Buzzoole to accelerate R&D with $8.9m in Series A funding
Leading European influencer marketing platform Buzzoole has secured $8.9m in Series A funding. The new funding will be used to expand Buzzoole’s market presence globally and accelerate its R&D and platform development.
The funding round was led by StarTIP (Tamburi Investment Partners) which has previously invested in Ferrari, Hugo Boss, Moncler, and Vertis Venture 2 Scaleup. Existing investors R301, Brahma AG, Impulse VC and Scaleit Ventures also participated in the round bringing the company's total funding to date to over US $10m.
Buzzoole has seen significant international traction in 2018 and plans to accelerate growth in key markets abroad, specifically in the UK and the US. It will continue to invest in both business development and global expansion while consolidating its established leadership position in Italy. It has already been working towards these goals and has seen particularly strong return in 2018, during which the business has doubled.
Fabrizio Perrone, co-founder and chief executive of Buzzoole, said: “Influencer marketing is predicted to become a $10bn industry by 2020, likewise Buzzoole has moved beyond its successful start-up credentials and is on the cusp of a new and promising chapter. Going forward, Buzzoole wants to continue in its commitment to developing technology that meets marketer demands and afford them a single technology platform capable of managing their influencer marketing from end-to-end.”
Buzzoole has developed its own advanced tools GAIA and True Reach to address the biggest marketplace concerns - sourcing talent, fraud and transparent metrics. GAIA is designed with sophisticated AI technology to make for optimal matches between brand and creator. Meanwhile, due to its exclusive collaboration with global measurement company Nielsen, its proprietary True Reach metric allows influencer marketing campaigns the ability to compete with more traditional media buys.
Research & development reflects more than 35% of Buzzoole’s global team and funding will allow the company to sustain its investment in advanced technology and product R&D.
Claudio Berretti, general manager at Tamburi Investment Partners, said: "By continuing to innovate and develop advanced tools to address the influencer marketing industry’s three prominent concerns - brand and creator matching, fraud and advanced metrics, we believe Buzzoole has a tremendous opportunity globally.”
Amedeo Giurazza, chief executive of Vertis, said: "Brands have begun to dedicate a bigger and bigger share of their marketing budget towards influencer marketing. In Buzzoole we found the best possible solution to this growing need which, combined with the expertise shown by its management team and the strength of its proprietary platform, convinced us to invest in the company.“
The company's funds will also fuel Buzzoole’s hiring initiatives as it plans to grow its headcount by a third in the next year. In the last year, Buzzoole has grown to close to over 70 employees in London, Milan, Rome, Naples, opening its New York office this past summer. It is active in 176 countries worldwide.
Buzzoole supports a network of more than 270,000 creators with its technology platform and serves in the region of 850 international companies including top global brands Rakuten, Ralph Lauren, Starbucks, Pandora, Magnum and Unilever.