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Publicis Groupe has acquired Captiv8, an influencer marketing technology platform, in its latest move to establish its position in a fast-growing corner of digital advertising.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2015, Captiv8 provides influencer marketing software and commerce tools. Its platform claims to cover 95% of creators with more than 5,000 followers across 120 countries, and processes more than 2.5 billion social posts each year.
The deal follows Publicis’ $500 million acquisition of Influential in July 2024, which brought one of the industry’s largest influencer broker networks under its roof.
Captiv8 and Influential will operate independently but closely under Publicis’ Connected Media unit, with Captiv8 co-founder and CEO Krishna Subramanian and Influential CEO Ryan Detert maintaining leadership of their respective companies.
“As two leaders in the influencer marketing space, together, we bring unrivaled expertise, innovation, and transformation for our clients,” Detert said. “We’re excited to collaborate with Krishna and Sunil to co-author the future of global influencer marketing at Publicis.”
Both companies’ platforms will be plugged into Epsilon’s CoreID identity platform, as Publicis Groupe aims to build “the world’s most powerful connected influencer platform,” per a press release. Together, Influential and Captiv8 offer access to more than 15 million creators, covering both 95% of mid-tier influencers and 90% of creators with over 1 million followers, according to the release.
“This platform is a one-stop-shop for our clients’ influencer marketing initiatives. They can uniquely unite, plan, and optimize creator strategies that are brand fit, brand safe, with fully transparent measurement,” said Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun in a statement.
Publicis said Captiv8’s commerce suite, which includes branded storefronts, affiliate integrations, and ROI tracking, will help clients streamline influencer campaign planning, management, and measurement across platforms and markets.
Captiv8 is the latest “bolt-on” acquisition by Publicis this year, which purchased data business Lotame in March followed by sports agency Adopt in April. The deal comes as U.S. influencer marketing spend is projected to reach $9.29 billion by 2025, according to Emarketer.
Publicis continues to ride a wave of new business momentum. In Q1, the holding company won 319 global creative and media accounts combined—more than any of its competitors—adding an estimated $168 million in new business revenue, according to R3.
