Publicis Groupe has signed an agreement to acquire Influential, the world’s largest influencer marketing company by revenue, according to a company announcement. Published reports say the deal is valued at $500 million.
Influential operates a network of over 3.5 million creators, including 90% of the world’s influencers with more than 1 million followers. The company currently serves over 300 brands worldwide. Publicis will combine Influential’s platform with consumer insights from its marketing technology division, Epsilon, to help clients find influencers who can make meaningful connections with their target consumers and communities.
With nearly half of consumers making purchases based on influencer marketing and trust in influencers on the rise, Publicis’ acquisition demonstrates the importance of the sector to the future of marketing. In fact, global social media spending is expected to reach $186 billion in 2025, surpassing traditional TV advertising spending for the first time, according to details released by Publicis.
The influencer marketing sector is a big driver of that growth, and by acquiring Influential and combining its platform with Epsilon, Publicis will be able to offer clients access to high-quality, high-follow digital creators, with insights on more than 2.3 billion people globally.
“This acquisition not only gives us leadership in influencer marketing, it also uniquely positions us at the center of the new media ecosystem,” Publicis CEO Arthur Sudden said in a statement. “It gives power back to brands in a fragmented media environment and drives a marketing transformation that delivers real business outcomes.”
The acquisition of Influential will combine Publicis assets to give clients access to a network of more than 3.5 million creators (including 90% with more than 1 million followers), improve planning capabilities using Epsilon’s consumer data, and enhance cross-channel marketing opportunities. Influential founder and CEO Ryan Detert will work centrally within Publicis to provide these tools to clients.
The Publicis acquisition announcement comes just one day after Stagwell said it had acquired digital influencer marketing agency Leaders and its InfluencerMarketing.AI platform. Deals like this could herald a wave of other acquisitions to come in the coming months as creator marketplaces become more firmly entrenched in the marketing industry.
“Creator marketing is now an essential part of every big brand’s marketing mix, and the consolidation of some of the best boutique players into holding companies over the past four years shows that they are taking this seriously and are committed to a more integrated approach to creator work,” Collectively co-founder and CEO Ryan Stern said in emailed comments.
“Big brands now expect all their agency partners to understand their creators and how to deploy them across different channels and contexts, and the holding company consolidation reflects the urgency these companies have to adapt quickly,” the exec added.
Earlier this month, Publicis reported that its organic growth rose 5.6% year over year, with net revenue reaching approximately $3.8 billion in the second quarter of 2024. The strong revenue led the company to raise its full-year outlook to 5% to 6% growth, up from its previous expectation of 4% to 5% growth.
