approach customers and hold sales talks.

22.11.2015

Reallabor 2: Pop-up Design Market

The participants test their product presentation and practise their B2C sales pitch at the pop-up design market at the Design Zentrum Hamburg.

25.11.2025

Workshop 3: Price calculation and scaling (with Kathrin Harlfinger)

In this workshop, participants will learn how to calculate the prices and production costs for their products in such a way that their production volume is easily scalable. In addition, the topic of mixed calculations will be considered and investment reserves will be discussed.

08.12.2025

Workshop 4: Logistics, production and supply chains (with Elina Artis)

In this workshop, we will delve deep into the subject of production logistics. How do I organise sustainable, reliable, price-stable, scalable production? How do I build resilient supply chains? How do I organise and calculate warehouse and shipping logistics? How do I deal with lulls or hypes?

10.01.26 – 12.01.26

Real-world laboratory 4: Trade fair

At the joint stand at the Nordstil trade fair, participants can apply everything they have learnt and present their brand at the international B2B trade fair. If required, participants can book an additional 1:1 consultation with the coaches to help them prepare.

30.01.2026

Lunch & Wrap-Up (with Kristina Bonitz)

The participants analyse and summarise which of the measures and strategies worked well in the real-world lab and what should be approached differently in the future. And how they now envisage the further development of their brand and what the next steps for implementation could look like.

FAQ

Who can apply?
Designers and entrepreneurs from the Hamburg metropolitan region with their own design brand who are already successfully selling products and want to take the next step toward supraregional B2B business or make their handmade unique pieces and small series available to a wider customer base.
What can we use the financial support for?
During the Brand Lift, you will receive €1,500 in funding as a subsidy. This is intended to give you the opportunity to offset material costs, labor costs, and external services involved in revamping your media presence, presentation materials, and sales documents.

All services and expenses related to the Brand Lift must be covered by the grant recipient from the grant amount. If the costs are exceeded, the grant recipient is not entitled to a subsequent increase in the grant amount. The grant is awarded as a fixed amount.
Wie und wann wird entschieden, wer in das Programm aufgenommen?
Our expert jury will evaluate all applications that meet the requirements according to the criteria of a) unique selling points of the product range and b) expansion potential in terms of the scalability of production and sales markets. On September 29, the most promising brands will be selected from all applications and notified as soon as possible.

Contact person

Annika Fitz
Curator, programme and project manager
+49 40 23 72 43 5 - 17

Bio

Annika Fitz organises and designs events for the Design Zentrum Hamburg and is responsible for promoting talent and building interdisciplinary networks in the areas of young talent, innovation, sustainability and transformation. She studied meteorology, engineering and industrial design at the HFBK Hamburg. She has worked as a product and interior designer, is a specialist book author and volunteers as Vice Chair of the Board at Fab Lab Fabulous St. Pauli e.V.