On May 21, 2025, Publicis Groupe, the French advertising giant, announced its acquisition of Captiv8, a leading influencer marketing platform, further solidifying its ambition to dominate the creator economy.
This move comes on the heels of its $500 million purchase of Influential.co in July 2024, signaling a clear strategy to capitalize on the explosive growth of influencer marketing, which is outpacing budgets for paid social campaigns according to industry reports like Emarketer’s 2025 projection of $9.29 billion in U.S. influencer spend alone.
Captiv8, founded in 2015, brings a massive network of 15 million creators across 120 countries, covering 95% of influencers with over 5,000 followers and tracking 2.5 billion social posts annually.
Combined with Influential’s 3.5 million creators and access to 90% of global influencers with 1 million or more followers, Publicis now boasts the world’s largest creator network. Integrated under Publicis’ Connected Media unit, the two platforms will operate independently but collaboratively, with Captiv8’s CEO Krishna Subramanian and Influential’s CEO Ryan Detert retaining their leadership roles.
The acquisition enhances Publicis’ capabilities with Captiv8’s AI-powered technology, social listening tools, and a robust social commerce suite featuring branded storefronts that connect influencer, commerce, and affiliate channels.
Paired with Epsilon’s CoreID identity technology, Publicis aims to offer brands a unified, transparent platform to plan, manage, and measure influencer campaigns at scale. “This platform is a one-stop-shop for our clients’ influencer marketing initiatives,” said Arthur Sadoun, Global CEO of Publicis Groupe, emphasizing the ability to deliver brand-safe, measurable strategies with “authentic virality.”
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Publicis’ aggressive expansion into influencer marketing reflects a broader industry trend: budgets are shifting toward creators as brands seek deeper, more authentic connections with consumers.
By combining Captiv8’s tech prowess with Influential’s scale, Publicis is positioning itself as the undisputed leader in this space, ready to redefine how brands leverage the creator economy on a global stage.
