Artistic and media company McKinney has acquired August United, an influencer advertising company beforehand owned by Audacious Studios. The transfer offers McKinney, which is a part of the Cheil Worldwide community of companies, a presence in Phoenix Ariz., the place August United is headquartered, in addition to a agency foothold within the rising micro and mid-tier influencer house.
Along with August United, McKinney will take up Tailwind, the efficiency media arm of Audacious Studios, to bolster its built-in providing. The transfer expands McKinney’s capabilities below a single administration crew. The August United/Tailwind workplace will turn into McKinney’s fifth U.S. workplace, becoming a member of its headquarters in Durham, N.C., and workplaces in Los Angeles, New York and Dallas.
No layoffs are deliberate, and all August United and Tailwind workers can be retained by the company, including greater than 60 staffers and bringing McKinney’s base near 300 individuals.
August United, which was named to Adweek’s Quickest Rising Companies record in 2019, has been round for 20 years however pivoted in 2015 to focus on full-service influencer advertising capabilities, from technique to partnership administration to content material improvement and implementation.
Purchase, not borrow
Since 2021, McKinney had been trying to increase its influencer capabilities as purchasers like Samsung and Little Caesars had been asking for these providers. The company needed to ramp up these capabilities and knew it wanted to do it quicker than might occur by constructing it from the bottom up.
“When you could have that three-pronged street in entrance of you, the place you may both construct, purchase or borrow, this very a lot turned a purchase,” Joe Maglio, CEO of McKinney, informed Adweek.
McKinney, which was named to Adweek’s shortlist for 2022 U.S. Midsize Company of the 12 months, labored with an outdoor marketing consultant to seek out potential acquisition prospects. Maglio and his crew checked out roughly 50 companies, however after they met with the crew from August United, the company stood out. The management crew had been in place for over a decade, they usually had created a mannequin round mid-tier and micro influencers earlier than they turned a development, giving the company credibility and depth within the house.
“There’s extra belief, from a client standpoint, for a micro or mid-tier versus an enormous movie star influencer. … They’re chasing enterprise outcomes. They’re not chasing large, splashy, shiny objects,” stated Maglio, including that August shared McKinney’s values, together with a push for variety and rising workers’ talent units.
Whereas August United and Tailwind convey greater than 60 new individuals to McKinney, Maglio famous that the merging of employees is ongoing and he needs McKinney individuals to study from the August crew. As well as, McKinney is hiring on the Phoenix workplace for roles that aren’t within the influencer house, which is able to solidify the company’s presence within the Southwest.
“Once we refocused on influencer advertising in 2015, we knew that it will go from the perimeter to the core of a model’s social media technique. As we scaled our providing, we determined it was time to take a much bigger leap ahead, and after our first couple conferences with McKinney we knew that their smarts and hearts had been the fitting match to take our providing to the subsequent degree,” stated Margie Traylor, co-founder of Audacious Studios, in an announcement.
Katie Marti, who was beforehand president at Audacious Studios overseeing August United and Tailwind, now turns into managing director at McKinney.
Capitalizing on a rising influencer market
Influencer advertising was a $16.4 billion business in 2022, in response to Influencer Advertising Hub, demonstrating the rising shopping for energy of Gen Z and millennials as consumption habits evolve. Micro and mid-tier influencers additionally assist drive important engagement and impression buy selections.
August United brings not solely a longtime presence within the influencer house but additionally a brand new batch of purchasers to McKinney, together with a number of high-profile CPG manufacturers. Kroger, Circle Ok, All, Snuggle, Purex and Persil are manufacturers August works with, and that bolsters McKinney’s shopper base, which incorporates Blue Diamond Growers, Pampers, Puma Operating, Cease & Store, ESPN, Samsung, Columbia Sportswear and Sherwin-Williams.
Maglio is worked up about McKinney’s leap into the influencer house, particularly beneath the movie star degree.
“You possibly can’t discuss social and cell with out the creator financial system as a part of it. Once you get to the micro and mid-tier, you get extra traction. Customers pay extra consideration as a result of they really feel a special sort of connection to that influencer,” stated Maglio, noting that influencers are driving ecommerce purchases and the ROI from that can be extra measurable over time.
The enterprise upside behind influencer advertising led to the acquisition of August United, however McKinney additionally hopes to develop within the influencer house because it builds its McKinney Well being apply, which was launched final yr. Maglio sees the chances of influencers having the ability to join with customers on healthcare points, in addition to on the media facet of the enterprise, to assist with development.
“It’s going to convey the purchasers an entire different world that they will step into,” Maglio stated.
