Sir Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital has announced that its digital global content arm MediaMonks has merged with Dutch influencer marketing firm IMA. The merger further strengthens MediaMonks’ digital marketing expertise and ability to reach new customers, with engaging content across the full range of digital channels.

IMA is the first full-service influencer marketing agency – and largest in Europe – founded in 2010 by Emilie Tabor and Maddie Raedts, who were joined by Anneke Schogt in 2016 as CEO. Together with a team of 85 digital experts, the agency is at the forefront of realising and harnessing the power of international influencers.

In the past few years, the agency has built up its reputation as an expert in the fast-growing influencer marketing industry, which is on track to be worth up to $US15 billion by 2022, up from as much as $US8 billion in 2019, according to Business Insider Intelligence estimates, based on Mediakix data.

IMA helps leading international brands, including Pernod Ricard, Under Armour, Beiersdorf, Diesel, Microsoft, Heineken, Samsonite and Booking.com activate the appropriate audience through tailored campaigns. Its network of 40,000 influencers reaches billions of consumers worldwide, divided over a number of different geographies and industries, including fashion, retail, consumer electronics, automotive, travel, beauty and lifestyle. A video showcasing work by IMA can be viewed on MediaMonks’ YouTube channel.

For S4Capital, today’s announcement is another important strategic step towards delivering a faster, better and cheaper offer for clients worldwide, with a unitary business model, following the acquisition in May of food and beverage content specialist Caramel Studios by MediaMonks and its proposed merger in June with Adobe-certified online marketing and customer experience specialist Biz T ech.

Sir Martin Sorrell said: “This merger is yet another example of our focus on top line growth. Influencer marketing is an important sub-set of the digital content marketing industry and is predicted to double in size over the next three years. Emilie, Maddie and Anneke are also great examples of female entrepreneurs, who are building successful digital businesses. They will bring an added dimension to both MediaMonks and S4Capital”

Victor Knaap, Main Monk and CEO of MediaMonks said: “IMA has been at the forefront as this industry has started to come of age. We look forward to working with its entrepreneurial team in developing how powerful influencers can be as part of a digital marketing strategy. MediaMonks’ scale and digital creativity – enhanced by our global content studios for fashion, beauty and food – together with a worldwide network of specialised influencers from IMA, makes a powerful tool for any brand.”

Maddie Raedts, Founder at IMA commented: “It’s with great pride we can today call ourselves part of the S4Capital family. Even more importantly, we hope this represents a success story that will help influence and inspire other female entrepreneurs and their endeavours.”

Emilie Tabor, Founder at IMA commented: “The influencer space is only just starting to properly mature – and with S4Capital’s speed and worldwide scale, we can’t wait to fully leverage our network with the talent and new content capabilities throughout the Group.’’