Future Tech Retail (FTR), a technology and retail solutions investment company just acquired an 80.5% stake in YKONE, the world’s most trusted influencer marketing group. This investment is the testimonial of YKONE’s renewed ambitions in this industry currently experiencing tremendous growth.
“Influencer marketing is no-longer a side activity for brands. As the budgets dedicated to it become significant, so is the demand for data-accountability, all-encompassing services and global roll-out capabilities”, says Olivier Billon, Founder and CEO of YKONE. To answer these clients’ requests, YKONE has always been in the forefront of innovation and creativity.
Campaygn, YKONE’s proprietary technology, tracks billions of data-points on 35 million of influencers’ profiles. More than raw numbers, that are easily available to anyone, its true value lies in the knowledge accumulated by running thousands of Influencer marketing campaigns over the years.
“The real value is collecting data price and performance. We want to help brands evaluate which influencers they can afford and those who have driven positive performances for other brands in the past”, Olivier Billon explained in this WWD interview.
Oddly Enough, YKONE’s in-house production studio, which offers 360° solutions for all dimensions : physical, digital and virtual, as well as YKONE’s seven physical studios and hubs, reflects the needs by brands for more agility, innovation and cost-control.
While YKONE now provides an all-encompassing solution, its international presence is also growing at a record pace, in order to offer international campaigns roll-out, rooted in local culture.
Through acquisitions of local leading companies like MB New Media/Bold Management in Italy, Cover communications in Germany or new offices opening, YKONE now has local presence in Paris, in addition to Milan; Shanghai; Hong Kong; Geneva; Berlin and Munich; Miami; Dubai and Abu Dhabi; Riyadh and Jeddah; Bangalore and Tunis.
While a leader in the Luxury, Beauty and Fashion industries, YKONE experiences strong momentum in the Travel space. To this end, YKONE is opening its second U.S. office in Las Vegas, after Miami, with the aim of conquering the north-american market by capitalizing on its european cultural heritage.
“Europe is obsessed with creativity and granularity, and we focus on relationships between brands and influencers that benefit the output and the creative content. In the U.S. what we’re seeing is that numbers come first. Creativity comes second” adds Olivier Billon in the WWD interview.
Doubling its results year on year, YKONE forecasts revenues will hit the 100-million-euro threshold in 2023.
Read the entire interview here.
