The agency, led by CEO Ryan Detert, has been a leader in the influencer space since it was founded in 2013. It was the first influencer marketing company built with IBM Watson; by 2022 it had surpassed $500 million in revenue.
“I am thrilled for Influential to join Publicis Groupe, the world’s highest performing and most innovative holding company. We look forward to combining our complementary capabilities and technology to deliver unparalleled influencer identification, content creation, amplification and measurement for our clients—and to defining the next era of influencer marketing together,” said Detert in a statement.
Influential’s offerings enable brands to source high-quality digital creators, curate creative strategy, and activate, amplify and optimize digital media to drive outcomes for brands.
By combining those capabilities with the data and identity assets of Epsilon and scale of Publicis Groupe, clients will have access to a premium creator network; influencer planning to help better identify creators that can help connect brands to their target consumers and find the right audiences; and maximized cross-channel outcomes that measure the reach and impact of social campaigns through a singular AI-powered platform.
Details of the deal were not disclosed, but the transaction is expected to close in late August.
Publicis is on a recent winning streak, with Publicis One winning the Lego media account, Hershey choosing a dedicated Publicis team, MiltonONE, and Publicis Conseil winning the Agency of the Year honors at Cannes.