Influencer Marketing’s M&A Streak Continues With Mavely Sale

Chicago-based Mavely said that around 120,000 creators have signed up for its platform. But Later said Mavely’s technology that connects specific influencer posts to direct customer sales was the most attractive aspect of the deal.

Influencer marketing practices have traditionally focused on raising awareness or consideration for brands, rather than directly impacting the top line, said Scott Sutton, chief executive of Boston-based Later, which helps run influencer marketing and social media for large brands such as Adobe and Pottery Barn.

‘What marketers and commerce professionals are often left wondering is, ‘How much did I impact sales?’ ” Sutton said. “Mavely has really deep technology around the tracking of product sales, so I can see that an individual contract with an influencer and a brand turned into these 10 posts, and I can see all of the aggregated sales by SKU, back to the individual post to understand how my marketing dollars are actually generating sales.”

Advertisers are turning to individual content creators as they seek to reach and engage with consumers, many of whom are more willing to buy from their favorite online personalities than a typical pop-up ad. Spending on influencer marketing in the U.S. jumped to $7.02 billion in 2023, a 17.4% increase over the previous year, and is projected to reach $9.29 billion in 2025, according to market research firm eMarketer. 

Boutique influencer-marketing agencies were once at the forefront of the practice, brokering one-to-one deals between brands and influencers. But the industry automated as it grew, while clients and advertising agencies sought larger partners that could efficiently manage everything from influencer vetting to payments, driving consolidation among smaller players.

Some brands and agencies scooped up influencer companies themselves. Publicis Groupe in July paid $500 million for Influential; Stagwell in the same week purchased the Tel Aviv-based digital agency Leaders along with its influencer campaign-planning software, InfluencerMarketing.AI. Live Nation earlier this month acquired a majority stake in Timeline, a talent management firm that represents influencers and creators. 

Later was founded in Vancouver as Latergramme, one of the first social media scheduling tech firms. It was acquired in 2022 by influencer marketing platform Mavrck, which changed its own name in 2024 to Later.  

Later funded its acquisition of Mavely with a strategic investment from growth equity firm Summit Partners.

Write to Katie Deighton at katie.deighton@wsj.com