Mirco Gluch 🐽

Most brands aren't maximizing their social media potential.
→ We change that. With our Social Media Accelerator and expert consulting, we transform your channels into measurable growth across Organic, Paid and Influencer Marketing. 🐽

ABOUT ME
I'm Mirco Gluch, founder of Piggyback. I've worked with some of the fastest growing companies like Zalando, Trade Republic, N26, Maniko Nails, foodspring and CLARK. 
But honestly, I'm just as passionate about helping ambitious startups and SMEs that want to actually move the needle on social media.

WHAT WE DO
We build your social channels from zero or level up what's already working. With solid strategies, real channel knowledge and social-first content production (video, statics, carousels).

WHAT SETS US APART
We roll up our sleeves from day one and make ourselves obsolete. After 6-18 months, your social media works smoothly without us. We think like your audience, test relentlessly, and your team is set up for success.

OUR SERVICES
🐽 Social Media Accelerator (6-18 months intensive partnership)
Full hands-on execution across Organic, Paid & Influencer Marketing. Content creation, social management, community building and analytics - everything you need to scale.
Brands like Maniko Nails, foodspring, Wholey and Academy Bikes transformed their social growth with us.

🐽 Social Media Strategy & Customer Research
We build strategies that actually work for your brand. Deep research through real follower interviews, audience mapping and competitive analysis. Foundation for everything else.

🐽 Expert Consulting
Need help with specific challenges? Internationalization, team restructuring, AI implementation, C-level strategy. We jump in and figure it out with you.

🐽 Workshops & Mentoring
Upskill your team on what actually matters: AI, channel strategy (e.g. for Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube), content workflows, how to think like social first.

🐽 Inhousing & Team Building
Recruiting support, workflow setup and ongoing mentoring so your team can run social independently. The natural next step after the Accelerator.

READY TO START?
⚡️ DM me with "CALL" — let's talk about what's possible for your brand. 🐽

Agency Founder - Social Media Advisor, Consultant, Workshop Host, and Interim Head of Social Media

- Building team structures, strategies, and workflows for successful marketing and social media management
- Optimization of content output, engagements, reach and follower numbers through tried and tested tactics
Selected clients: Zalando, Trade Republic, N26, foodspring, Getsafe and many smaller brands

Mirco Gluch

My agency is still lucky enough to be growing while so many others are having a very hard time.

Right now, a lot of brands are scaling back and, unsurprisingly, creative agencies are the first to feel the impact.

I unfortunately know so many that have had retainers cancelled and employees let go.

Thankfully, Piggyback is thriving.

(And hopefully we continue to!)

Why?

Because we’re not your typical agency.

Our goal is to build up your social media ecosystem while strengthening your in-house team so they can eventually manage everything on their own.

That means we’re not trying to hold onto a retainer forever or rack up unnecessary expenses for our project partners.

Instead, we typically work with brands for 6–18 months through our accelerator program.

In that time, we get everything running smoothly, set your team up for long-term success, and then step back.

So while it’s still a commitment, it’s not an endless, expensive agency fee with no end in sight.

And we’re now very lucky that we have a bright 2026 ahead of us:

We’re fully booked until the middle of this year, which means we have the opportunity to continue growing our team.

I’ve always wanted the chance to build a team in a sustainable, responsible way by making sure everyone feels supported, while developing their skills and delivering the best work for our partners.

So the fact that we’ve become a 9-person team makes me confident that, with the way we’re going, our momentum will continue.

Social Media Accelerator & Expert Consulting for Startups & Scale-ups ⚡️ Instant growth via Organic, Paid & Influencer | Interim Team Extension, Strategy, Workshops & Speaker 🐽

New year, New office!

Well, not quite...

At the end of last year, we made Cee Cee Studio our new Piggyback home, but I got so busy, I forgot to share the news.

Oops!

Anyway, It feels so surreal to have an office full of nine people when, just two years ago, it was only me at Piggyback.

Here’s a photo of some of us together in our new space. 

It’s really already such a game changer for all of us!

None of the 9 people at our agency have ever done this one thing before:
Actually worked at an agency.

Instead, all of us at Piggyback come from the brand side.

And that’s a GREAT thing.

Why?

Because we’re not stuck in the traditional agency mindset.

Together, we have over 30 combined years of social media experience at brands, so we know the real pain points they face.

For context, that’s still ten years longer than the entire lifespan of Facebook...

...but about the same amount of time it takes to get an 'off-brand' meme approved for your socials.

So if that doesn’t convince you,
then I don’t know what will.

You know where to find us.

What do you do when you’re already running around like crazy to finish the year and a client needs last-minute content?

Take over your flat and turn it into a content studio.

Just before the holidays, Maniko needed last-minute Christmas and New Year ads, so we decided to host the whole production at mine to save time (and costs).

It was a bit of a “rock & roll” production, and we had about three days to prepare for it while already being slammed: a complete stress test for us all.

But we pulled it off and ended up with some great content for our project partners to push out over the festive period.

Huge thanks to Paula Kubetzek, Can Kalin, and Aimée from my team, who made it a big success, to Lennart Schirmer for his great guidance, to Alice Krull for coming along, and to Leo and the Solid AI team for producing some of the content.

And of course, a massive shoutout to Ercan, the taxi driver who drove the gift cards all the way to my flat, back to the Maniko office, and then back to mine again…

Just another day in social media!

I’m sick of hearing that “followers don’t matter.”

You hear it all the time from social folks on LinkedIn.

And I’ve been guilty of saying it too.

But the truth is, followers do still matter.

Ask yourself this: 

You land on a brand’s social account for the first time.

What’s the first signal that tells you how trustworthy they are and how much influence they have?

Their follower count.

Sure, you need to dig deeper to see whether engagement matches up, but followers are still a valuable metric and shouldn’t just be dismissed.

Take our work with Maniko Nails.

Over the last 10 months, Maniko added 100,000+ new followers across Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook with our help.

Not from one single viral hit, but from an ecosystem that continuously and consistently built reach and trust.

I’m incredibly grateful to the Piggyback team and the Maniko team – thank you so much to everyone involved for the great work.

This just shows that thoughtful collaboration beats “post and pray” every time.

This year, focus on building deeper relationships that turn followers into loyal customers.

Do you believe followers numbers still count?

Something happened at the last Maniko community event that’s never happened to us before:
We received gifts from our followers.

Recently, we held an event with our project partners, Maniko Nails, and invited members of our Instagram community and dedicated Facebook group.

There were lots of things happening at the event – talks, product demos and of course, community bonding!

But the most special part of the day was undoubtedly when two of the guests showed up with goody bag gifts for all of us.

We were totally blown away by their kindness, but also hit with a bigger realisation:

This is the impact and power of prioritising community on social.

Since working with Maniko, we’ve focused on creating real conversations and connecting with our audience in more meaningful ways.

That’s why we dug deep: we interviewed their followers, joined their groups, and found out what they actually wanted from Maniko on socials.

After hitting 107k new followers in just ten months, we were confident we were delivering.

But this token of appreciation was the cherry on top and just as important as any metric.

Has anything like this ever happened to you?

Cold outreaches on LinkedIn are getting out of hand.
I get the same exact message.
Over.
And over.
And over again.

Please, for the love of God, stop.
If you're going to use AI automation, at least make it a bit creative.
My inbox is slowly becoming a copy-paste graveyard...

PS: Anyone else getting the exact same sales message?

I was tired of LinkedIn. And I let you down on here.
In the last 4 weeks I only posted 4 times.
Before that I posted 4 times a week for MONTHS.

The busiest time of the year Black Week and Christmas really took its toll. 
The very discouraging LinkedIn algorithm did the rest.
So, I took a well-deserved break from the feed.

But now: New year, New... LinkedIn? :)

I’m excited to start sharing again what actually works on social media, but what unfortunately doesn't work for the LinkedIn algorithm.

Did you make any LinkedIn new year's resolutions?

Throwback to my time on stage with Important Conversations!

At the end of last year, I joined Anna Suznjevic from Important Conversations at Soho House Berlin, where we explored the power of relationships and co-creation.

During our talk, we covered:
– Why human consultants still matter in the age of AI, especially when advising the C-level 
– What makes a great briefing, and why the best ones solve one specific problem 
– How consultants differ from coaches 
– My own experience and journey, including the many pivots that led to the north star we now follow at Piggyback 

See how the night unfolded below!

TikTok and Instagram are not just a copy-paste job.

I repeat: TikTok and Instagram are not just a copy-paste job.

You cannot post the same content on each platform and expect the same results. It doesn’t work like that.

Yet, a lot of people still do.

Our work with the Academy is the perfect example:

Recently, we had one video reach 130k organic views on Instagram, while the exact same clip got only 200 views on TikTok.

We quickly realised that fun, kid-focused content performs really well on Instagram but flops on TikTok, where videos of Academy team members giving bike tips and tricks actually perform far better.

Now, this is not to say you shouldn’t repurpose your content.

I’m all for cross-posting. But what I am saying is that you cannot, and should not, expect identical performance across platforms.

They might feel similar, but remember:

They have different algorithms.

They have different audiences.

They have different content norms and expectations.

How many times have you noticed how far behind Instagram Reels is compared to TikTok trends? Or how different your feed is on each platform?

Yes, there are overlaps, but please, don’t make it a copy-paste job.

Do your research, test, learn, and adapt.

Your brand is going to get left behind in 2026 if it treats social like this:
A boring ad space.

I’ve just written a new article for Horizont on 5 social media trends for 2026: from why brands need to think more like entertainers instead of classic advertisers, to how AI is becoming a core part of content creation, and more.

The full article (in German) is now live on Horizont.

Thanks so much again to Horizont for giving me the opportunity to write another article (I guess I must be doing something right!)

Link in the comments ⬇️

All kids’ brands look exactly the same and IT'S BORING!

If you’ve ever worked with a kids’ brand, or are a parent, you know what to expect:
Bright colours, smiley stock photos, cute illustrations, and that all too familiar “fun and friendly” tone 

(Check out the 2nd slide to see what I mean.)

Don’t get me wrong, I understand why that is, but at some point, all the brands start to blur together.

It’s all just a bit too curated.

That’s why, when we started working with kids’ bike brand Academy, we decided to do things differently.

We ditched the endless stream of statics and carousels (though we still post some) and went all in on fun Reels with the kids, including our branded content series Kids Takeover (as seen on the 1st slide.)

The series was a huge success: it hit 2M impressions and brought in 3K new followers.

This shows that if you treat organic social as a true performance channel, not just a place to post pretty pictures, it can really work.

Sometimes you have to go against the grain to get noticed, even if it feels like a bit of a risk.

Kids Brands Comparison

Behind-the-scenes content will never be the same again.

Here’s why.

Lately, there’s been a big surge in BTS posts from brands.

But these aren’t your typical cute meet-the-team moments, office tours, or “how we make X product” type of content.

Instead, brands are now using BTS content to prove that something they released, whether it’s a social post, a campaign shoot, or a video, wasn’t created by AI.

And that says a lot about where we are right now.

Firstly, there’s still a lack of general acceptance when it comes to AI-generated content, and skepticism is at an all-time high.

Secondly, this shift is putting new pressure on teams.

They’re having to invest more time in community management and content creation, not just to engage, but to prove they aren’t using AI.

People have always loved BTS content – we're all too curious.

But now, they’re not just satisfied with seeing what you made.

They want to know how you made it, and more importantly, who made it.

Do you think the BTS "proof" content is really necessary? Yes or no?

This is exactly what everyone wants to hear from a new client.
But not what everyone actually gets to hear.

We recently started working with the kids’ supplements brand wowtamins, and this was one of the first things Patrick, the co-founder, wrote to us.

That's the proof you need.

The proof that taking the time to truly listen to what a client and their audience wants beats assuming you already know.

The proof that making things work matters more than making a slide deck look good.

The proof that not every agency or consultancy is the same.

And the proof that some teams simply just get it.

(And I'd like to think we’re one of those teams.)

Thank you, Patrick, for your kind words and for your trust in Piggyback!

I think it’s fair to say we’re off to a great start…

We can’t wait to see where we’ll go from here!

Most brands aren’t doing social media. They’re doing social mid-ia.

If you know what I mean...

Don’t get upset over flops. But also don’t get too excited about wins.

Build a community. 

But also don’t take follower count too seriously.

Use AI or be left behind. 

But also don’t rely on it too much.

Create some lo-fi content. 

But make sure it still looks sleek.

Stay up to date with trends. 

But stop chasing every single one.

Half of the time, social media is one big contradiction.

So just keep doing you.

And block out the noise.

Brands don’t win because they post more content.
They win because they own something no one else can copy.

That “something” is IP — stories, characters, worlds, systems, and cultural assets that compound into long-term value.

Intellectual Property (IP) is becoming the core strategic asset behind modern brand entertainment and cultural ecosystems.

For over 20 years, I worked inside some of the world’s most influential entertainment and consumer brands — Disney, Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, PUMA — shaping global franchises, managing multimillion-euro IP portfolios, and learning how brands evolve when they move beyond campaigns and into entertainment, culture, and ownership.

Today, as the founder of unmtchd., I work at the intersection of brand, entertainment, and IP — designing IP-led, entertainment-driven ecosystems as long-term strategic assets.

My work sits at the intersection of three pillars:

→ IP & Brand Strategy
Identifying and structuring what makes a brand truly unmatched — its unique assets, meaning, narrative, and signature.

→ Brand Entertainment & Ecosystem Design
Turning IP into characters, formats, products, content, partnerships, communities, and scalable revenue streams that live far beyond social platforms.

→ Cultural Positioning & Future Readiness
Helping brands evolve intentionally so they remain relevant, differentiated, and culturally meaningful in a fast-shifting world.

The outcome?
Brands that don’t just participate in culture — they build it.
Distinct by design. Scalable through IP. Built to last beyond the algorithm.

If you’re a brand leader or founder exploring how to move from content to IP, from campaigns to owned worlds, let’s connect.

Oana Leonte 💬

I need to be honest… 
I have mixed feelings about this.

I’ve worked for PUMA for 10 years.

I know the brand well — 
its internal tensions, its unreal creative firepower, and the gap between what PUMA is and what it could be.

That’s why I was hoping for a different buyer.

Because this move isn’t just about money.
And it’s not just about distribution.

It’s about what kind of future you create for a brand when you truly understand IP.

PUMA doesn’t lack awareness.

It doesn’t lack product.
It doesn’t lack athletes, moments, or cultural relevance.

And it certainly doesn’t lack legacy. 

What it has always struggled with is clarity around its core IP:

what must stay sacred
vs. what can hype, license, evolve, and compound.

Because PUMA is not just a sportswear company.

It’s a brand ecosystem that spans:
– sport
– fashion
– performance
– music
– heritage
– street culture

Handled well, that’s an incredible IP engine.
Handled poorly, it becomes one of many.

I say this with lots of care and love for the brand.

PUMA’s potential was never about being a “winner”.

It was about going back to its essence.

More intentional about the space it owns.
More disciplined about what it builds.
More confident about what it stands for. 

This is why these moments matter so much for a legacy brand like that. 

Who owns the brand determines:
– how IP is protected
– how meaning compounds
– how legacy survives leadership changes

I want PUMA to win.
Deeply.

But I also know this:
brands like PUMA don’t need “operators”.

They need IP architects.

Curious to hear other perspectives,
especially from people who’ve lived inside legacy brands and felt this tension firsthand.

Oana  Leonte

IP is the new influence → Brand Entertainment & IP Monetization Strategy → Founder of unmtchd. • Ex-Disney, Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, PUMA • Speaker

Simon Jacquemus just named his grandma the official face of the brand.

And it says more about brand meaning than a thousand celebrity campaigns.

To be clear, 

this isn’t a PR stunt.
It’s not “authenticity” as a tactic.
It's not "let's make an emotional campaign".

It’s simply brand coherence, 
and consolidating his brand IP.

Simon isn't borrowing meaning.
He formalised what was already there.

In the announcement image which you can see here, Liline Jacquemus is carrying The Valerie Bag, a bag inspired by her daughter. Simon’s mother.

The product isn’t just a product.
It’s a vessel of memory.
Of family.
Of continuity.

You can’t fake this kind of meaning.
You can’t replicate it with influencers.
You can’t outspend it.

For years, his grandmother has been part of the Jacquemus universe:

the south of France,
family tables,
sun-bleached memories,
Simon's childhood folded into fashion.

By naming her officially, Jacquemus did something very few brands dare to do:
→ turned emotional truth into owned brand equity.

No influencer could replicate this.
No campaign budget could manufacture it.
Because this only works when the story is real and repeatable.

Because this is what real brand IP looks like:
– emotional truth
– encoded into product
– scaled without dilution

Jacquemus isn’t selling just good fashion.
He understands that what fashion needs is meaning.

And that’s why it works.

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The Battle

Mirco Gluch

Oana Leonte 💬

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The Battle

Mirco Gluch

Oana Leonte 💬

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Mirco Gluch's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreMirco Gluch's LinkedIn Performance