LOS ANGELES: Influencer marketing software-as-a-service platform CreatorIQ has acquired Tribe Dynamics for approximately $70 million, according to sources familiar with the transaction, in a deal expected to close this fall.
Both companies’ software helps marketers connect with creators, managing projects and measuring results.
Tribe Dynamics will continue to operate as an independent company for the foreseeable future, headquartered in San Francisco, with staff in New York and London. Its executive team members, including cofounders Jon Namnath and Conor Begley will stay in their positions, reporting to CreatorIQ founder and CEO Igor Vaks.
CreatorIQ focuses on paid advertising, helping brands partner with influencers. Last year, the company launched a certified partner network for influencer campaigns. Tribe Dynamics specializes in earned media with social influencers, who organically talk about brands without formal partnerships.
“This acquisition will bring the paid and earned channels of influencer marketing closer together,” said Vaks. “For PR professionals at agencies and brands, this will streamline everything from the discovery process, to reporting and workflow.”
Following the transaction, the combined organization will have more than 450 customers, 250 employees and $90 million in funding.
Tribe Dynamics focuses on the fashion and beauty industries, with clients including Estee Lauder, LVMH and Fashion Nova. It has developed proprietary models in analytics and benchmarks, which will allow CreatorIQ to apply Tribe Dynamics’ standards to its broad customer base, expanding its use of data science across industries. Its client list includes organizations such as the Ad Council and Everywhere Agency, and brands such as Aneuser-Busch InBev, Disney, Sephora and Unilever, which took a stake in the software platform in 2019.
CreatorIQ closed its latest funding round of $40 million this month. Its investors include TVC Capital, Kayne Partners Fund, the growth private equity group of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, Affinity Group, Unilever Ventures and Silver Lake Waterman.
CreatorIQ noted that most consumption of influencer content occurs on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. However, creators’ inroads into movies, television and in-store shopper marketing shows how the trend is accelerating.
Founded in 2014, CreatorIQ is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in cities including San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Detroit, Miami and New York. Fabric Media is the AOR for CreatorIQ and will remain so post-merger.
