Dentsu Invests in Influencer Marketing - Becomes inzpire.me Partner

Dentsu wants to take the influencer marketing industry “out of puberty and into adulthood.”

Media agencies' investments in influencer marketing increased by 90 percent in the first four months of this year. The turnover was, admittedly, NOK 7.7 million according to figures from the Norwegian association Mediebyråforeningen, but there are several indications that this number will continue to grow significantly over the years to come.Now Dentsu is taking its commitment to influencer marketing a step further by choosing inzpire.me as a technology partner for all its influencer marketing activities. - Influencer marketing has had exponential growth in recent years and at Dentsu, we want to help take this effective form of communication out of puberty and into adulthood. Increased professionalization, efficiency, and transparency are some of our focus areas, and inzpire.me was a natural choice as both a technology provider and a partner to be able to deliver on these measures, says Charlotte Roppen, Customer director at Merkle, which is Dentsu's newest agency in the Norwegian market.Agencies Carat, Red Dentsu X, Iprospect, Isobar, and MKTG also operate under Dentsu.

Believes in further doubling

Recent figures from Norwegian analytical company Kantar show that one in four Norwegians follows an influencer and more than half of Norway's 15-25-year-olds have made a purchase based on recommendations from an influencer.- What can Dentsu do through this partnership that they weren’t able to before?- The collaboration with inzpire.me allows us to scale up our activities more than ever, in addition to increased transparency, better quality control, and greater predictability and cost-efficiency for our customers, says Roppen.- How much do you expect to increase your investments in influencer marketing in the coming years?- I can't go into specific figures, but I can refer to the increase in investments by media agencies this year, which has almost doubled compared to last year. However, as this number has increased from a relatively low starting point, I would not be surprised by a further doubling in a short period of time.With Google following Apple by phasing out the use of third-party data in its browser from next year, influencers will become an even more important media channel, Roppen believes.- Behavior-based marketing will become more difficult without third-party data, so the value of working with influencers based on context and credibility increases. Through influencers, you can reach specific niches with individuals who have significant trust from their audience. It becomes a form of contextual marketing.

A non-exclusive partnership

Oslo-based inzpire.me was founded in January 2016 and aims to connect advertisers and influencers. The company has also recently launched a partner program for agencies that want to develop within the influencer marketing space.- The influencer marketing industry is growing rapidly, and agencies are playing a more important role. They’re expected to have both the knowledge and the infrastructure to deliver successful strategies. This is why we launched our partner program for agencies earlier this year. The fact that a big player such as Dentsu decided to become an inzpire.me partner is an acknowledgment of all the hard work the team has put into building technology and expertise that is attractive to the very best in the industry. Their investment in influencer marketing is exciting for both us and the industry, says Mats Lyngstad, CEO and Co-founder of inzpire.me.- Can you go into similar agreements with other media agencies, or is the partner program exclusive to Dentsu?- Dentsu does not have exclusivity on the partnership with us, but they have been an important collaborator in the development of the partner program. When they chose inzpire.me as their partner, we think it is because they see the value of our technology and the expertise we provide, says Lyngstad to Kampanje.Thinking about investing more in influencer marketing, but not sure where to begin? Schedule a free call to learn how we can help.This article was originally published in Kampanje and translated into English.