Publicis Groupe announced its intention to acquire Influential, an influencer marketing company and platform, in a move aimed at enhancing its influencer marketing services.
The acquisition, expected to be finalized by late August, involves undisclosed financial terms. This strategic move highlights the growing trend of holding companies investing in influencer marketing units to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
The broader mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market has been active recently, with companies like Stagwell also expanding their portfolios. Stagwell recently acquired LEADERS, an Israeli social commerce and influencer-focused digital agency, to bolster its influencer marketing capabilities and integrate it with its existing PR platform, PRophet.
This trend of acquiring influencer marketing firms underscores a significant interest in expanding capabilities within this sector.
Forrester analyst Jay Pattisall emphasized that Publicis’ acquisition of Influential would strengthen its data and technology infrastructure, potentially enhancing the scalability of its influencer campaigns.
However, there are concerns about how well Influential’s integration will align with Publicis’ various creative agencies, which could impact brand consistency if not managed properly.
Publicis plans to leverage Influential’s strengths in creative and digital data to scale its influencer marketing efforts. By integrating Influential’s capabilities with Epsilon’s extensive consumer data, Publicis aims to optimize influencer identification, content creation, and cross-channel outcomes. Influential’s CEO, Ryan Detert, will continue in his role and will focus on expanding influencer services within Publicis.
The acquisition reflects a broader industry trend toward tighter integration of creator content with paid media, as noted by Ryan Stern of Collectively.
With the influencer marketing sector growing rapidly, Publicis’ acquisition of Influential positions is well to capitalize on the creator economy, which is projected to surpass linear TV in ad spending within the next year. Influential, with its extensive network and data-driven approach, is poised to play a significant role in this evolving landscape.
