• SKEEPERS Surpasses $100M in Investment Funding from PSG to Support Acquisition of Innovative SaaS Solutions

• With seven acquisitions under its belt this year alone, SKEEPERS acquires leading influencer marketing platforms in the US and Europe, Octoly and Hivency

The SKEEPERS Group, a provider of people-smart SaaS solutions that enable brands to generate value for and from their customers, announced with support from the PSG fund, it has raised over $100 million since November 2019. PSG is a leading growth equity firm that focuses on partnering with middle-market software and technology-enabled services companies. This latest funding was in addition to an initial fundraise of $32 million by PSG and SKEEPERS’s founders.

SKEEPERS is using the funding to create an all-in-one marketing technology platform and acquire additional SaaS-based technology companies. Recently, the group acquired leading influencer marketing platforms Octoly and Hivency, adding notable brands, including LVMH, fresh, Clarins, and Amore Pacific, to its portfolio of over 6,500 world-class clients.

“We believe influencer marketing is essential for brands looking to strategically align themselves with the most trustworthy voices on social media. We’re witnessing a noticeable shift in which authenticity and shared experiences are at the heart of the marketing industry – often brought to us by influential partners,” said Pascal Lannoo, Chief Strategy Officer at SKEEPERS. “By bringing together the two leading influencer platforms in the U.S. and Europe, we’re empowering brands to be more consumer-centric.”

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Octoly and Hivency enable brands across the fashion, beauty and food industries to authentically increase their visibility and boost sales through influencer and consumer recommendations. The platforms connect advertisers to consumers and meticulously vetted influencers (micro and nano) who produce social media posts and ecommerce reviews in exchange for a gifted product.

Advertisers can use a single tool to manage every facet of their campaigns including targeting, briefing, messaging, product shipping as well as real-time reporting and metrics. The platforms enable brands to seamlessly run campaigns at scale and offer hyper-targeting, curated TikTok, Instagram and YouTube influencers full-service logistics and content usage licensing.

Since Octoly and Hivency’s inception in 2015 and 2016 respectively, both platforms have achieved rapid growth. In 2021, Octoly generated a 75% increase in revenue, in addition to 200% growth from 2019 to 2020. Combined, the platforms have the largest global network of trusted influencer voices and consumers.

Eli Curetti, CEO of Octoly, will join the SKEEPERS executive team as Country Manager for the USA, reporting directly to Pascal Lannoo, and the Octoly and Hivency teams will operate as part of an expanded portfolio of the SKEEPERS brand.

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“Historically, influencer marketing and consumer review campaigns used to be outsourced to marketing agencies, adding a third party between brands and creators. Through our merger with SKEEPERS, we are looking to give brands the opportunity to run self-serve campaigns at scale as well as offer more sophisticated measurement capabilities,” said Curetti.

“fresh has partnered with Octoly since 2019 and they have helped us to scale our influencer marketing efforts, aiding us to discover new brand ambassadors, identify promotional partners and generate global user-generated content,” said Tennille Kopiasz, Global Chief Marketing Officer, fresh. “Recently, we began leveraging Octoly’s targeting capabilities and highly engaged beauty community to generate authentic, high-quality ratings and reviews for our website and for key retail partners. Octoly has become a valuable strategic partner for our core UGC needs.”

The acquisitions follow seven strategic purchases by SKEEPERS over the past year and mark the next chapter for the company as it broadens its offerings and expands its product suite, enabling brands to master the customer experience cycle. Combined, Octoly and Hivency will be a key component of the SKEEPERS all-in-one platform solution, joining Visual Content (formerly TEESTER) and CX Management (formerly Mediatech-CX and MyFeelBack), Surprise and Advalo to form a marketing technology portfolio that supports all areas of the customer experience.

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