Publicis Groupe to Acquire Influencer Marketing Leader Influential

Publicis Groupe has entered into an agreement to acquire Influential, a top influencer and creator marketing company and platform.

The move expands Publicis’ ability to connect brands and consumers through targeted digital influencer campaigns, culling from Influential’s network of over 3.5 million creators.

Influential is the largest influencer marketing company in the world by revenue. Its proprietary AI-powered technology platform, with over 100 billion data points, includes access to 90% of global influencers with over 1 million followers, currently serving more than 300 brands worldwide including McDonald’s, Hilton, Google, AB InBev, Amazon and General Mills. The company has had a significant presence at Cannes Lions by co-hosting a beach on the Croisette.

“The creator economy is a booming segment, fueling the growth of social media spend, which will outstrip linear TV ad spend by 2025. With this acquisition, we are taking clear leadership of influencer marketing, and putting its outsized influence at the service of our clients, thanks to Influential’s proprietary AI-powered tech platform,” Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe, told ADWEEK.

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Sadoun continued that the acquisition places Publicis at the center of the new media ecosystem.

“Influential is above all an outstanding team of talent at the very cutting edge of their sector. By combining our Epsilon data, which allows us to see 2.3 billion people around the world, with our leadership in connected TV, commerce and now creators, we can enable our clients to truly know and understand their customers and prospects, and engage with them on a one-to-one basis, wherever they are, online and offline,” said Sadoun.

It’s the latest in a string acquisitions in the space by a holding company as they chase expanded capabilities. McKinney, which is part of Cheil, bought August United in early 2023. WPP bought Village Marketing, Obviously and Goat, and at the time rolled them into VMLY&R, Wunderman Thompson and GroupM, respectively. Earlier this year, Stagwell bought Coltrane Curtis‘ Team Epiphany.

An Influential player

Influential will be positioned within Publicis Groupe, working with Publicis clients and teams and combining its technology with Publicis’ Epsilon data to deliver influencer and creator marketing services.

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.