Launchmetrics Acquires Style Coalition
NEW YORK, United States — Launchmetrics, the technology and data analytics provider created from a 2016 merger between technology tracker tool Fashion GPS and marketing software Augure, has acquired influencer management platform Style Coalition for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition plays into Launchmetrics’ end goal of serving as a one-stop shop for brands and fashion agencies that want to better understand their ROI when working with editors and influencers alike. Launchmetrics’ current services include sample trafficking, event management, PR management, contact database management and a digital showroom tool. In May this year, the company bought Visual Box, a media monitoring and intelligence company.
While Launchmetrics’ marketing software measures the impact of influencer campaigns, Style Coalition adds an additional layer by connecting brands with influencers to create such campaigns. The idea is that, through Launchmetrics’ extensive suite of services, brands can more holistically understand the impact of all of their marketing efforts, from Instagram Stories to digital banner advertising.
“We now have tools for the PR side — events and samples — tools for the media and strategic teams, and tools for the social and influencer side, allowing us to manage all types of campaigns for our customers,” Michael Jais, chief executive of Launchmetrics, told BoF. “Influencers may work for some types of channels and audiences, but they need to be combined with other types of campaigns to be effective.”
Other than affiliate links, which are trackable shopping links that pay a commission to an influencer each time a shopper buys something through said link, there is no direct way for brands to track whether influencers are actually responsible for sales. By tracking the step-by-step trajectory of a product — from the time a sample leaves a studio until it appears in an influencer Instagram campaign — Launchmetrics will aim to shed a light on this.
Launchmetrics currently monitors over 500,000 websites and 100,000 influencers and has over 1,000 brands internationally signed up to its service. The company is predicted to post revenues of $25 million in 2017.
(Read more: Business of Fashion)
